Only twice in the last 15 years has Congress been able to complete all 13 of the annual appropriations bills by the end of the fiscal year, and this year is no exception. To address this uncompleted business, the 108th Congress will reconvene Nov. 16 to begin a post-election lame-duck session.

Completing the annual appropriations bills -- required to fund the federal government -- may be Congress's most important constitutional duty. Yet year after year members fail to complete work on these bills, even though they prove over and over that they are capable of acting quickly and reaching agreement when they want to. This was demonstrated earlier this fall when the House and Senate took only one day to pass a supplemental spending bill to help hurricane victims in Florida.

We can expect to see the following development shortly after Congress reconvenes:

• Debt Ceiling. Treasury Department officials are predicting that federal spending will hit the spending ceiling some time around the week of Nov. 24, at which point Congress will need to act to increase the debt limit. Increasing the debt limit increases the amount of money that Congress is able to borrow, and thus, spend. This action will be one of the top priorities in the lame duck session. For more information, click here.
• Finish Appropriations Bills. Another priority will be passing the remaining appropriations bills, as the president has signed only the Department of Defense bill into law. Four out of 13 appropriations bills have made it through Congress; the other nine will likely be passed in a massive omnibus bill. See recent Washington Post and OMB Watcher articles for more information.
• Intelligence Reform Legislation. As of late last week, House and Senate conferees on the intelligence reform legislation were still deadlocked in trying to reach agreement on implementation of the recommendations from the 9/11 Commission. House Intelligence Chairman Pete Hoekstra (R-MI) said the four conferees were "committed to do whatever we can to try to make this bill a reality." The Senate leaders on the bill, Susan Collins (R-ME) and Joe Lieberman (D-CT), echoed the same message, making it likely for lame duck action and ensuring the bill will not have to start over with the next Congress.