The Congress That Stole Christmas - Festive Merriment Dampened by Ongoing Fiscal Cliff Fight
The United States Congress could reprise its role as the Grinch who stole Christmas, as lawmakers continue to bicker toward an end-of-year fiscal cliff deadline that threatens to drag legislative drama through the holidays.
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, told fellow Republicans on Wednesday to not make any serious plans around or after Christmas, implying that work on resolving the fiscal cliff would extend well through the holiday.
“We can do things very quickly, but this is not something we can do very easily, at least as far as bill-drafting goes,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., told reporters on Tuesday. “I think it’s going to be extremely difficult to get it done before Christmas, but it could be done.”
Yet these politicians are engaging in just the latest version of a yuletide game of beat-the-clock in Washington.
Christmas trees, menorahs and other festive adornments have been placed at the White House and Capitol, but a glum sentiment has overtaken Washington. And it’s all thanks to the emerging annual tradition of late-December partisan standoffs as the president and Congress race to complete unfinished business.