Congress Is Back for Its Lame Duck Session

Members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate are back on Capitol Hill this week following a weeks-long recess leading up to Election Day last week. Although there are still some outstanding congressional races where a winner has not yet been declared, most of the Congress is back to work.

As of today, Republicans are expected to take control of the House with Republicans having won 217 seats out of the 218 seats needed to have majority control. On the Senate side, Democrats have ensured continued control by winning 50 seats. If Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock wins the Georgia runoff election against Republican candidate Hershel Walker on December 6, Democrats will increase their margin, and provide more wiggle room for passing legislation that does not hinge on the support of Democrats like Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ).

In the remaining few months of the 117^th Congress, legislators will be focused on an agenda that centers on keeping the government funded past the current December 16 deadline, but also contains other unfinished priorities such as passing the National Defense Authorization Act, additional aid for Ukraine, legislation to codify marriage equality, Electoral College reform, and legislation to boost the debt limit. ANCOR will continue to monitor legislative opportunities to attach provisions to strengthen the direct support workforce.