The big-deal bills Congress needs to pass before the end of the year

Lawmakers are going down to the wire on vital government funding and defense policy bills.

With the holidays fast approaching, Congress is facing a familiar time crunch on two must-pass bills — a government funding measure and the annual defense policy bill known as the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

The immediate deadline for a spending measure is December 16, when current funding expires, but January 3, when a new Congress will be sworn in and Republicans will take control of the House, is the bigger concern for lawmakers.

Last year at this time, the NDAA was also still tied up in Congress; it only passed the Senate on December 15 after a prolonged fight, and an omnibus appropriations bill took several months and three CRs.

There’s even more urgency to pass the NDAA and the omnibus bill before the end of the year since unified Democratic control of government will end at noon on January 3. Republicans are set to take control of the House with a slim majority, which will complicate future legislating, and current House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is expected to replace Nancy Pelosi as speaker of the House despite some internal GOP resistance.

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