To the amazement of many and the pleasure of none, Congress is still in Washington this week trying to wrap up the 2005 legislative session. Only two must-pass bills remain incomplete (the Labor/Health & Human Services and Defense appropriations bills), yet both the House and Senate seem preoccupied with other matters--namely, the spending and tax reconciliation bills, immigration reform, pension overhaul, and reauthorization of the USA Patriot Act, which some consider another must-pass (at least temporarily as it expires at the end of this year). That Congress is still working to complete appropriations bills that should have been finished in September is indicative of a legislature that has struggled to focus on its logical priorities throughout the course of the year. The two remaining appropriations bills have been delayed for a variety of reasons, some foreseen and some not. The House unexpectedly rejected the Labor-HHS bill by a vote of 209 - 224 on Nov. 17. Twenty-two Republicans voted against the bill, citing numerous problems, including the removal of spending earmarks for specific districts. GOP leaders were initially divided about whether to return to the conference and negotiate changes that would allow the bill to pass the House on its own or combine it with the Defense bill in a year-end "minibus." But the conferees for the Labor bill met the night of Dec. 12 and made small changes and minor modifications to the bill that are believed to ensure its passage. House negotiators increased funding for rural health care programs by $90 million and removed a provision barring Medicare coverage for erectile dysfunction drugs such as Viagra. Seven House Republicans cited the rural health care cuts as the primary reason they voted against the bill in November. Rep. David Obey (D-WI) criticized the amended conference report for continuing to under-fund priorities within the bill and simply reshuffling the configuration of funds to win the necessary number of votes. Obey released a statement maintaining, "This new version simply moves around a small amount money to make modest restorations in a few health programs by making deeper cuts elsewhere. The new bill retains most of the fatal flaws of the first. It is still a bad bill." The House is expected to vote as early as Wednesday to approve the revised conference agreement. The Defense bill has had its own challenges to passage, the most visible being a provision to put restrictions on treatment of detainees overseas. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) sponsored an amendment to the Defense bill that would prohibit "cruel, inhumane, or degrading" treatment of detainees by U.S. military personnel. Both the White House and top-ranking House Republicans oppose McCain's language, but GOP congressional leaders are optimistic about reaching a compromise on the language by the end of this week. Aside from the detainee provision, it is still unclear whether an across-the-board cut of between 1 and 2 percent to all discretionary spending will be included on the Defense bill. House conservatives are seeking the cut to help offset the cost of Hurricane Katrina emergency spending, but others in the GOP caucus want to exclude defense accounts from the cut, thereby reducing the savings by approximately 50 percent. Still more troubling, these cuts are being used as a bargaining chip with conservatives in the House. In order to reach consensus with the more moderate Senate and hold House conservatives in line on budget reconciliation cuts, House leaders are holding off on setting the level of an across-the-board cut until negotiations are complete. This gives them the flexibility to lower the mandatory cuts in reconciliation to appease moderate Republican Senators, but still hold on to conservatives in the House by promising to "make it up" to them with a larger across-the-board cut in discretionary spending. This is federal policy making at its most manipulative and cynical. Moreover, across-the-board cuts are counterproductive. Not only are they too small to make a significant difference for the long-term fiscal problems the country now faces, but they will scale back some of the very same programs and priorities Congress has recognized an increased need for in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina--especially those providing housing, health care, and nutritional assistance for the most vulnerable. Congress needs to act on both the Labor and Defense bills before the current continuing resolution expires on Dec. 17, leaving little time for an open and honest debate about the impact of the proposals now being throw around inside the Capitol.