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As Yale law professor Bruce Ackerman says, “It is utterly undemocratic for repudiated representatives to legislate in the name of the American people.” Indeed, John Nagle of Notre Dame has demonstrated that these sorts of concerns animated the push for the 20th Amendment, which, after 1933, eliminated the long and mandatory lame duck session that had followed each election since the founding of the Republic. Lame duck sessions differ from regular legislative sessions in that some members will have lost their reelection bids and others will be on the brink of voluntary retirement.įor many, the mere presence of members who will not be returning is prima facie evidence that lame duck sessions are undesirable. In this paper, we explain how incentives change for lame duck legislators, briefly review past research on lame ducks, and present our statistical findings that support and add to the existing literature. Past studies have found lame duck legislators to be less likely to indulge most special interests, but others suggest some legislators may be more likely to indulge one particular special interest: their next employers. Our analysis supports the primary findings of the existing literature on lame ducks. Beyond these voting patterns, it is difficult to say whether members vote more or less “responsibly” during lame duck sessions of Congress. In these sessions, however, a new pattern emerges: Senators become less likely to cast bipartisan votes. These patterns persist in very lame duck sessions-those that take place following the loss of majority status within a single house. There are subtle but statistically significant differences between voting patterns in regular and lame duck sessions, as revealed by analysis of more than 52,000 House and Senate roll call votes.ĭuring a lame duck session, members are slightly less likely to side with their own parties and less likely to vote at all.
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Lame duck sessions are often criticized by the victorious party in the election, and a common critique is that the lame duck members-undisciplined by electoral constraints-vote irresponsibly. In addition, ORR members are pushing for key recreation-friendly provisions – like language calling for investment in outdoor recreation in rural America – to be included in a reauthorized Farm Bill.Ĭlick here for an ORR GR Committee compilation of key “lame duck session” issues.Ĭlick here to learn more about ORR’s long-term policy priorities.A lame duck session of Congress occurs when legislators meet after an election has been held but before the next Congress has taken office. ORR members are also supporting a comprehensive public lands package that reduces the deferred maintenance backlog for key visitor infrastructure, reduces red tape around sensible land management projects, modernizes fisheries management, expands access to America’s public lands and waterways and reauthorizes the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
#LAME DUCK SESSION UPDATE#
ORR members are seeking funding for continuing and expanding the Outdoor Recreation Satellite Account, which measures the economic impact of outdoor recreation, to update the results released in September and to develop state-level assessments. As the 115 th Congress prepares to return for a short “lame duck session,” members of the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable’s (ORR) government relations committee are hard at work urging passage of key legislation reflecting ORR’s policy agenda.