Congress Won't Be Home For Christmas At This Pace

Written By BlabberBuzz | Saturday, 20 November 2021 05:15 AM
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In early November Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. declared the Senate would consider the Democrats’ social spending bill during the week of Nov. 15.

Notably, Schumer’s aspiration came before everything went haywire in the House of Representatives just a few weeks ago. The House even struggled to approve the infrastructure bill. House Democrats finally had to decouple a vote on the infrastructure bill with the social spending bill to muscle the former through. That came despite demands from House liberals that the Democratic leadership Velcro the respective measures together.

House moderates were willing to vote on the social spending package, provided they had cost evaluations of the bill from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). They also demanded that the bill appeared in the House the week of Nov. 15.

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Schumer notified senators earlier this week that they should "keep your schedule flexible for the remainder of the calendar year." He added that dealing with the social spending package — to say nothing of averting a government shutdown and avoiding a collision with the debt limit in December — "will likely take some long nights and weekends."

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On Tuesday, Schumer brought the holiday season calendar more closely into focus with regard to the social spending package. "We aim to pass it before Christmas," he insisted. "Before" is the key phrase there.

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The "Christmas recess" for Congress used to be sacrosanct. Now the body regularly incinerates during the holiday break.

Congress blows through deadlines and weekends all the time. The House and Senate publish a congressional calendar each December that projects the schedule for the upcoming year. Weeks and weeks are often blocked out for the vaunted "August recess." Yet the House and Senate frequently tear through that respite. Or, if Congress is on recess for August, leaders often recall lawmakers to Washington during that period.

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In recent years, Congress has made it a habit to convene on Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

The Senate infamously approved the initial version of Obamacare during a pre-dawn vote on Christmas Eve 2009. There was a flurry of Senate activity last New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

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The House and Senate were in session around the clock on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day in 2012-2013 in efforts to avoid "the fiscal cliff."

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Then-Vice President Biden came to the Capitol for negotiations around 8:30 p.m. ET on New Year’s Eve, 2012. The Senate began voting on New Year’s Eve 2013 around 2:30 a.m. ET. The House was in session throughout the day on Jan. 1, 2013 and still meeting in the wee hours of Jan. 2, 2013.

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