Photo:jcolman, Creative Commons, Flickr
The Senate gets to its SCHIP plans this week, voting to beef up the health care program which covers low income kids and their families. The five year $35b pricetag would be paid for by a 61 cent tax on cigarettes.

The House verges on hyperactivity this week possibly voting on (deep breath):

• its own SCHIP bill, which would add $50b to the program, along with a measure that would keep doctors' Medicare fees from dipping for the next two years;

• letting employees sue for wage discrimination after each pay check that gets cut (reversing a recent Supreme Court case);

• two final '08 budget bills – $460b for defense and $91b for agriculture. Although the defense bill doesn't include $142b that's expected to cover the wars, it will come with more battles over Iraq amendments; one that would start a drawdown in 60 days, others about required training and downtime for troops and one that would close Gitmo.

• a package of energy measures that are pretty slim on their own, but that may come with amendments to – increase gas mileage standards, push utilities to use renewable sources for 20% of their output, and boost biofuel production; and

• a measure that would make it easier for companies to divest from Iran and Sudan.

Both chambers will also try to polish off a long lingering lobby reform bill – that could possibly expose lobbyists' habit of "bundling" contributions – as well as a $20b water projects bill.