Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid is using his final weeks as majority leader to threaten one of lawmakers’ most valuable assets: Recess.
Facing down a daunting list of tasks, ranging from funding the government past Dec. 11 to approving a number of new ambassadors, and less than two weeks to do it before Congress’s target adjournment at the end of next week, the Nevada Democrat said that the lame duck Congress’s work may require senators to stay in Washington for an extra week — and may even threaten Christmas.
“We may have to be here a third week and everyone should understand that. Our most important task at hand is to pass bills to fund out government, keep it from shutting down,” Reid said on Monday afternoon shortly after the Senate began its last work period of the 113th Congress.
“We have a lot to do. And there isn’t much time to accomplish it. I urge all senators to work hard to complete our work in a timely and efficient fashion. We may have to be here the week before Christmas … and hopefully, not into the Christmas holiday,” he added.
The apocalypse is obviously nigh. I mean, have you ever heard of someone who MIGHT have to work the week BEFORE Christmas? We are, after all, only paying these poor dears $174,000 a year, what right do we have to, you know, expect things from them?
Normally I am a big fan of Congress working as little as possible but this may actually be a good sign. I thought Harry might just leave the “legislative” duties to His Executive Orderness in the Oval Office until the end of the year, which would have been even worse than Congress doing things. Now that POTUS and Senate Dems are spatting, it may serve as a refresher course in the separation of powers and the respective responsibilities that go along with that separation.
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