Congressional Agenda for 2010: Controversy and Budget Busting

Ms. Pelosi has made it clear that she will wait for the Senate to act on immigration reform before she asks her membership to take yet another difficult vote. After passing climate change, financial regulatory reform and a permanent estate tax extension through the House, Pelosi's strategy on immigration reform is to wait to see what the Senate gets done. "We have been ready for a long time," Pelosi said last month in speaking about immigration reform. "The plan has always been for the Senate to move forward. The Senate will go first."

Beyond their proactive agenda, a series of controversial measures left over from last year's Congressional calendar threaten to overshadow the popular issues the Democrats want to focus on. Three expiring provisions of the Patriot Act, which give the government authority to search telephone, email and other communications, must be addressed by Congress before the end of February. And the House and Senate both must vote to raise the ceiling on the national debt above $12.4 trillion to keep the government operational. With concern about the debt rising among voters and members of Congress alike, approving an increase in more deficit spending will likely require a contentious debate.

Add to that a Senate vote to raise the estate tax, which dropped to zero this year, the last year of Bush-era tax cuts, to 45 percent, along with upcoming Congressional hearings looking into the Christmas Day terrorist bombings, and Reid and Pelosi have a message that could get away from them with the help of Republicans in Congress who are eager to paint them as big spending, tax raising, soft-on-terror liberals.

With the elections just ten months away, Democrats know they need to strike a balance between being responsive to core interest groups and satisfying the public at large, which polls show have one issue on their minds: the economy.

A CNN Opinion Research poll last month found that 40 percent of Americans say the economy is the most important issue facing the country today, while health care came next at just 17 percent. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan ranked with 16 percent, and the federal budget deficit came in fourth at 13 percent. Education, terrorism and the environment rounded out the list, all in low single digits.

Frank Newport, the editor-in-chief of the Gallup Poll, told Politics Daily that the health of the economy and perception of health care will be the two driving factors for Democrats on the ballot in November, but he added that two data points should raise red flags for all members of Congress as they are planning their agendas for the year.

"When people were asked what percentage of their tax dollars are being wasted in Washington, the answer was 50 cents on the dollar, the highest number in Gallup's history," Newport said. "When people were asked, 'How much trust and confidence do you have in the legislative branch,' 45 percent said a great deal or a fair amount, the lowest number we've seen since 1972."

The House gavels into session for the legislative year at noon on Tuesday.