The second session of the 119th Congress began this week with all sorts of hustle and bustle, as legislation lost in the usual holiday shuffle sprang back to life and lawmakers from both parties struggled to get a grip on what the Trump administration is doing in Venezuela. The House will vote on a bill forced onto the floor via a discharge petition, and both Houses could even vote to override one or two Trump vetoes. Underlying all the activity is the fact that the federal government will at least partially shut down again on January 30 if Congress doesn’t approve spending bills by then. And it’s a midterm election year, which typically means lots of empty “messaging” votes in Congress but very little risk-taking or meaningful legislation. An ancient Beltway truism holds that important stuff only happens in odd years with no national elections. This is an even year.

Still, there is plenty of work to do in Congress, even if the month ends in the ignominy of another government shutdown. Here’s a rundown of the agenda facing Congress, and a whether they’re likely to let the lights go out again just months after the last shutdown.

Before Congress adjourned for the holidays, Hakeem Jeffries successfully filed a discharge petition signed by all House Democrats and a handful of House Republicans forcing a floor vote on a simple three-year extension of the enhanced Obamacare premium subsidies that expired on December 31. House Speaker Mike Johnson was able to stall that vote until Congress reconvened, but now the vote will happen later this week. If everyone who signed the petition is present and doesn’t flip-flop, it will pass. We’ll see vast celebrations from Democrats who have made the subsidies and the........

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