‘Terrified’ lobbyists brace for lame-duck chaos, expecting tough tax, budget votes
Kevin Bogardus
The Hill
April 18, 2012
Lobbyists are making sure to schedule their vacations before the November election in anticipation of a frenzied congressional session at the end of the year.
Many on K Street are living in fear of the lame-duck session that will begin when lawmakers return to Capitol Hill after ballots are cast. Big-ticket items — including the expiring Bush tax rates, budget sequestration and an increase in the debt ceiling — will have to be dealt with by Dec. 31.
Votes on those politically tough issues are unlikely during campaign season, so lobbyists are preparing for November and December to be their busiest work period of 2012.
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“The conventional wisdom is a lot won’t get done until the lame duck, but that doesn’t mean you don’t stop looking for opportunities,” Lehman said.
Others are working lawmakers hard and scheduling their life around the lame duck.
“I am definitely planning on working the entire month of December. The only vacation plans I have are for August,” said Michael Herson, president of American Defense International (ADI).
Herson is focused on the automatic budget cuts facing the Pentagon from sequestration, which are slated to be $500 billion over 10 years.
“It’s something the defense industry is definitely concerned about, and the effects are already beginning to be felt right now,” Herson said of the automatic cuts. “This is a problem that can’t wait for the lame duck to be fixed, if it’s going to be fixed right.”
Herson said he expects the House will move before the election to offset all of the budget cuts agreed to in last year’s deal to lift the debt ceiling. The question remains whether the Senate will act on that legislation.
