Oregon Public Broadcasting

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid Monday threatened to call lawmakers back to Washington D.C.  late in the year, in an unusual lame duck session.

Congress hasn’t passed any spending bills, and has a huge portion of legislation on its plate. Oregonians are waiting on several bills, as Central Oregon correspondent Ethan Lindsey reports.

The Senate is hoping to vote on a huge package of legislation, pre-approved by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

One bill would protect 30,000 acres of Oregon’s Badlands, east of Bend and 9,000 acres near the John Day River.

Senators say the throw-it-all-in-the-pot approach is necessary because Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn keeps blocking individual bills.

Brent Fenty is the executive director of the Oregon Natural Desert Association.

Brent Fenty: “This a unique year for legislation in the Senate. Instead of passing individual bills based on their own merits, we’re passing these large packages. And really this is the only way to get business done this year, with the approach that Senator Coburn has taken.”

Oregon Democrat Ron Wyden sponsored the two Oregon bills; Republican Gordon Smith also signaled his support.

If the Senate manages to push the bills through, the House must approve them to get them to the President’s desk.