Congress busies itself with a couple of dead-end bills this week on energy, housing and Iraq, while long-stalled action – on the Farm Bill, secret intelligence courts, consumer product safety and patent reform – simmers on the side.
The House revives an energy bill that would extend and build out alternative energy incentives. While lawmakers are generally behind the bill's green tax credits, Republicans in the Senate and the president don't like its rollbacks on oil tax breaks that would pay for the green goods – and are almost certain to block final passage.
The Senate tosses a life-line to families on the cusp of home foreclosure with a bill that would funnel money toward rehabilitating ($4 billion) and refinancing ($10 billion) homes hit by subprime mortgages. The deal breaker may be a provision that lets bankruptcy judges restructure the mortgages of families going into foreclosure.
Senators will also test out another almost-sure-to-lose vote that would stop funding for troop deployments to Iraq in four months.
- see more on Iraq
The House may also vote to set up a quasi-independent ethics office this week, while both chambers okay ongoing special trade status for Andean nations.
In the works – and what could pop up for a floor vote in the upcoming weeks – are a toy consumer protection bill, patent reform, the Farm Bill and a foreign intelligence bill.