Leaving behind a long list of unaddressed priorities, the 119^th Congress has left Washington to return to their States and Districts until after the midterm elections on November 3. Among the must-do issues that remain undone is funding for the federal government, from December 11 until the September 30, 2027 end of the fiscal year.

To do during the lame duck session of this 119^th Congress, which officially ends when newly-elected (or reelected) Senators and House Members are sworn in in early January, are:

• The last of the 119^th Congress’s opportunities to pass another all-GOP reconciliation bill—the Senate may add to or otherwise modify the House-passed Congressional Budget Resolution (CBR) that authorizes spending for defense, for states on voter identification and other election rules, and for agriculture aid. So far, there appears to be little interest in adding tax provisions to a new reconciliation bill, but there is some talk about using the reconciliation legislation to increase the federal debt limit.
• A possible measure to increase the government’s borrowing authority (the debt limit), to avoid having that must-do issue used as leverage during the 120^th Congress if Democrats win control of the House, Senate or both—the borrowing cap is projected to be reached by mid-year, but Republicans fear having to reach a compromise with Democrats on the hotly-controversial debt limit issue.
• Government-wide discretionary funding for fiscal year (FY) 2027—this includes money for the Department of Labor (DOL), Health and Human Services (HHS), Treasury, and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Current funding authority expires December 11 and if Congress fails to extend that funding, or to authorize new funding, the government will shut down.
• Proposals to encourage long-term care, including tax incentives to purchase private coverage, and education and outreach initiatives to help people plan for potential long-term care needs
• Proposals to codify a new worker classification standard
• Health insurance and health care proposals, including some to reduce if not eliminate waste, fraud and abuse in Medicaid/Medicare; and/or to make private health insurance more affordable and accessible

There also will be other, high-profile matters competing for lawmakers’ time and attention during the lame duck session. These include defense authorization matters, foreign spying authority, permitting reform, new rules to govern cryptocurrency, and a regulatory framework for artificial intelligence.

Prospects: Congress has to deal with government funding by December 11 and many of these other issues may be rolled into a government funding bill. However, prospects for any given issue will be heavily influenced by what lawmakers see as the issues’ prospects in the incoming 120^th Congress that convenes in January, 2027. At this juncture, partisan control of both chambers is very much an open question, as is the make-up of each chamber next year. The number of Senators and House Members who come from the parties’ flanks (far-right and far-left), and the size of the majority will matter greatly. We will keep you posted.

NAIFA Staff Contacts: Diane Boyle – Senior Vice President – Government Relations, at dboyle@naifa.org; Mike Hedge – Senior Director – Government Relations, at mhedge@naifa.org; or Jayne Fitzgerald – Director – Government Relations, at jfitzgerald@naifa.org