The House and Senate have gone home to campaign. When members return for the lame duck, they’ll have a few short weeks to get something big done before the 119th Congress ends.
Some bipartisan bills always get done. The NDAA is must-pass, appropriations are must-pass-eventually, and dozens of noncontroversial measures clear by unanimous consent or voice vote. The harder test is a bill nobody has to pass. That requires real time, political capital, and expertise.
This summer’s housing bill passed that test. The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act became law in July without President Trump’s signature, and it offers a road map.
It starts with relationships. Senate Banking Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) and Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) are not ideological soulmates, and neither are House Financial Services Chairman French Hill (R-AR) and Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA). But they work well together, and they delivered margins big enough that the White House’s indifference didn’t matter. Permitting reform is following the same playbook. After months of stops and starts, Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Martin Heinrich (D-NM) released final text today as the Senate adjourned for midterms.
It also helps when voters already care. Housing moved because families in every district are feeling the cost of living, not because Congress fell in love with housing policy. Fans feel it about the Protect College Sports Act and how athletes get paid. And energy stakeholders, from the oil and gas industry to the renewables sector, have invested many years in reforming the permitting system for energy projects.
Strong working relationships and invested stakeholders have teed up the Protect College Sports Act and the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act for consideration during the lame duck. Nothing is guaranteed, but even a polarized Congress can still get something done.
Gina Mahony is a managing director at Cogent Strategies, where she advises organizations on energy, tax, health care, education and financial services policy. She brings more than two decades of experience, including 11 years as a senior policy adviser on Capitol Hill and leading her own government relations firm.