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On December 3, much of official Washington returned to a very changed environment after the election in November. Former President Trump was re-elected and will be sworn in on January 20, 2025. The Senate flipped to Republican control by a 53-47 margin. The House also remains in Republican control, but by an exceptionally narrow margin of 220-215, a margin which will shrink further after one resignation and two Members who will join the new Administration. For at least several months of 2025, Republicans could have a majority in the House of only 1 vote!
However, before all of that happens, Congress must finish up some work in the next three weeks during the “lame-duck” session.
The to-do list includes:
- Finishing FY 2025 appropriations. Congress is expected to pass another Continuing Resolution (CR) that would essentially punt appropriations into the new Congress. The current deadline is December 20, and that could be moved to March 2025 or beyond.
- Disaster relief. The Biden Administration has proposed almost $99 billion in relief for states hit by the series of hurricanes earlier this year. Congress is expected to trim that amount, but some amount will almost certainly be passed before the end of the year.
- Farm Bill extension. While there were hopes that a full five-year Farm Bill could be passed during the lame-duck, that is not expected to happen now. Republicans believe that they can get a better deal in the next Congress, so current Farm Bill programs are expected to be extended another full year.
AAVMC will continue to advocate for our priorities during the lame-duck session and is preparing a welcome “one-pager” for the incoming members of the 119th Congress. This is designed to give them an introduction to our organization and an early overview of our priorities as we move forward.
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