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Thursday, December 5, 2024 - 05:04 PM

INDEPENDENT CONSERVATIVE VOICE OF UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA

First Published in 1994

INDEPENDENT CONSERVATIVE VOICE OF
UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA

Democrats Plan to Use the Lame Duck Session to Pass Their Agenda

The House and Senate Democrat reign is expected to come to an end after the November 8th elections. When (and if) the liberals find themselves out of power, they will be scrambling to pass the destructive agenda items they failed to pass during the first two years of the Biden Administration. Unfortunately, Congress failed to pass the necessary spending bills on time, liberals will be given an opportunity to do so in a period called the “lame duck session.”

The phrase “lame duck”, originally a banking term, when applied to Congress defines the period after the November elections but before the inauguration of new members the following January. The idea was that outgoing lawmakers have far less power to move legislation or secure votes, i.e. they are ‘lame’. Phyllis Schlafly defined it as “a period when members of Congress who are already defeated will have the opportunity to vote without concern for voter approval.” Some sitting members, about to retire or leave office, feel free to take controversial votes without worrying about future backlash. Other members who have secured their seats do not have to worry about being re-elected for at least two years, so they are empowered to ignore constituents hoping any unpopular vote will be forgotten. This year’s dynamics of a possible Red Wave add more fuel to the fire, though. Liberals know if they do not act this year, they lose any ability to further Biden’s radical agenda before 2024.

The Biden administration’s first two years have been embarrassing at best. Although President Biden has enacted horrendous policies through executive orders, his sad track record of moving bills through Congress has been to our benefit. Republicans have been able to stave off corrupt election reform, pro-abortion initiatives, transgender policies, billions in federal spending, and more. However, we can expect these policies to rear their ugly heads as the Democrats make one last-ditch effort to enact them into law.

The most recent item to be pushed to the lame duck session is the continuing resolution (CR). The CR will likely pass this week with an expiration date of December 16th. The White House’s requests of $22.4 billion in COVID funding and $4.5 billion to combat the spread of monkeypox was noticeably absent as well as the House-passed Respect for Marriage Act (H.R. 8404) which would eliminate all religious liberty as it pertains to same-sex marriages. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) promised Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) that he would include his permitting reform bill in the CR but ultimately pulled it when Democrats refused to support it. While members are voting on a relatively “clean CR” now, we can expect all the leftovers to be considered for a vote before the end of the year.

One item that has hung in limbo for months is the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (H.R. 7900). Both Democrats and Republicans have tried to insert a provision to require young women to register for the draft. This year, the House-passed bill has no such language, however, the Senate-drafted bill does. When this occurred in the previous fiscal year’s NDAA, conservative backlash was so loud that Senators rewrote their version without drafting women. The current version of the NDAA is set to expire on December 3rd and we are concerned that the lame duck session will give those squishy Republicans cover to vote in favor of drafting our daughters.

A problematic bill that could come to the floor of both chambers is the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Act (S. 4573) which will change the way that Congress certifies the votes in presidential elections. Spurred on by the January 6th events, several bipartisan Senators want to raise the threshold of objecting to votes from one lawmaker in each chamber to 20% of lawmakers in each chamber. This would clear the way for election fraud and Democrat-secured elections in the future.

Other items that Sen. Schumer was unable to move before include marijuana legalizationstatehood for Washington, DC, and increasing the number of green cards. Eagle Forum has not only opposed these leftist priorities but has warned against passing any bill during the lame duck session. We are hearing that most Republicans plan to stand united against these bills, but we must encourage them and hold them accountable for their votes. If you are signed up for our alerts, we will send you updates on these bills as they come to floor.