The state of play on Capital Hill

On Sept. 10, the 111th Congress returned to session after a month-long recess. Elected officials returned to work this week to face one of the most ambitious legislative agendas in more than half-century. In the coming weeks, members of Congress will continue to work on major climate change and clean energy legislation, financial system regulatory overhaul and a host of crucial spending bills. At the top of Congress' list, though, is President Obama's signature issue - healthcare reform. Here's what to look out for:

Health care, health care, health care:

After months of negotiations, missed deadlines and political theater, the Senate Finance Committee is expected to reach a deal at some point this week on a bipartisan version of healthcare reform legislation. Under the leadership of Chairman Max Baucus D-Mont., high-level talks between chief Republican negotiators Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, Mike Enzi, R-Wyo. and Olympia Snowe, R-Maine and moderate Democrats Ben Nelson, D-Neb. and Kent Conrad, D-N.D. - known collectively as the "gang of six" - have produced a bill that many think the Finance Committee will agree upon and report favorably to the full Senate. Key elements of the Baucus proposal include expansion of Medicaid eligibility for low-income families, a mandate that all individuals have health coverage and that all employers offer health insurance. It also includes the creation of state-level insurance "exchanges" that would offer competing plans to the uninsured, including coverage provided by nonprofit, member-run cooperatives, as an alternative to a government-run insurance plan. According to the Baucus bill, the plan would be financed by a proposed excise tax on insurers for any health plan that is valued above $8,000 for individuals or $21,000 for families. The full Finance Committee will begin work on the bill the week of Sept. 21.

Meanwhile, in the House of Representatives, debate continues on the merits of the so-called "public option." Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. continues to maintain that a strong, effective public health insurance option is crucial to any bill passing in the House of Representatives. It is thought that a watered-down public plan, or the total lack thereof, would lose the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. Given probable blanket opposition from House Republicans, the loss of these votes could result in defeat of the bill. House democrats, however, remain divided: progressives see the public option as a fundamental element of health care overhaul, while more moderate Blue Dog Democrats - led by Rep. Mike Ross, D-Ark., - remain wary of the fiscal and social consequences of large-scale government involvement in the healthcare sector.

Speaker Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., seem to be at odds on the necessity of the public option. At a Tuesday press conference with Pelosi, Hoyer admitted, "I'm not one of those who says that if you don't have a public option, it's not a good bill. I think it's a very good bill. I think the public option makes it better."

Three House committees have passed bills that include a public option, and the versions are being melded. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee's version of the overhaul also includes a government-run plan.

…And a Smart Car for every American!:

Senate action on climate change and clean energy legislation continues to be overshadowed and pushed into the background by the healthcare debate. Since Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., recently abandoned his previously set deadline for all relevant committees to have finished work on climate and energy legislation by Sept. 28, the future of a climate bill coming out of the Senate has been thrown into question. No new deadline has been set by Senate leadership, although Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer has indicated that her committee will begin work on a draft bill before the end of September. Chairman Baucus, meanwhile, continues to be engulfed in the healthcare debate and has not publicly stated the Finance Committee's intentions with respect to a climate and energy bill. Pressure for the Senate to act began to ramp up in early July after the House of Representatives passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act, which mandates a 17 percent reduction in U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, institutes a cap-and-trade system for major carbon emitters and includes numerous provisions for clean-energy job creation, home and business retrofits and tax credits.

Life After Ted:

Following the recent death of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Mass., politicos in both Washington and Massachusetts continue to figure out the "lay of the land" without the lion of the senate. In Massachusetts, speculation continues to swirl about Kennedy's successor in the Senate. Earlier this week, Kennedy's nephew and former Congressman Joseph Kennedy II publicly stated that he would not run in the January 2010 special election to fill the vacant seat. Kennedy was widely considered a favorite to win his uncle's seat; other Democratic contenders now include Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley and Representatives Edward Markey and Michael Capuano. Meanwhile, the Massachusetts state legislature could have a bill on the floor of the statehouse as early as this week that would allow Gov. Deval Patrick to appoint an interim replacement for Kennedy until the special election early next year. Should this become the case, the favorite for the appointment appears to be former Democratic National Committee chairman Paul Kirk. Kirk currently serves on the board of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.

Kennedy's death also leaves a vacancy at the top of the powerful Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., who led the committee in Kennedy's absence during its debate and eventual passage of the American Health Choices Act in July, was widely considered a top contender for the chairmanship. However, Dodd declined this opportunity earlier this week and chose to remain as Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, is now expected to assume leadership of the committee.

This week in Congress:

The House of Representatives is expected to take up legislation designed to protect consumers from risky mortgages and credit card abuses. Majority Leader Hoyer has also indicated that the House could begin consideration of student loan legislation at some point in the coming weeks. The Senate, meanwhile, will take up three key spending bills for fiscal year 2010.

You can't make this up:

"Mo money!"

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele invokes the late, great Biggie Smalls in response to a Howard University student's statement that she was pursuing a degree in business law (via Politico).