Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

SUN EDITORIAL:

Lame-duck session?

Reid pushes Congress to work hard and pass a series of important bills

After a series of legislative victories in the lame-duck session of Congress, President Barack Obama on Wednesday declared that it was the “most productive postelection period we’ve had in decades.”

That’s no exaggeration. Congress finished work on several important issues this week, marking major victories for not only the president, but also for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. Reid set an aggressive pace in the lame-duck session, overcoming Republican obstacles to guide a series of landmark bills to passage, including:

• Tax cuts: Some Democrats initially balked at a compromise between Obama and Republicans over tax cuts. Noting the bill included relief for the middle class and extended benefits for millions of unemployed Americans, Reid soothed his caucus and prodded grudging Democrats to support the bill to get it to pass. The result is that nearly all Americans will get some sort of financial help.

• Food safety: Under legislation just passed, federal regulators will get authority to inspect and protect the nation’s food supply, and they’ll have the authority to order the recall of tainted products.

• “Don’t ask”: After years of stalling on the issue, lawmakers finally repealed the discriminatory “don’t ask, don’t tell” law that has kept gays and lesbians from openly serving in the military.

• START: Reid was able to guide the Senate to ratify the New START Treaty, an arms-control agreement with Russia, despite significant Republican opposition.

• 9/11 help: Congress this week was able to pass a bill to extend needed help to workers who were sickened after responding to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The bill had been needlessly held up by Republican objections.

The lame-duck session has been remarkable, capping an extraordinarily productive two years in Congress. During that time, lawmakers passed legislation on many serious issues, including bills to stimulate the economy, provide health care to millions of Americans and improve Wall Street oversight. And Reid was there to guide it all.

Sheila Burke, who was former Sen. Bob Dole’s chief of staff when he was Senate majority leader, told The New York Times that Reid “has, in fact, achieved a great deal.”

“I don’t think anyone can credibly suggest otherwise,” Burke said.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina put it in more partisan terms, complaining to Fox News radio, “When it’s all going to be said and done, Harry Reid has eaten our lunch.”

In an interview with CNN on Wednesday, Reid let Graham’s words slide and instead talked about a bipartisan effort that will benefit the country. He said the lesson of the election, which gave Republicans control of the House of Representatives, is that Americans “wanted us to work together.”

“We accomplished a lot of stuff because we worked together,” Reid said.

But bipartisanship has been rare — Reid has to navigate a hyperpartisan environment. Republicans have tried to stop Reid and Obama at nearly every turn, largely refusing to seek common ground. Republican leaders have said it will be more difficult next year, which is a shame given that their knee-jerk opposition resulted in several significant disappointments, including the defeat of the DREAM Act.

But that shouldn’t minimize the incredible strides Congress made, particularly in this lame-duck session.

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