Congress is Gone for the Next month – Now What?

As the Senate leaves DC, Congress is officially gone until after the elections. The House and Senate are leaving behind a to-do list that is long even by lame duck standards. The halls of the congressional buildings might be quiet this month, but for those pushing for lame duck priorities, there is a lot to do before Congress returns in November.

Here are a few areas to engage:

Appropriations: The government is funded through December 11 under a continuing resolution, which means appropriators and leadership will need to determine whether they can pass an omnibus for the remainder of FY27 or need another short-term CR. Since the Senate has not moved forward their own spending bills, groups should spend time talking to Senate committees and offices to continue to push their funding priorities.

NDAA: This must-pass bill is not only important from a defense perspective, but could also move forward extraneous issues. Policies like the Fix Our Forests Act could ride within NDAA if there is agreement across committees and chambers.

Farm Bill: The House has already passed the Farm Bill with bipartisan support, while the Senate passed their version of the Farm Bill out of committee on a partisan vote. Despite no Democratic support, both minority and majority committee staff in the House and Senate are negotiating behind the scenes to potentially bring up the Farm Bill in the lame-duck session.

These are just a few comprehensive bills that could move. Any must-pass bills offer an opportunity to move smaller, less controversial legislation. Finding champions, making the case to leadership, and finding coalitions in support of your priorities will be incredibly important before the lame duck.