Amid all the bluster about how high the stakes are and the vows by
both parties to play out the game of chicken until they win, the
approaching lame-duck session is more likely to come down to what lame
ducks almost always come down to: punting until the next session of
Congress.
It has long been clear that Congress and the White House are leaving until after the elections the big questions about the renewal of Bush-era tax rates and whether to roll back pending spending cuts.
While both sides seem to believe an electoral victory for their party will force the other to capitulate, those dynamics have rarely played out in lame-duck sessions of the past, and Congress as a whole has been more apt to defer to the next duly elected Congress on long-term decisions for the country's fiscal policy. Indeed, outside budget experts said there is some reason for optimism on a short-term agreement after the elections, but not much more.
"Both parties are engaged in a game of three-dimensional chess," said Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
The rules of the game will not change too much regardless of who wins the presidency and has control of the Senate in January, she said, because the outlines have already been established and the action must occur before the winners take office. But the agreement is likely to "move slightly" in the direction of the elections' winners, she said.
Former Senate aides agreed there will be neither the time nor the incentive to tackle the larger budget questions.
Former Senate aides said the odds of a lame-duck agreement depend on how quickly the electoral losers capitulate.
Read more: http://www.rollcall.com/features/Guide-to-Congress_2012/guide/Lame-Duck-Likely-to-Feature-Can-Kicking-217508-1.html?pos=hftxt
It has long been clear that Congress and the White House are leaving until after the elections the big questions about the renewal of Bush-era tax rates and whether to roll back pending spending cuts.
While both sides seem to believe an electoral victory for their party will force the other to capitulate, those dynamics have rarely played out in lame-duck sessions of the past, and Congress as a whole has been more apt to defer to the next duly elected Congress on long-term decisions for the country's fiscal policy. Indeed, outside budget experts said there is some reason for optimism on a short-term agreement after the elections, but not much more.
"Both parties are engaged in a game of three-dimensional chess," said Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
The rules of the game will not change too much regardless of who wins the presidency and has control of the Senate in January, she said, because the outlines have already been established and the action must occur before the winners take office. But the agreement is likely to "move slightly" in the direction of the elections' winners, she said.
Former Senate aides agreed there will be neither the time nor the incentive to tackle the larger budget questions.
Former Senate aides said the odds of a lame-duck agreement depend on how quickly the electoral losers capitulate.
Read more: http://www.rollcall.com/features/Guide-to-Congress_2012/guide/Lame-Duck-Likely-to-Feature-Can-Kicking-217508-1.html?pos=hftxt
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