Congress returns this week to finalize as much unfinished business as possible before the 120th Congress is sworn in on January 3, 2027. With the Democrats picking up as many as 60 seats in the House and 13 in the Senate there is little incentive to compromise with Republicans and attempt to complete action on a long list of uncompleted legislative initiatives, including those important to the LICA membership such as: surface transportation reauthorization, water and waste water SRF funding authorization, and farm labor guest worker and visa reforms. While there is much support for completing action on the farm bill, a compromise on SNAP funding and agreements on whether to include year-round use of E15 ethanol blends have not been reached.
The top priority that needs to be addressed is a funding bill to keep the government operating. A Continuing Resolution (CR) is currently in place which provides funding levels for Federal agencies through December 11. While there may be attempts to bundle up several of the 12 appropriations bills that were passed by the Senate, but not the House, and consider those as a package that could include important policy provisions, it remains to be seen if any effort at compromise will be possible. One necessary provision could be to provide partial authorization for highway and bridge funding to keep the program operating uninterrupted until Congress gets around to taking up the full bill. A separate bill to provide supplemental funding for the Iran war is also pending.
Newly elected members of the House and Senate will start to arrive in Washington this week to receive orientations on the legislative process and their roles. When most of the final races are called, it will be determined what the ratio of committee membership between Democrats and Republicans will be. Also, members will vote for their party leadership positions and Committee chairs will be selected. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has decided to not pursue the Minority Leader position so a vote may occur this week on his replacement.