Greek-style Austerity Measures

Congress Prepares for Lame-duck Battles Over Tax Cuts, Unemployment Benefits, Government Spending

November 28, 2010

The Ticket via Yahoo! News - It's crunch time for Congress as members head back to Washington this week for a lame-duck session packed with major initiatives.

Tax cuts, income support, national security issues and the military's policy banning openly gay service are among the issues on Congress' agenda. But each faces a complicated battle in Washington.

Below, we take a look at how each of these issues may fare in a packed lame-duck Congress.

Tax cuts: Tax cuts enacted during the George W. Bush administration are set to expire at the end of this year. Most Democrats, including the president, are pushing for an extension of "middle-class tax cuts" only, which affect those making $250,000 or less. Democrats argue tax cuts should expire for those making more than $250,000. But most Republicans favor extending all tax cuts and suggest that Democrats risk hurting the economy by only extending the middle-class cuts. It's unclear whether Democrats will push for a separate vote on middle-class cuts or whether Congress will vote on the complete tax cut package. Another fight looms over how long Congress may approve these extensions--a span of either years or months.

Unemployment benefits: The latest extension of federal unemployment benefits is set to expire on Nov. 30. Letting those benefits lapse would mean that an estimated 2 million Americans would lose their jobless benefits in December--with other unemployed Americans losing benefits in each month that follows. Fiscal conservatives argue that another extension is unnecessary and will not help the economy. But with joblessness soaring, others argue an extension is necessary to aid the many unemployed and their families. The House attempted to pass the extension in November, but failed.

Government spending bill: Congress has a Dec. 3 deadline to pass a $1 trillion spending bill to keep the federal government operational. Congress will probably pass the bill, but it's unclear whether members will decide to fund the government for a longer period, such as a year, or will elect to fund the government for just a few months, thereby forcing the next Congress to vote again on the issue in 2011.

DREAM immigration act: The White House and congressional Democrats are pushing for a lame-duck vote on a bill offering a path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants who arrived in the United States as children and later studied in American colleges or served in the military. Majority Leader Harry Reid has pledged to hold a vote on the bill this year, but Republicans say that the votes aren't there to win passage of the DREAM act.

Nuclear START treaty: Democrats, including Barack Obama, want the Senate to ratify a nuclear treaty with Russia. But Republicans dispute some of the treaty's language and are asking for the vote to be delayed until next year. Democrats such as Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill argue that Republicans are holding up the vote for political reasons to weaken President Obama. Arizona GOP Sen. Jon Kyl is leading the charge to postpone a vote on START until next year.