This is the last week the House and Senate are slated to be in session. And unless outgoing Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., makes good on a threat to work a few more days, the 113th Congress will adjourn for good late this week. A few things to watch:
Issue: 2015 NDAA
What's happening: The House on Dec. 4 passed a $559.2 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that includes $495.5 billion in base funding and $63.7 billion in war funding. The measure had to be negotiated behind closed doors after a Senate Armed Services Committee-passed version stalled on the north side of the Capitol. The compromise version keeps alive the Air Force's A-10 fleet and greenlights President Barack Obama's plan to train and arm vetted Syrian rebels, among other things.
What's next: As the Senate headed home for the weekend, some fiscal conservatives were complaining about around 100 public land bills crammed into the NDAA. Insiders say the most the small block might do is hold up final passage for a few hours — or a day at most. Congress has sent a Pentagon policy bill to the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue for 53 consecutive years.
Issue: Government Shutdown
What's happening: Lawmakers have until 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 11 to pass something that will keep the government funded and open. If they fail to do so, the Pentagon and other federal agencies will again shut down. Conservatives in the House, and a few in the Senate, want to use whatever spending measure the lower chamber sends across the Capitol to target Obama's immigration order. A final resolution had yet to emerge when the House went home last week.
What's next: Because GOP leaders believe a shutdown would be a political loser, they are likely to pass something by week's end. The leading candidate late last week was a massive spending measure that would fund 11 federal departments through the fiscal year and the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees many immigration functions, for a few months. "No one is talking about shutting down the government. And that is ... not where we're headed," House GOP Conference Chairwoman McMorris Rodgers of Washington said Dec. 4. "I believe that we are very close to having a budget in place, keep the government funded."
The same day, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, told reporters he expects the plan to pass with bipartisan support.
Issue: Islamic State AUMF
What's happening: House and Senate Republicans for weeks have been urging the White House to draft and submit an authorization of the use of military force (AUMF) against the Islamic State for congressional authorization. More precisely, any authorization would come after both chambers hold hearings, rewrite Obama's draft, then hold votes. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee appears ready to vote on an AUMF this week, though it likely would expire when the 113th turns into a pumpkin.
What's next: The incoming chairman of that committee, Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., said last week that the White House "is not ready" to send lawmakers a draft. That means the real work on a final version will occur early next year after the 114th Congress is seated. On Dec. 4, Boehner used part of his weekly press conference to press Obama to send lawmakers a draft AUMF, adding he believes a "more robust" US strategy is needed to beat the Islamic State. "We see no urgency on the part of this White House," Boehner said. ■
