The focus in the first week of the congressional post-election session was on both parties' new leadership lineups for 2007, particularly for House Democrats. But in terms of bills passed, the lame duck's record so far has been poor. With Congress slated to return in December for perhaps only one week, construction industry officials say the odds for passing pending bills are hard to handicap.
Topping the list of unfinished measures are most of the fiscal year 2007 appropriations. Only the bills financing the Depts. of Defense and Homeland Security have been enacted, but DOD construction is covered by a separate, still incomplete, bill. Lawmakers did approve a second stopgap spending measure, which President Bush signed Nov. 17, that keeps non-DOD, non-DHS accounts running until Dec. 8. But that continuing resolution sets funding at programs' 2006 level, or the amount recommended in the Senate or House measures for fiscal 2007, whichever of the three numbers is lowest.