WASHINGTON — So far this year, Congress has done what it does best — spend a lot of money and make a lot of promises.
Now, as lawmakers return from a two-week spring break, comes the hard part: the actual crafting of legislation that will change how banks are regulated, health care is delivered and the nation consumes energy.
Over the next five weeks, leading up to Memorial Day, much of the action will come not in the full House or Senate, but in committee rooms.
“We’re laying the groundwork for the expected battles to come on energy, education and health care,” said Jim Manley, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.
Over the first months of this session, the first in 14 years with Democrats controlling the White House and both chambers of Congress, Democrats gave President Barack Obama a $787 billion economic-stimulus package and a $410 billion spending bill for this budget year. The House and Senate approved slightly different versions of a $3.6 trillion spending outline for the next budget year, which begins Oct. 1.
In the weeks ahead, lawmakers must reach a compromise on that budget plan and take up a separate big-money item: a White House request for $83 billion to finance military and diplomatic operations in Iraq and Afghanistan through the fall. Congress probably will give Obama the money but with grumbling from anti-war Democrats seeking a quicker reduction of the U.S. military presence in Iraq.
Military spending will come into the spotlight as summer nears and Congress turns to the Pentagon budget, which includes Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ proposals to scale back or eliminate some high-cost weapons programs affecting jobs in hundreds of congressional districts.
The recession will be front and center when the Senate tackles legislation Monday that would strengthen the ability of the Justice Department and FBI to fight those who are taking advantage of the mortgage crisis to defraud homeowners.
The Senate could act soon on a bill backed by Obama that would let cash-strapped homeowners seek mortgage relief through bankruptcy. The Senate must first resolve differences with the House, which voted to let bankruptcy judges lower a homeowner’s interest rate and principal. The banking industry opposes this idea.
In another gesture to vulnerable consumers, the House and Senate could take up a credit-card bill of rights. The aim is to limit the ability of credit-card companies to raise interest rates on existing balances and to require greater disclosure.
On the agenda
Health care overhaul: The Senate Finance Committee will hold the first of several public discussions Tuesday.
Energy: The House Energy Committee is expected to vote soon on climate- change legislation that could include a cap-and-trade system for carbon emissions.
Economy: The House Financial Services Committee could vote in early May on far-reaching rules aimed at averting a repeat of the financial meltdown.
Confirmations: A showdown could come this week over Christopher Hill, President Barack Obama’s choice to be ambassador to Iraq. Obama’s nominee to be health secretary, Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas, could face a rocky road to confirmation because of her support for abortion rights.
The Associated Press
