Questions for the next Congress
With the 118th Congress on track to be the least productive in modern history, lawmakers next year will face a new, low bar.
As of November, just 106 laws were enacted, less than a third of the 365 enacted laws by the preceding, 117th Congress. When sitting members return to a lame duck session later this month, they’ll have a long to-do list but are unlikely to undo this new distinction.
Still, if Washington enters a new season of divided government next year, as seems likely, Congress could be on track for an even less productive future.
“Is this Congress going to be any better at solving public problems than the one that preceded it?” says Sarah Binder, politics professor at George Washington University. “It’s a pretty low bar ... (the 118th Congress) really only managed to reach agreement on ... the must-pass measures.”
And those same must-pass measures will be part of the first wave of urgent questions facing the next Congress.
That includes addressing the U.S. debt limit yet again after lawmakers suspended it in 2023 and kicked the can to next year. On Jan. 2, the debt ceiling will be reinstated, starting a new clock for the U.S. to default on its debts, which would threaten to plunge the U.S. economy into crisis. It will be up to the Treasury Department to warn how much time is left before that limit is breached.
