Congress gets back to work this week, but there's little time left in their abbreviated election year.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats bent on showing they can govern and Republicans anxious about a sour re-election climate are pushing a pared-down summer agenda in Congress.

Lawmakers want to try to save homeowners from foreclosure, avert Medicare cuts and give the government power to spy on suspected terrorists.

Gasoline prices have emerged as a chief concern among voters. But lawmakers probably will not put aside their partisan blame-fest and compromise on an energy measure that could offer some relief, either immediately or down the road.

The Senate planned to return Monday and the House on Tuesday. Their abbreviated election-year calendar leaves little time to cut deals. Lawmakers will scatter again in August for their annual monthlong break and the two parties' presidential conventions.

With their attention turning increasingly to re-election campaigns, not to mention the White House race, members of Congress will be away from Washington much of the fall.

"There just isn't much sand left in the top of the hourglass," said Stephen Hess, a Brookings Institution congressional scholar. "They've done whatever heavy lifting they're capable of doing."

In the time that remains, leaders intend to act on an array of politically appealing legislation. Examples include banning lead in toys and approving an ambitious global health initiative — a $50 billion program to combat AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in Africa and elsewhere.

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell predicts his party will hold most, if not all, of their seats.

(CNN) — Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) gave a bleak outlook on the prospects for a Republican-led Senate in 2009.

During an interview with CNN’s Late Edition, McConnell told guest host Candy Crowley that the numbers were not in the GOP’s favor.

“We are not going to be back in the majority in the Senate next year,” said McConnell. “The numbers make that impossible.”

Republicans in the Senate have been gearing up for the elections in November despite grim conditions. Five GOP senators are retiring this year: Sen. Wayne Allard (CO), Sen. John Warner (VA), Sen. Pete Domenici (NM), Sen. Chuck Hagel (NE), and Sen. Larry Craig (ID). Other Republicans are running in competitive elections, such as Norm Coleman (MN), who faces well-known comedian and outspoken Democrat Al Franken in November.

Each party holds the same number of members in the Senate (49-49), but the Democrats hold a slim majority with two independents, Sens. Bernie Sanders and Joe Lieberman, caucusing with their party. However, many are predicting that the Democrats could pick up as many as six seats in the fall, giving them a clear majority.

Despite the GOP’s troubles, McConnell remains hopeful about his party’s chances and predicts they will hold most, if not all, of their seats. “I'm optimistic we can stay roughly where we are,” he told Crowley. “We have a robust minority.”

Smith is hoping to benefit from Obama in a new ad.

(CNN) — Barack Obama's name is likely to help several Democratic candidates down ballot, but what about a Republican?

Oregon Sen. Gordon Smith, one of the most vulnerable Senate Republicans, is stressing his history of working with the presumptive Democratic nominee in a new campaign ad hitting airwaves Tuesday.

"Who said Gordon Smith helped lead the fight for better gas mileage and a cleaner environment? Barack Obama," the ad's narrator states. "He joined with Gordon and broke through a 20 year deadlock to pass new laws which increased gas mileage for automobiles."

The Obama campaign immediately made clear the Illinois senator is supporting Smith's Democratic opponent.

“Barack Obama has a long record of bipartisan accomplishment and we appreciate that it is respected by his Democratic and Republican colleagues in the Senate," Obama spokesman Bill Burton said. "But in this race, Oregonians should know that Barack Obama supports Jeff Merkley for Senate. Merkley will help Obama bring about the fundamental change we need in Washington."

Pearce, left, and Udall will square off for the vacant New Mexico Senate seat.

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (AP) — Republican U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce and Democrat U.S. Rep. Tom Udall won their parties' nominations for New Mexico's soon-to-be-vacant Senate seat, while New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg strolled past primary opposition in his bid to join the winner on Capitol Hill.

Udall was unopposed Tuesday for his party's Senate nomination while Republicans had a bruising two-way primary fight for the seat being vacated by six-term GOP incumbent Pete Domenici.

Pearce defeated U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson with 51 percent of the vote with 99 percent of precincts reporting. The party faithful selected a conservative — rather than the more moderate Wilson — to run against Udall, who won two statewide races as attorney general before his election to Congress in 1998.

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Sens. Carper, Lieberman and Graham stand behind John McCain at a press briefing.

(CNN) – Every senator who looks in the mirror may see a potential president – but in a new survey, they’re a bit more equivocal about the No. 2 job in the executive branch.

Since the final three presidential hopefuls are sitting senators, a member of that body is sure to occupy the White House this fall. The Hill asked the remaining 97 if they’d consider accepting a vice presidential slot.

Some said they’d be happy to join the ticket. "Yes. Sign me up,” said Democratic Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware. “I've been kidding people for years: The hours are better, the wages are just as good — whoever heard of a vice president getting shot at? — and it's a great opportunity to travel.

“And actually since time has gone by, the job is robust … So sure. Anybody here would, if they're going to be honest. The chances are slim to none. But I promise you, I would deliver all three of Delaware's electoral votes."

