Reid lays out lame-duck agenda

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has scheduled a busy work period between Election Day and Christmas that could end up being Democrats’ final weeks in the Senate majority.

After months of legislative gridlock, Reid hopes to partially redeem the 113th Congress, which is on track to be the least productive Congress in recent history.

{mosads}Reid says the Senate will take up the Marketplace Fairness Act, a bipartisan measure that would allow states to collect taxes from online retailers; a package of tax extenders; an omnibus bill funding government for fiscal 2015; the annual Defense Department authorization; and a resolution authorizing military action against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

The use-of-force resolution may be wrapped into the Defense authorization bill.

Reid will also try to move as many of President Obama’s nominees as possible.

“We have to do something about Marketplace Fairness. That’s long, long overdue. And we’re going to do whatever it takes to get that done,” he said. “We have to do the tax extenders.”

He called the lack of action on those expired and expiring tax provisions “extremely hurtful” to businesses and people who ride mass transit.

“We have to do nominations, we have to continue that,” he said.

“We have a lot to do in the lame duck. I don’t want to limit it to this, but these things are on my mind,” he added.