A bitterly divided Congress adjourned Thursday for the election, having accomplished little more than the bare minimum, with lawmakers looking ahead to a lame-duck session and a weighty to-do list already piling up for next year.
A must-pass spending bill, agreed to after a protracted struggle and repeated rounds of partisan finger-pointing, extends government funding until Dec. 9 and addresses the Zika crisis with $1.1 billion months after President Barack Obama initially requested federal aid. Lawmakers advanced spending for flood victims in Louisiana and a compromise to help victims of lead-tainted water in Flint, Mich.
Obama swiftly signed the spending bill into law.
When they return to Washington after the election, lawmakers will have to complete the annual appropriations process, which fell apart this year even though getting it on track was a top priority for the leaders of Congress’ GOP majorities, House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Only one of the 12 must-pass annual spending bills has been completed.
“This is what divided government gets you,” Ryan said Thursday. “You don’t always get what you want in divided government.”
Next year is likely to herald still more divisions. Even if Republicans maintain control of the House as expected, manage to win the White House with Donald Trump and hang onto their fragile Senate majority, minority Democrats will still exercise significant power in the Senate.
If Democrats win the White House or the Senate, it will usher in another era of divided government, perhaps even more fraught.
At the same time, Congress and the next president, whether Trump or Democrat Hillary Clinton, will confront a series of daunting tasks pushed off until 2017 by a catch-all budget deal negotiated under former House Speaker John Boehner on his way out the door last year.
Perhaps most monumental, the debt limit will need to be raised by around midsummer, something that has provoked intense battles in recent years. Failure to raise it would lead to a disastrous, first-ever default on U.S. obligations such as interest payments.
Lawmakers will need to revisit major programs, including the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and expiring tax credits for a range of industries. The annual budgeting process will be greatly complicated by the return of tight spending caps on the Pentagon and domestic agencies after two years of hard-fought relief. There will be a Supreme Court vacancy to fill along with less headline-grabbing but still complex chores, such as reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration.
“Given the heavy weight of some those issues, some of them are not going to be delicate by any stretch of the imagination,” said Rep. Mark Sanford, R-S.C.
Whichever party controls the Senate, the majority is likely to be razor-thin and senators will focus immediately on the 2018 election, when Democrats will be defending tough seats in GOP-leaning states.
In the Republican-led House, the number of moderate-minded GOP lawmakers is likely to be reduced, potentially giving more power to the House Freedom Caucus, which frequently opposes routine legislation and impedes deal-making by leadership.
And Ryan is widely seen as having presidential ambitions in 2020, which may complicate his willingness to cut deals with the White House.
“Ryan will have a decision to make,” said the second-ranking House Democratic leader, Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland. “Do I want to be perceived as the leader of the obstructionist party, or do I want to be seen as the constructive opposition which works with the president and the Senate to achieve progress?”
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