By CongressDaily staff,
© National Journal Group Inc.
Monday, Feb. 11, 2008

The warm, fuzzy feelings that came out of last week's passage of an economic stimulus package might not last through Valentine's Day, as tough votes await the Senate on legislation overhauling the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, lawmakers continue picking through the FY09 budget -- and everyone wants to get out of town for the Presidents Day recess.

The Senate is expected to vote as early as Tuesday on the bill overhauling the 1978 FISA.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he wants the Senate to vote on final amendments to a FISA reform bill and then vote on final passage of the legislation Tuesday.

He said he wants the Senate to quickly conference the bill with the House this week before a temporary law altering FISA expires Friday.

But the Senate must decide whether telecommunications companies should have retroactive legal liability for helping the administration conduct warrantless electronic surveillance on U.S. residents dating back to 2001.

Three amendments are pending in the Senate that would strike or significantly alter a provision in the bill giving immunity to the companies, which face about 40 lawsuits.

One amendment would allow the secret FISA court to determine if the government should be substituted as the defendant for the companies in the lawsuits. Another would allow the court to determine if the companies should be given immunity. And a third would not give the companies immunity.

The White House has threatened to veto a final bill if it does not include legal protections for the companies.

But the Senate faces a tough conference with House Democrats, who pushed through a FISA bill in the fall that does not give the companies immunity.

Key Democrats have said they needed to review legal documents underpinning the warrantless surveillance program before deciding whether the companies should be granted immunity.

The White House will send the annual Economic Report of the President to Congress today. And the administration has set Valentine's Day, Thursday, as its unofficial deadline to send Congress a love note on how Medicare should be reformed so that it does not go broke.

Under the Medicare Modernization Act, the White House is required to give lawmakers a plan because Medicare spending has exceeded 45 percent of general revenues two years in a row.

There is a debate within the administration about whether President Bush is required to send a Medicare plan to Congress.

Referring to constitutional concerns Bush raised when he signed the MMA, OMB officials say they do not believe the administration is required to do anything.

HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt has said the administration will respond to the 45 percent "trigger," but he has not indicated how detailed the White House plan will be or whether it will go beyond the president's budget proposal.

Leavitt will likely be peppered with questions about the administration's plans for the "trigger bill" when he appears before the Ways and Means Committee Wednesday. He is slated to appear before the House Energy and Commerce and Appropriations committees on Thursday and the Budget Committee Friday.

Meanwhile, House Democrats this week might bring to the floor a plan to extend and expand upon billions of dollars worth of renewable energy and efficiency tax incentives at least partially paid for by repealing incentives for oil and gas companies.

House and Senate Democratic leaders have been discussing what is doable in the Senate. Senate Democrats in December fell one vote short of getting a $21.8 billion renewable tax plan attached to broader energy legislation.

The plan, which was worked out between Democratic leaders on the House and Senate tax writing committees, was blocked by Senate Republicans who targeted its repeal of $13 billion in incentives for oil and gas companies as a measure that would hurt the industry, consumers and investors.

The re-emergence of the debate this year follows another record year in profits for most major oil companies.

ExxonMobil posted more than $40 billion in profits last year, the highest ever for a U.S. company for the second year in a row.

Gas prices remain close to $3 per gallon nationally and crude oil prices continue to hover around $90 per barrel.

There is widespread congressional support for extending production and investment tax credits for wind, solar, geothermal and other renewable power sources that expire at the end of the year.

Renewable energy industry officials say these credits need to be extended early this year to give sufficient lead time for projects and save jobs. Senate Democrats were unable to grant a one-year extension of these credits as part of a larger failed Finance Committee economic stimulus plan last week.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has targeted oil and gas incentives since the first days of this Congress and it is unclear how long the dissension over this issue will delay or otherwise affect when the renewable tax extensions become law.

The White House threatened to veto a $16 billion House-passed renewable energy tax package in August because of the repeals of oil and gas incentives.

If the House moves forward this week, it is expected to be on legislation similar to the package passed in August, heightening tensions with the administration.

The Senate meets today at 2 p.m. to resume consideration of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act measure.

The House is not in session today. On Tuesday the House meets at 12:30 p.m. for morning hour and 2 p.m. for legislative business. Votes will be postponed until 6:30 p.m. On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday the House meets at 10 a.m. for legislative business.

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