Both Chambers Of Congress Now In Session After Midterm Elections

Both chambers of Congress will be in session this week for the first time since the power dynamic shifted in the wake of the midterm elections.

The House has already been busy, but now the Senate also gets to work.

With Republicans now narrowly controlling the House and Democrats still holding a slim majority in the Senate, it’s going to be a challenge to get things done this year.

Already, a 'chicken'-style showdown over raising the debt ceiling is playing out in rhetoric coming from each side.

House Republicans can go it alone on oversight -- investigations into what they believe has been political bias in how the Justice Department has focused on the deeds of former President Trump, how the Biden administration has handled record border crossings, and of course classified documents being found at President Biden's private home.

"We need to know who had access to those documents," said Rep. James Comer (R-KY), who is now chairing the House Oversight Committee.

But if new House leaders hope to pass any legislation into law, they will almost certainly have to work across the aisle.

Oklahoma's House members are glad to be in the majority, but said they understand that, historically, it's taken bipartisanship to make real progress.

"And I believe right now there are some Democrats that want to work with Republicans on specific bills," said Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK1), "and so we’re working right now to try to figure out what those are."

Clearly one such bill, according to Oklahoma's senior congressman, Frank Lucas, will be the 2023 Farm Bill. Lucas said the wings of both parties have, in the past, opposed farm bills, meaning bipartisan support is a must.

"If you can't get a majority of the middle, there's not gonna be a farm bill," Rep. Lucas (R-OK3) said in a recent interview. "So, everything I care about requires the process working and this place functioning, and I'm going to do everything I can to make that happen, no matter what the wings may say at each other or me."

Rep. Stephanie Bice is also hopeful bipartisan legislation she intends to work on will find its way to the finish line. Bice will be co-chairing a bipartisan task force to focus on passing some form of paid family leave.

"It's one of the things that Oklahoma families have expressed, I think, their desire to me to try to get something done on that front," Bice (R-OK5) said in an interview, "and it impacts families across the country."

Congresswoman Bice and her Democratic co-chair, Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), will formally announce the formation of that task force later this week.