Readying for Trump, Congress faces lame duck to-do list

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress still has some unfinished business before closing shop for the year, even as the focus shifts to the agenda of President-elect Donald Trump and unified Republican control of Congress and the White House in 2017.

[...] other fights, such as a GOP revolt over a move by Obama to impose workplace protections for gay and transgender employers of defense contractors — which has stalled the annual Pentagon policy measure — may be defused until next year.

[...] House conservatives and outside groups like Heritage Action, an advocacy arm of the conservative Heritage Foundation, say the measures should not advance in the lame-duck session.

[...] a key sticking point in deliberations over the must-pass $602 billion defense policy bill is a provision Obama and Senate Democrats say would undercut protections against workplace discrimination based on sexual or gender orientation.

McConnell has said one of his top priorities will be bipartisan legislation to speed federal approval of drugs and medical devices and boost biomedical research.

Supporters say that with advances like genetic mapping and biologic medicines produced in living cells, it's time to speed research and development.

McConnell has said he is interested in more money for regenerative medicine, Obama is interested in precision medicine and Vice President Joe Biden has sought new funding for cancer research since his son Beau died of brain cancer in 2015.