Lame-duck Congress takes a break until December
The House Monday passed a continuing resolution to keep the government running through Dec. 5, and the Senate followed suit Tuesday, ensuring that Congress will not be in town to add to the tension of the contested presidential race.
"There's just too much uncertainty [in] both Washington and the presidential campaign to conclude anything this week," said Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D. "We felt it was not going to be our most productive time."
A senior White House official said Monday that President Clinton would sign a continuing resolution extending government operations until Dec. 5.
"It was clear that [Republicans] were not going to be able to close any of the outstanding items," the senior official explained. With the partisan heat of the campaign diminished, Clinton aides have concluded that they have less to gain by holding Republicans' feet to the fire and by forcing one- day CRs, as the White House did last month.
"I don't think--with the elections over--that this would serve the long-term goal of finishing this important work," the senior White House official said.
Before the elections, Democrats had insisted that Clinton sign only one-day CRs, as a way to pressure Republicans to negotiate by keeping members here. But the tactic lost its relevance in the aftermath of the elections, and House and Senate Democrats have adopted a more accommodating tone this week. Meanwhile, Clinton's trip to Vietnam has made one-day CRs "very cumbersome," said Daschle.
Following a Monday evening GOP leadership meeting, House Majority Whip Tom DeLay, R-Texas, told reporters that Republicans favored a three-week CR for a number of reasons, noting: "The President's not here, members have schedules they want to keep, and we want to wait to see who the president-elect is ... Let's all just take a deep breath."
The Senate returns to hold its leadership elections the week of Dec. 4, which also should add more clarity to the political situation. Although no challenger has emerged to take on Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., Republicans lost seats in the elections.
Under the current scenario, Lott will be able to attend to his own re-election before negotiating final spending deals with a lame-duck President.
Daschle said that "informal discussions" would occur before then, but no legislative action is scheduled. He provided a short list of issues that still needed to be resolved, including taxes, Medicare "givebacks," immigration, and education funding. Nevertheless, Daschle said that Republicans and Democrats had not agreed on any set list of issues that were open.
"A lot of discussion needs to go on" before the 106th Congress can finish the last FY2001 appropriations bills and adjourn for the year, DeLay said. "There's just too many 'ifs' out there," he said.
Chief among the sticking points is language in the Labor-HHS bill to block the administration's controversial workplace ergonomics rules and prohibit school-based health clinics from distributing the so-called morning after contraceptive, as well as the bill's total price tag.
Another contentious issue is Hispanic immigration legislation the administration wants attached to the Commerce-Justice-State spending bill. Also on hold are the Treasury-Postal, Legislative Branch and District of Columbia spending measures.
A White House official indicated that Republicans would not be justified in viewing the Labor Department's promulgation of the rule on ergonomics--expected Tuesday--as an act of bad faith. "Everyone knew we would promulgate the rule," he said. "It cannot be a surprise to anyone."
Daschle also said controversy over the administration's new ergonomics rule "is no longer an issue" once it has been promulgated.
A House GOP leadership aide expressed frustration that the administration acted unilaterally, but added, "I'm not sure there's much more that we're able to do this year."
As for when this Congress will finally adjourn, DeLay said, "I think things can move quickly" after Dec. 5.
White House officials expect some talks to be held during the interim, and continue to hope that negotiations will conclude quickly after Thanksgiving.
However, the official indicated that the more conciliatory posture does not mean that the White House intends to back away from negotiating positions held before Congress adjourned for the election.
White House endgame strategy has been affected little by the uncertainty of the presidential election. Clinton aides believe it is not only unclear at this point who won, but it is also uncertain how either candidate's victory would affect the strategy of congressional Republicans and Democrats.