Congressional Harvest

Legislative Update

• Appropriations
• Veto Override Votes
• ENDA, Hate Crimes

After Congress honored National Bible Week and passed a typical year-end flurry of legislation in which it began sending appropriations bills to the President, it adjourned for Thanksgiving. A few of these bills have been signed into law.

Some have begun to look back at the first year in control for the new majority. Not to be missed in all of that is the record success of the minority shaping policy with the motion to recommit. The minority has not only maximized its few opportunities for legislative input, but it has also defended these minority rights from several attacks.

While Congress had originally planned to be done for the year by now, there is still much left to do including finishing the appropriations bills and unfinished conference reports such as the Head Start Reauthorization. How the year finishes out is still very much a work in progress.