This Week on Capitol Hill

Congress will have to work at lightspeed to cover its wish list - of energy fixes, economy boosts, tax extenders, defense authorization and a budget tide-over - before its target head-home date of September 26. It may end up colliding a few measures together, fusing exotic bills that can win enough votes for passage - or, of course, end up in a legislative black hole.

Energy: Both the House and Senate could unfold energy packages this week, mixing off-shore drilling measures with any number of other energy reforms, including tax breaks and cash for alternative energy development, mandates for electricity companies to use renewable energy, tighter regulation on oil speculation, heating assistance and taxes on the oil industry. First up is likely to be a House bill that allows drilling 50 miles off shore in approving states (although states wouldn't get any share in oil revenue). Hill watchers are suspicious of how genuinely the pols want to pass bipartisan legislation - versus how much the compromise bills are really about political grandstanding.

Taxes: $42 billion in alternative energy tax incentives might get folded into a larger tax bill in the Senate. A pile of popular tax breaks - including research and development credits and middle-class cover from the Alternative Minimum Tax - are set to expire this year, unless Congress votes to roll them over. A disagreement over how much those tax extensions should be paid for by offsets elsewhere in the budget may, however, keep the House and Senate from passing a final bill.

Defense: The Senate is closing in on passage of the yearly Defense Authorization bill (S 3001), although a one-senator stand to keep earmarks out of any (semi-secret) conference bill is holding up a final vote.

Next up

A second stimulus: With a still flagging economy, Congress plans a second - $50 billion - cash injection to stoke spending. But instead of checks to taxpayers this time the boost will come in the form of infrastructure investments, cash to help states with Medicaid costs, home heating help and a possible expansion of food stamp coverage.

09's budget: In theory, Congress is supposed to finish a budget by October 1, when fiscal year '09 starts. In practice, Dems have known all year they'd be punting the passage of a final budget to January, when they hope to have a more sympatico president. In the meantime, Congress will have to pass a "continuing resolution" to keep the government running at 08's funding levels.

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: September 22