Democrats Plan Busy 3 Weeks for Last Session of Lame Duck Congress

Democrats are planning for a busy three weeks during the last session of the 117th Congress, with a series of legislative aspirations set for considerations as the party prepares for the end of single-party rule. Republicans are now confirmed to have taken the House, though Democrats will hold the Senate. If current numbers in still-uncalled races hold, Republicans will enter the 118th Congress with a scant majority, putting an end to the unified Democrat-led government of the past two years. As they prepare to enter the minority for the first time since 2019, Democrats are hoping to make a few final legislative pushes in the final eight legislative days remaining. According to the House calendar, lawmakers will assemble one final time beginning on Nov. 29. The final votes of the 117th Congress will take place on Dec. 15. A senior House Republican aide opined in a comment to The Epoch Times that he expects additional legislative days to be added as several key bills are still being hammered out. "We’ll probably have to stay longer in December," the aide said, adding, "Recess starts the 16th but I doubt it." In a Nov. 22 letter to colleagues, House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said that Democrats "will embark on a busy and ambitious legislative session" in these final eight days. "Let us savor and draw strength from this time at home with our loved ones as we prepare to meet the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead," Pelosi wrote. "And let us be unified as a Caucus, as we prepare for the future." Here are some bills expected to make progress during the final lame duck session of this Congress. Senate Same Sex Marriage Bill On the top of Democrats' priority list is the passage of the Respect for Marriage Act. That bill, which Democrats pushed in response to the Supreme Court's (SCOTUS) decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, would codify same-sex and interracial marriage as a federally-protected right. The measure was expected to be taken up for final passage by the Senate on Nov. 17 but the legislative day, the last before Thanksgiving recess, came and went with no final vote on the measure. That delay came after the bill managed to advance past its first procedural hurdle with the support of 12 Republicans. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the same day that passing the bill would be “one of the more significant accomplishments of this Senate to date” but did not explain the delay. On Nov. 28, the Senate is expected to vote for an end to debate and pass the bill, which President Joe Biden is expected to sign. 12 Republicans joined Democrats to advance the legislation, including: Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W. Va.) Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) These members are expected to vote in favor of the measure when it comes to the floor, meaning it should have an easy path to the president's desk. The bill was proposed over the summer after SCOTUS voted to strike down the precedent set down in Roe v. Wade, a 1973 case that declared abortion a constitutionally-protected right. That decision was based on an expansive interpretation of the Constitution, and specifically the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. The expansive interpretation was first used in an earlier case, Griswold v. Connecticut, which ruled that the Constitution created "penumbras" of protection that granted rights not explicitly defined by the Constitution. The Griswold standard played a key role in a series of SCOTUS decisions touching on social issues, including not only Roe v. Wade but also Lawrence v. Texas, which ruled that sodomy is a constitutionally-protected right, and Obergefell v. Hodges, which ruled that same-sex civil union is a federal right. SCOTUS insisted in its majority opinion in Dobbs that these other 14th Amendment d