While the elections may seem like an end to a cycle of policymaking before a new Congress gets sworn in, the reality is that lawmakers are still trying to work their way through important legislation before the end of the year.
The biggest item on the agenda is a bill to fund the federal government and avoid a shutdown – an issue that was supposed to have been resolved before October but has slid into the holiday season.
In fact, in the past five decades, Congress has only completed the appropriations process on schedule three times.
