Congress hits stride at end of 'lame duck' session

WASHINGTON — Despite partisan rancor and a recent election that shifted power to the Republicans, lawmakers left Capitol Hill on Wednesday for Christmas after giving President Obama almost everything on his wish list.In a final flurry of legislative dealmaking that capped one of the busiest sessions of Congress in years, the Senate passed a nuclear arms treaty with Russia, and both chambers cleared a bill to help survivors of the 2001 terrorist attacks.

"This has been the most productive post-election period we've had in decades," Obama said at a news conference held during the waning hours of the "lame duck" session. "If there's any lesson to draw from these past few weeks, it's that we are not doomed to endless gridlock."

Not only did Congress pass a series of controversial measures Obama had requested, it did so with some Republican support.

Advancing the president's top foreign policy priority, the Senate voted 71-26 Wednesday to adopt a nuclear arms reduction treaty with Russia that would trim both countries' strategic nuclear arsenals by roughly a third. Thirteen Republicans joined all Democrats to ratify the treaty.

"It makes a statement about the United States of America as a whole, not just the president," said Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass. "That's going to be critical in shaping opinion on a global basis."

Some Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, raised concerns about the treaty's impact on U.S. plans to build a missile-defense system. They argued that the White House was "jamming" the treaty through the final days of the 111th Congress.

McConnell said security should have been the focus, "not some politician's desire to declare a political victory and hold a press conference."

The treaty's passage came days after Republicans and Democrats voted together to extend Bush-era tax cuts set to end in January. In that case, Obama reached a deal with Senate Republicans to extend the cuts at all income levels. In 2008, Obama vowed to let the cuts expire for high earners.

Congress agreed to continue the tax cuts for two years and extend unemployment benefits for 13 months, at a cost of $858 billion.

Lawmakers started the session Nov. 15, after the midterm elections gave Republicans control of the House of Representatives and six new seats in the Senate. Obama later referred to the elections as a "shellacking," and while he committed to working more closely with Republicans, his legislative agenda had appeared uncertain.

"I know there will be tough fights in the months ahead," Obama said. "But my hope heading into the new year is that we can continue to heed the message of the American people and hold to a spirit of common purpose in 2011 and beyond."

Many of the proposals approved during the year-end session were controversial, said Thomas Mann, a congressional scholar at the Brookings Institution, a think tank, but the lame-duck session was "extraordinarily productive." Still, Mann said he is skeptical of similar output next year. "I'm expecting big fights."

Obama didn't get everything he wanted. The Senate failed to pass a bill to give legal status to some illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. by their parents. Lawmakers also failed to pass a series of spending bills, instead opting for a stopgap measure to keep the government running through March 4.

The measures approved include:

•A repeal of the ban on gays serving openly in the military, which Obama signed Wednesday. Military leaders will need months to implement it.

•A $4.2 billion measure that will benefit rescue workers who toiled at the World Trade Center in the weeks after the 9/11 attacks. It offers health assistance for those sickened by dust and debris. Congress passed the bill Wednesday after trimming its cost from $6.2 billion.

•A sweeping rewrite of the nation's food-safety laws that will give the Food and Drug Administration more power to inspect food production facilities and issue mandatory recalls of tainted products. After a phase-in period, high-risk food facilities will be inspected every three years.

•A $4.5 billion child nutrition plan that will expand the school lunch program and allow the government to set new standards for school meals, including in vending machines. The measure, championed by first lady Michelle Obama, would increase by 115,000 the number of low-income students who qualify for free or discounted meals.

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