What Can We Expect from Congress This Fall?

Sep 14, 2010

The House and the Senate return to Washington this week for a very short legislative session. Members of Congress are eager to wrap up the session in early October and head back home to focus on the November elections. Both chambers are expected to return to Washington after the elections for a so-called “lame duck” session that is scheduled to begin on November 15.

What can a non-partisan lobby in the public interest accomplish in these last few weeks of a highly partisan election year? We at FCNL see opportunities to pass a few key pieces of legislation and to build support for longer term efforts in several areas. What we can accomplish will depend in part on the political will of members of Congress, in part on the congressional schedule, and in part on you. We’ve seen time after time that members of Congress move when their constituents continue to insist that they move. We hope you’ll be thinking about how you can mobilize people in your community to continue to lobby with FCNL in these critical few weeks.

Working for a World Free of Nuclear Weapons

Will the full Senate vote this year to ratify the New START treaty that would reduce the number of deployed nuclear weapons in both the United States and Russia? The answer will depend in large part on whether a mobilized grassroots can persuade congressional leaders from both parties to allow a vote on the treaty in a tight legislative schedule.

On September 16, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is scheduled to vote on the resolution to ratify the New START Treaty with Russia. A majority on the committee is expected to approve the treaty. Yet getting from the committee vote to a vote on the Senate floor could prove difficult. The very tight Senate schedule and the inability of leaders from both parties to agree on limiting the time for debate on New START have so far made the Senate leaders unwilling to agree to make floor time. Our lead lobbyist on the New START treaty believes the full Senate vote on ratification could happen during the lame duck session which is supposed to begin November 15 – which is why our Annual Meeting lobby day begins on that day.

Funding for the Native American Trust Fund Case

Although the House of Representatives has twice approved a settlement of the case brought against the U.S. government by Eloise Cobell, who alleged federal mismanagement of thousands of American Indian trust accounts, the Senate still hasn’t agreed to pay the settlement. We at FCNL will be working this fall to secure Senate support for this funding.

Peaceful Prevention of Deadly Conflict

The main focus of this program for the September Senate session is building up the list of cosponsors of the bipartisan Genocide Prevention Resolution (S.Con.Res.71), which calls on the president to strengthen the U.S. ability to prevent mass violence. Our lobbyists will be working with you to add to the list of cosponsors for this legislation during the fall.

We at FCNL are also concerned that some key committees in Congress have cut funding in the fiscal year 2011 budget for civilian agency efforts to prevent war and respond to post conflict situations. FCNL lobbyists will be working to raise the level of funding specifically for the Civilian Response Corps, which was massively cut in committee mark-ups. Subscribe to our Prevent War listserv to stay up-to-date on these developments.

Legislation to Address Harmful Climate Change

Congress will not pass broad legislation to address global warming pollution this year. Given the significant problems with the cap-and-trade legislation that was the center of the debate, this is not really bad news. Our lobbyists believe that there is an opportunity for the CLEAR Act (Clean Limits and Energy for America's Renewal -- S.2877) to become the main vehicle for any climate legislation that is considered in the next Congress.

In the absence of new climate legislation, the Environmental Protection Agency is moving forward to regulate greenhouse gasses under the Clean Air Act. We at FCNL expect additional legislative efforts to cut back EPA’s authority to address climate change and FCNL will be working with our partners to prevent that from happening. FCNL’s lobbyists also see the potential for other legislation, such as the proposal to adopt a national renewable energy standard.

Afghanistan

FCNL continues to build support for the beginning of a withdrawal of United States troops from Afghanistan in July 2011. The primary focus of our grassroots lobbying is legislation sponsored by Rep. Jim McGovern (MA) and Sen. Russ Feingold (WI) that would request the administration to articulate a specific exit strategy from Afghanistan and a policy that incorporates that strategy. The October 7 anniversary of the US invasion of Afghanistan will be a focus of efforts to press for an exit strategy.

We have also led lobbying efforts in Congress to support a bipartisan Afghanistan Study Group, modeled on the Iraq Study Group, which would help Congress and the president develop alternatives to the current failed policy in Afghanistan.

Iran

The congressional resolution introduced this summer that would give Israel a green light to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities initially garnered 47 cosponsors. Fortunately, most members of Congress have so far ignored this dangerous and misguided legislation. Yet some commentators continue to suggest that the United States should accept that military action against Iran may become necessary. The upcoming visit by the Iranian President to the United Nations in mid-September could provide a new rallying cry for advocates of military action. Our FCNL lobbyists will be working to insist that War Is Not the Answer with Iran and that sustained diplomacy is the path to resolving existing conflicts with the Persian nation.

Cutting Military Spending

FCNL lobbyists see the best opportunity in decades to focus attention on the huge proportion of federal expenditures that are spent on the Pentagon. The focus of lobbying this fall will be on insisting that cuts in Pentagon spending be part of the conversation for how to address the federal budget deficit. The good news is that members of Congress from both major political parties support that position.

But the Pentagon, military contractors, and their supporters in Congress are already organizing to resist cuts in military spending. We at FCNL will be working with grassroots lobbyists around the country to focus attention on the importance of cutting the military budget.

Immigration

Congress will not pass comprehensive immigration reform legislation this year. The question is whether Congress do anything to set the stage for the passage of this important legislation in the next year. FCNL lobbyists will be working with our partners to build support for such legislation in 2011.