Congress returns for lame-duck session

Members of Congress -- including a sizable number of soon-to-be ex-members -- return to the Capitol on Monday for a lame-duck session that will attempt to settle heated legislative debates on issues such as expiring tax cuts and the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gays in the military.

Both the House of Representatives and the Senate convene Monday afternoon, though neither will begin to move on the major debates that have dominated political discussions since the Nov. 2 elections. The House opens with a series of one-minute speeches from members on low-profile bills. Also, an investigative subcommittee has begun a proceeding concerning Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), who faces 13 counts of violating of ethics rules.

In the Senate, the major attraction is the swearing in of two members -- West Virginia’s Joe Manchin and Delaware’s Chris Coons. Both are Democrats elected earlier this month to complete unexpired terms -- Manchin that of the late Robert Byrd, and Coons that of Vice President Joe Biden, who will be administering the oath of office to both men.

Republican Sen.-elect Mark Kirk, elected to complete President Obama’s unexpired term and a new six-year term beginning in January, will not be seated yet because the state of Illinois has not yet certified his victory.

Also on Monday, dozens of newly elected members of the House and Senate began arriving in Washington for orientation sessions as they prepare to take office in January.

Consideration of whether to extend the George W. Bush-era tax cuts will likely be delayed until legislative leaders from both parties meet with Obama at the White House on Thursday. Obama, returning to Washington on Sunday after from a 10-day foreign trip, told reporters he was optimistic that the bluster of the just-completed campaign would give way to substantive negotiations.

“[ Republicans are] still flush with victory, having run a strategy that was all about saying no. But I am very confident that the American people were not issuing a mandate for gridlock,” he said. “So my expectation is … that there are a set of things that need to get done during the lame-duck, and that they are not going to want to just obstruct, that they’re going to want to engage constructively.”

Tax rates implemented during former President Bush’s first term are set to expire Jan. 1. Republicans have called for a permanent extension of all lower rates, while most Democrats say that the lower rates should only be preserved for middle-class Americans. Democrats cite deficit pressures as justification for allowing rates for higher-income earners to rise, while Republicans say the economy remains too fragile for anyone to see tax increases.

The outcome of the tax debate may determine whether Democrats in Congress can advance other priorities, including those to improve food safety, expand the school lunch program or provide a path to citizenship for student immigrants.

“The dynamic of any lame-duck session is unpredictable,” said Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.), who has led GOP efforts for a limited session. “This one is probably more so than most.”

Here are some other issues expected to be addressed:

-- Congress faces a Dec. 3 deadline to fund the government or risk a shutdown. Democrats see in the annual appropriations bill an opportunity to pay for their priorities through next fall -- and stall GOP budget-slashing. Republicans prefer an abbreviated measure that keeps the government running until shortly after the new Congress convenes Jan. 3, at which point they will try to cut spending back to 2008 levels.

Congress also must act by early December to prevent a 23% pay cut to physicians who treat Medicare patients.

-- Repeal of the military’s ban on openly gay service members is one of Obama’s top goals in the Democrats’ agenda for the lame-duck session. The House-approved repeal is stalled in the Senate as Republicans, led by Sen. John McCain of Arizona, say time is needed to review a forthcoming Pentagon report.

Polls indicate that Americans overwhelmingly support allowing gay personnel to serve openly, but Winnie Stachelberg, a vice president at the liberal-leaning Center for American Progress Action Fund, said if Congress does not act, “the prospects [for a repeal] next year are very grim.”

-- In a nod to the Latino electorate credited with helping Democrats retain control of the Senate, Congress may also consider the so-called Dream Act immigration measure.

The legislation would provide a path to citizenship for students who are in the country illegally if they attend college or serve in the military. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has promised a Senate vote, and if the bill passes, the House pledges to follow suit.

However, this and other measures -- such as extending unemployment benefits that expire Nov. 30 and providing the school lunch program with its largest expansion in 40 years -- face long odds against GOP opposition.

-- Senate ratification of the White House’s nuclear arms treaty with Russia, a signature element of Obama’s foreign policy agenda, faces Republican opposition. Experts say failure to ratify the treaty would be a setback for nuclear arms reduction and could damage attempts to improve U.S. relations with Russia.

-- Democrats have pledged to vote on the recommendations of the White House’s deficit-reduction commission if the panel can agree on a proposal by Dec. 1. A draft released last week called for sweeping cuts across the federal government.

mmemoli@tribune.com

lmascaro@tribune.com