With so much attention on the new administration, it is easy to forget the current Congress has work it both must and may choose to do before it ends. The results of the election will certainly influence the lame-duck agenda, but most things set by Congress’ inability to act in a timely way. Although the Republicans may opt for a quick session in order to leave most legislative activity for the new Congress and administration when it has a stronger hand, here are a few things that are top contenders for possible action in the lame duck Congress:

Fiscal year 2017 appropriations. So much for “regular order.” Fiscal year 2017 began six weeks ago, and Congress has passed only one of the 13 appropriations bills. Current funding for federal government ends on Dec. 9. At a minimum, Congress needs to pass a short- or long-term continuing resolution to avoid a shutdown. It could opt to pass an omnibus appropriations bill or a handful of minibuses to fund operations through the rest of fiscal year 2017. Odds seem to favor a short-term spending bill until March, allowing the new Congress to set spending levels for the remainder of this fiscal year.

More Overseas Contingency Operations money. It seems likely the request from the Defense Department for more money in this war fund, in the form of an “emergency supplemental,” will be granted during the lame duck. The request is meant to fund the continued presence of more than 8,000 troops in Afghanistan through the end of the year. This account was originally intended to be a relatively small line item in the Pentagon budget to fund emerging requirements, but it has morphed into a slush fund for the Pentagon to fund all kinds of things outside of its base budget. At almost $6 billion dollars, this latest request seems to continue this trend, as the president’s fiscal year 2017 budget request included money already for a continued presence in Afghanistan.

National Defense Authorization Act. Historically, this is one thing Congress seems to always find a way to get done, even if retroactively. Although there were originally differences about how much Congress should increase the base budget and whether to do it by raiding the war accounts, conferees reportedly split the difference between the two chambers and agreed on $9 billion more than the request. But a lot of details were still unresolved when Congress adjourned for the election.

Water Resources Development Act. If we sound like a broken record when it comes to this bill, it’s because Congress keeps making the same mistakes. The largest challenge facing the Corps of Engineers water resources program is the lack of a prioritization system for allocating limited tax dollars. While the current versions passed by the Houseand Senate still lack this prioritization system, they pile billions of dollars in additional water projects on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. This legislation also includes emergency funding for the long-simmering water crisis in Flint, Michigan, making its passage even more likely.

Tax extenders. Last December, Congress passed the Taxibus, so-named because it included extension of certain tax extenders, in some cases permanently. Tax extenders are a collection of various tax preferences that Congress repeatedly extends, rather than making permanent (or letting them expire), masking their true costs. There are more than 30 of these extenders that will expire this year unless Congress acts. There is also precedent for Congress renewing these provisions retroactively, so even if Congress doesn’t act, they may still come back next year. With all the talk of comprehensive tax reform, it is also possible Congress takes a pass on these now and then rolls them into that effort.

The actions this Congress will take in its last weeks are all items it should have checked off its list over the past several months. How they choose to set up the next Congress will give us some indication of what to expect when the new administration and new Congress come to town next January.

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