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Farm bill heads into lame duck with milk's permanent-law shield expiring Dec. 31
Voters handed both chambers to Democrats on Tuesday. The outgoing Congress now has until Dec. 31 before the suspension of 1949-era milk price support lapses, and until Dec. 11 before government funding runs out.
Congress comes back from Tuesday’s election with two hard dates and no farm bill. Government funding runs out on December 11. On December 31, the law that keeps 1938 and 1949 price support statutes from applying to milk expires. Voters gave Democrats control of both chambers starting in January, so the outgoing Congress now has to decide whether to finish a bill or leave it to their successors.