US Congress faces uphill task to clear backlog of legislations in 2024

Washington, Dec 28 (IANS) The US Congress braces itself for a stormy start in the new year of 2024 when a handful of political fights kicked down the road last year come to a head next month and lawmakers will have little time to settle them to keep the government open, analysts said. 

Congress is set to resume its session to discuss and resolve issues carried over from 2023 such as the most critical appropriation bills to keep the government open through the year and its shaping up to be a tumultuous January, media reports said.

A spate of crucial bills such as FISA and funding for various agencies will see frayed tempers between the democrats and republicans on spending cuts taking on a number of polarized political fights that have been deferred or delayed into the new year with little time to reach a resolution, reports said.

What adds to the pressure of the Congressmen and senators is the fact they are heading into the beginning of the presidential primary season, as a fiercely divided legislature looks to find common ground – or face a government shutdown, US News & World Report said.

The House and Senate, both chambers of the US Congress, face two looming deadlines to fund the government – on January 19 and February 2, in what is expected to be a heavy lift with little time to get it done, reports said referencing speaker Mike Johnson's two laddered approach last year to resolve the funding issue.

Intractable differences on top-line numbers, a stand-off over a national security supplemental package that most notably would provide military aid for Ukraine is adding to the long list of time-consuming to-dos for the Congress. 

Any deal to approve government spending is now inextricably linked to a fight over enhanced border security measures pushed into the New Year.

While Congress adjourned abruptly pushing all critical matters into the new year, the Senate negotiators while not taking the recess and staying on in Washington however failed to reach an agreement on the border issue and funding ahead of the holidays. 

This has put the sensitive but hot issue on a collision course with the broader spending talks that have burdened lawmakers for months and further complicating the weeks ahead in Congress, media reports said.

Political disturbances in the Central and Northern American borders of Mexico and Southern American countries such as Venezuela have sent hordes of illegal immigrants by thousands across the southern borders putting tremendous pressure on the US states there.

To top it all, a potential impeachment of President Joe Biden in the house has become a priority for Republicans to counter the legal woes of the ex-President Donald Trump in an election year at a time when legislators are struggling to keep the federal government functioning, political experts lamented.

"We've got plenty of work to do in January," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said ahead of the recess. The first issue up is expected to be the national security supplemental package.

With the pressure mounting on funding deadlines and measures to approve the additional national security funding, legislators warned of the packed schedule in the weeks ahead, media reports said. 

"There's a lot we have to tackle in the coming weeks," Senator Patty Murray of Washington, the top Democratic appropriator, said. 

"The shutdown clock is ticking now and the war in Ukraine is raging now."

--IANS

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