Election years are notoriously bad times to get any legislation done. Especially when you have a lame duck executive.

The president has virtually no political capital to push any bills, and both parties are happy to avoid controversial issues that could create awkward soundbites during campaign season.

While real issues get ignored, what you can expect to see are must-pass bills (like the budget) as well as dead-end votes that earn easy political points even though they never make it past a veto (like a time-line for withdrawal from Iraq or funding for stem-cell research).

With that said, Dems as well as the GOP know they can't go home with nothing done, so they may try to find at least one issue where they can be useful. Measures to prop up the sagging mortgage market are one good bet.

Education. Overdue for a renewal - and re-haul - No Child Left Behind could be debated this year, possibly easing up on the bills requirements.

Housing. With subprime loans continuing to rock the mortgage and - wider - credit markets, Congress may try to keep more families from defaulting on their loans while tightening the rules on brokers and mortgage backers.

Intelligence. With a short term bill set to expire in February, the Senate will be taking an early look at a surveillance law that would give the courts a little oversight over the NSA wiretap program.

Taxes. Congressional leaders and the administration are tossing
out bod ideas on tax reform - from permanenty getting rid of the
Alternative Minimum Tax to streamlining corporate taxes - but it's hard
to imagine anything but short-term fixes will get to the president's
desk.

Trade. Congress left a few free trade deals - with South Korea, Panama and Columbia - in limbo last year, but with little love for free trade, they're unlikely to make any headway this year. A better shot of getting congressional action this year are a bunch of bills that would pressure China to raise the value of the Yuan and rein in intellectual property pirates.