Congress Prepares for Long December Lame Duck Session

The U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate are both back in session this week. The focus of legislators in the next few weeks will be passing a spending bill to keep the government funded past the December 16 deadline in order to avert a government shutdown. Given the uncertainty of what will be included in the 12 spending bills that must comprise the omnibus legislation, it is likely that Congress will first pass a short-term spending bill to extend the deadline for another week to provide more time to finalize details. ANCOR continues to meet with Hill staff to urge the inclusion of funding to strengthen the long-term services and supports workforce as part of that omnibus legislation.

Aside from government funding, in the coming weeks Congress is also expected to take up and pass the Respect for Marriage Act, the Electoral Count Reform Act, and the National Defense Reauthorization Act. With all of the end-of-year activity, ANCOR will provide updates as they are available.