Will Lame-Duck Session Be Productive ... or Just Lame?

Nov. 12, 2010 -- Will the lame-duck session of Congress that kicks off Monday be a productive last-ditch effort to address a slew of legislative issues or, well, just be lame? That is the question as lawmakers return to work after their six-week break for the midterm elections.

In a general sense, the lame-duck session will be devoted to taxes and spending. On the former, the Bush tax cuts are set to expire Jan. 1. Before the election, Democrats were so divided -- and politically skittish -- that they punted the issue until winter.

After the election, President Obama signaled a willingness to compromise with Republicans, who want the tax cuts extended for all Americans, not just those making less than $200,000. Republicans are now pushing for a temporary extension of all the tax cuts, while most Democrats want to extend only the middle class tax cuts, though some appear willing to agree to a longer extension of the middle class tax cuts coupled with a shorter extension of the cuts for the wealthiest Americans.

Any discussion about what to do with taxes, of course, ties in with what to do about the nation's soaring deficit. The bipartisan commission Obama formed earlier this year to come up with a plan to cut the deficit has to submit its final report by Dec. 1. And the government needs to be funded by the time the most recent continuing resolution ends Dec. 3.

Then there's a whole range of other issues that could see action: extending federal unemployment benefits by the filing deadline of Nov. 30; stopping a scheduled 23 percent cut to Medicare's payments to doctors set for Dec. 1 and another 6.5 percent cut on Jan. 1; passing the annual defense authorization bill that -- for now -- includes a repeal of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy; ratifying the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) with Russia; and taking another stab at the DREAM Act, a scaled-back immigration bill that would enable undocumented students who arrive in the United States before age 16 to become legal residents after five years by completing higher education or military service.