Expectations are generally low for the 118th Congress. Republicans and Democrats split control of the House and Senate, and the impending presidential election is expected to produce more political positioning than dealmaking. Furthermore, Congress in recent years has become increasingly polarized, unproductive, and focused on communications over legislating.
However, all is not lost. The previous Congress still achieved bipartisan deals in appropriations, infrastructure, veterans’ health care, and semiconductors. Beneath the infighting remains an undercurrent of lawmakers reaching across the aisle for bipartisan deals, which could bring a low-cost economic stimulus law and some marginal progress on deficit reduction.
Continue reading the entire piece here at the Peter G. Peterson Foundation
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Brian M. Riedl is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. Follow him on Twitter here.
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