This Week on Capitol Hill

The end-of-the-year congressional cram has arrived - with lawmakers packing in a tight floor schedule of must-pass legislation this week.

The Senate picks through the farm bill, a five year $288b grocery bag of agricultural subsidies, food stamps and conservation programs which is up for its occasional renewal. With a version already passed in the House and at least a week of debate expected in the Senate, fiscal conservatives will do their darnedest to trim down farm supports, but probably with little luck.

The House votes on an $81b tax bill - extending popular tax cuts and keeping middle income families out of the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) trap for another year. The AMT, originally designed for wealthy folk but not designed to account for inflation, would hike up taxes for millions of Americans if Congress didn't okay a mass exemption, which it does every year. The problem is how to pay for the $81b; House leaders would like to raise taxes on executives, international corporations and private investment groups while the Senate prefers to add it on to the nation's debt tab.

The House also plans votes on a free trade deal with Peru, HR 3688, as well as a bill that would let states pool disaster insurance funds, HR 3355.

Both chambers may dive into a long awaited spending battle with the president this week. With Bush promising to nix their '08 budget for being $22b pricier than his own, Congress is figuring out how to get its spending bills past a veto without caving or getting too much political egg on its face. The going solution is to send the president the budget in mini-bulk packages he can't refuse (instead of 12 separate bills). Lawmakers vote on the first veto-resistant pack this week combining the military construction and veterans' bill (Bush honey) with the labor-health-human-services-education bill (Bush vinegar). While it's at it, Congress may also vote this week to override the president's veto of a $23b water works bill, HR 1495, which he also thought cost too much.

If you want to let your Congressfolk know where you stand on any of the issues above, you can email them through Congress.org, because...

Hey, it's your democracy too.

- teamJoe

Next update: November 13