Lame Duck Rumors

from HAMMOND LAW GROUP LLC

The House and Senate get back to Washington DC on Tuesday, December 5. This will be the final session for the Lame Duck period. Depending on how much progress they are making, the session could last for just a few days or continue for most of the month. Here are a few rumors that we at Hammond Law Group are hearing could happen during the Lame Duck.

1. The AHA and others still are pushing for the SKIL Bill. Some have pegged our chances of getting a Lame Duck SKIL Bill at 50-50.

2. Others tell us that some Congressmen are advocating a 12,000-15,000 visa allotment for Schedule A visas. This would be a band-aid measure designed to get us visas until a CIR-type bill could be passed in spring/summer 2007.

3. Some GOP members do not want any appropriations measures – including the 12,000-15,000 band-aid or a more robust SKIL Bill – attached to any appropriations bill. In other words, they want to pass a Continuing Resolution (CR) and then they just want to go home. The CR effectively extends the funding for the Iraq War into the New Year and then lets the next Congress deal with it.