The Week of May 5

Homeowner helper: The House gets serious about housing this week, lining up a bill that would cover up to $300 billion in federally backed mortgages for homes tipping into foreclosure. While they're at it, lawmakers may also okay a years-in-the-making bill to tighten oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two quasi-governmental agencies that are also in the mortgage backing business. The Senate, which already started on a small-fry housing bill, is expected to follow the House's lead in the upcoming weeks.

• see more on the housing fray

War spending: With the Iraq and Afghanistan wars due for a cash injection; the House could okay $180 billion this week to pay for the end '08 and start of '09. The president has asked for a "clean" bill without any home-spending add-ons, but passing up the chance to ride on the coattails of a must-pass war bill is too much to ask of lawmakers - so expect measures including: extensions for unemployment insurance, a sexual orientation hate crimes bill, and a hold on tightening Medicaid payments. Lawmakers may also revisit old scrimages over troop withdrawal timelines.

• see more on war spending and the battles over withdrawal

Farm slog: House and Senate leaders are crawling across the finish line to pass "the farm bill," the mammoth act which covers farm subsidies, conservation programs and food stamps. The only thing standing in their way is a potential veto from the president, who prefers fewer wealthy farmers to be eligible for subsidies and wants our international food aid programs to buy more food abroad (closer to the food's recipients).

• see more on what's in the farm bill

And more: The Senate hit a few bumps last week in getting an aviation bill off the ground; they'll try again this week. Senators may also vote on a flood insurance bill, while House members take up a bill to fight intellectual property piracy.

• see the federal aviation bill, HR 2881
• see the flood insurance bill, S 2284
• see the intellectual property bill, HR 4279

Down the Pike in '08

The Senate may follow up with the House's vote to triple funding for health programs in Africa (WP). It's not clear, though, if/when Congress will take up the president's call to offer $770 mill in emergency food aid to respond to the global food crisis.

Other national security bills that may return in '08 include: an effort to roll back detention policies passed by the last Congress - as well as use of data mining programs, giving enemy combatants' access to federal courts (S 185) and relocating Guantanamo prison to the US, as well as limiting the "interrogation techniques" that the CIA can use (WP).