Come January, the Republican Party will take control of the House, and the Democrats who still control the Senate will see their majority whittled down to a razor-thin margin. Nevertheless, the existing Congress – including those who lost in the midterms elections – are returning to Washington for one last session, known as a “lame duck.”
At a minimum, the session must act on a budget resolution to keep the government in operation. The fate of the other important legislation — including the expiring Bush tax cuts and the new START treaty — remains to be seen.
On November 17, Brookings expert Darrell West took your questions in a live web chat on the lame-duck session of Congress. Assistant editor Seung Min Kim of POLITICO moderated the discussion.
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