The 108th Congress has gathered for one final lame-duck session to wrap up a few loose ends -- intelligence reform and a $388 billion omnibus spending bill. The spending measure, initially approved last month, is back under consideration due to an outcry over a provision giving legislators access to Americans' tax returns. The bill also includes 11,000 other measures, pork-barrel projects that allow representatives and senators to pump money into their districts.
Guests:
NPR's Ron Elving, senior Washington editor
Allan Hammons, executive director of the BB King Museum Foundation in Indianola, Miss.; the museum was awarded $1 million in the 2005 spending bill
Andy Taylor, senior writer, Congressional Quarterly
Tom Schatz president, Citizens Against Government Waste
Rep. Jose Serrano, minority Member on House Appropriations Committee; Democrat from New York
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