The Lame Duck, Part 2

In the past two weeks, America has experienced what can only be described as whiplash as Congressional leadership, the Senate, House and President Trump bicker over funding priorities and principles. The President has flip-flopped on his insistence for border wall funding and his threats of government shutdown. On December 13, the day we recorded part 1 of this two-part Lame Duck series, we were still optimistic that a handful of important public lands bills—including the Land and Water Conservation Fund reauthorization—would get attached to a large omnibus funding package. We were also optimistic Congress and the President would avert a shutdown. Unfortunately, hope for the omnibus package—and with it public lands bills—eroded early this week. As of the time we recorded this episode, a continuing resolution hadn’t yet been reached. OIA Government Affairs Manager Jess Wahl again helps us understand how the disagreements in Washington stymied progress for critical public land policy that, ironically, has more bipartisan support than almost anything else on Capitol Hill.