Opponents of a post-election session are primarily wary of lawmakers passing another catchall omnibus government spending package that would likely include a slew of policy riders.
“It’s the least accountable time for Congress,” Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.), a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, told The Hill. “We let people who have either quit or been fired or retired vote on spending billions and billions of taxpayer dollars after their period of accountability has ended.”
“This is something that is supposed to be Republican orthodoxy. That the least accountable government is the worst government,” he said.
The last two lame-duck sessions in 2014 and 2012 featured difficult negotiations over an omnibus spending package and expired tax breaks.
The pressure to reach a deal in both work periods was intense, with lawmakers in both parties eager to return home for the holidays — and that desire to leave town is something that congressional leaders often count on when wrapping up difficult legislation.
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