Democrats ask to extend House session

House Democratic leaders are calling on Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to keep the chamber in session to tie up loose ends ahead of November's elections.

House GOP leaders have planned to recess Sept 21 for a seven-week break that extends for a week beyond the Nov. 6 elections. That follows a five-week August break from which Congress returned just 10 days ago. The Democratically controlled Senate has a nearly identical schedule. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and other top Democrats said leaving town without addressing a long list of unfinished business would create an "economic uncertainty" the country can "ill-afford." The Democrats are calling on Speaker Boehner to scrap the recess plans until the House passes legislation preventing the looming sequester cuts, addressing the expiring Bush tax cuts and reauthorizing the farm bill. Leaving Washington without tackling those issues, the Democrats wrote, would represent "a dereliction" of Congress's "duty to lead." Boehner spokesman Kevin Smith returned fire, arguing that House Republicans have passed bills addressing almost all of those issues, only to see them blocked by Senate inaction or veto threats from President Obama.