By Jordan Stephen
It has become something of a holiday tradition.
Capitol Hill, which has earned a reputation as a beacon of lethargy and obstruction, kicks into high gear just weeks before legislators depart for their December vacation.
This year is no different as a number of important bills are seeing movement in both chambers of Congress.
Perhaps the most vital piece of legislation is the "omnibus" package which provides funding to the federal government through September of next year. The bill must be passed before Dec. 11th in order to avoid a government shutdown.
After years of clamoring from state transportation departments, a comprehensive highway funding bill found support form congressional leaders and is expected to pass both chambers by Friday.
The deal allocates a much needed $305 billion for transportation infrastructure.
Lawmakers are also expected to tackle education policy, another divisive issue.
Reformation of the controversial No Child Left Behind Act is likely to occur sometime in the next week. The policy's replacement, known as the Every Child Succeeds Act would diminish the role the federal government has in setting public school standards.
Old battles are still being fought, however.
The Senate is preparing to vote on a bill that would repeal substantial portions of Obamacare and sap federal funding from Planned Parenthood. While Obama is almost certain to veto those pieces of legislation, the maneuver will put pressure on Democrats in the lead up to the 2016 primaries.
Congress' pivot towards domestic issues has taken pressure off the hot-button topic of Syrian refugees.
Despite heated rhetoric in recent weeks, it seems unlikely that there will be movement on the Hill to further restrict the entrance of migrants into the United States.
But the season of compromise is sure to be short-lived. When legislators return from vacation full of Christmas ham and nursing healthy New Year's hangovers, citizens can expect a return to Congress's usual, idle ways.
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