Others seemed a bit less enthralled with the idea. Virginia Sen. Jim Webb, whose name has often been floated as a potential running mate for the Democratic nominee this year, did not embrace the notion – though he didn’t rule it out, either. "I'm not really interested. That's all I want to say," he said.
And Republican Sen. John Sununu of New Hampshire ruled it out entirely. “I am focused on my election," he said. "And frankly, I don’t think John McCain should pick any member of Congress or the United States Senate.”

A blogger has taken a particular interest in Al Franken's Senate campaign.

EAGAN, Minnesota (AP) — Senate candidate Al Franken wants to talk about jobs, health care and global warming. Republican blogger Michael Brodkorb wants to talk about Franken's failure to pay all his income taxes on time.

Guess what everyone is talking about?

From the kitchen table in his tranquil suburban neighborhood, Brodkorb for the last year has used his blog "Minnesota Democrats Exposed" to launch a furious political assault on Franken. He's labeled the former comedian and liberal commentator a "mean-spirited and un-Minnesotan" candidate who's running a "desperate and ridiculous" campaign.

That's routine stuff in the world of political blogging, but in the last two months Brodkorb has scored two direct hits that have the Franken campaign reeling. Brodkorb scooped the traditional media by detailing extensive bookkeeping problems in New York and California that ultimately prompted Franken, this week, to pay about $70,000 in back taxes to 17 states.

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WASHINGTON (CNN) — Senate leaders have agreed to move forward on stalled legislation aimed at easing the impact of the falling housing market, the chamber's top Republican and Democrat announced Tuesday.

"The time has come for us to legislate, not continue our bickering," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, told reporters.

Democrats could lose Mary Landrieu's Senate seat in November.

However dim their congressional prospects look this election year, Republicans are at least feeling pretty good about the state of play in Louisiana. The G.O.P. swept all but two statewide offices in last fall's elections, including the governors' office, where U.S. Rep. Bobby Jindal replaced one-term Democrat Kathleen Blanco. Now Republicans have their sights set on an even bigger prize: the Senate seat currently held by Democrat Mary Landrieu.

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Sen. John McCain of Arizona has long been a vocal critic of earmarks.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly shot down an effort Thursday night to ban "earmark" spending for one year — quashing an effort backed by all three senators seeking the presidency.

The House and Senate passed budget plans that, though nonbinding, would allow some or all of President Bush's tax cuts to expire in about three years, The Associated Press reported.

The House passed its $3 trillion budget plan by a 212-207 vote, and the Senate's companion plan passed 51-44, AP reported.

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WASHINGTON (CNN) – Capitol Police arrested at least two anti-war demonstrators in the Senate gallery Wednesday after they interrupted the chamber's proceedings to demand an end to the war in Iraq.

The demonstrators — dressed in black pants and shirts with white veils over their heads — proclaimed themselves "ghosts of the Iraq war." They called on senators to cut off funding for the widely unpopular conflict, now nearly five years old.

They began their protest as Arkansas Democrat Blanche Lincoln was calling for an additional $50 billion for the Veterans Benefits Administration to speed services for troops returning from combat. The Senate was forced to adjourn briefly as police removed the demonstrators.

"Hopefully, the passionate pleas we make here on the floor of the Senate can be seen as passionate as many we witness — some here today, and certainly others," Lincoln said after the chamber resumed business.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — A helicopter carrying three U.S. senators was forced to make an emergency landing in Afghanistan Thursday, military and congressional sources tell CNN.

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WASHINGTON (CNN) — Senate Democratic leaders have summoned presidential candidates Sens. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and Barack Obama, D-Ill., to the Senate Wednesday for a 5:45 p.m. vote on a Democratic-backed economic stimulus bill.

The measure needs 60 votes to pass and right now the outcome is too close too call, according to senators and aides on both sides of the aisle.

However, heavy lobbying from the AARP and other interest groups has raised Democratic hopes. One Republican senator who opposes the Democrats' bill — John Thune of South Dakota — told CNN the lobbying had forced Republicans to change their strategy on the issue, although most still oppose the bill.

Until Tuesday, Republican leaders pushed for an up-or-down vote on the House-passed bill, which is centered on rebate checks for low- and moderate-income taxpayers. But after the lobbying intensified, GOP leaders
said they would support providing rebate checks to more people — agreeing with Senate Democrats that low-income Social Security recipients and disabled veterans should get rebates.

But most Republicans still adamantly disagree with other parts of the Democratic bill, such as the inclusion of new unemployment benefits and assistance for energy costs for low-income households.

Republicans want to offer their own amendment but so far have been blocked by Democrats.

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WASHINGTON (CNN)–Three senators told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that Congress needs to investigate the interrogation tapes of suspected terrorists destroyed by the CIA in 2005.

On CNN’s Late Edition, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware said, "I can't think of a Justice Department that's been riddled with as much politicizing of everything from firing prosecutors to making up tapes. That is the last place we should be using as the investigative tool."

Biden also reiterated his call for a special prosecutor if Congress is not allowed to do its job.

On Friday, Justice Department officials sent a letter to the House Intelligence committee that said congressional inquiries would interfere with their own investigations.

But two members of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Republican Kit Bond of Missouri and Democrat Evan Bayh of Indiana, told Blitzer Sunday that Congress and the Justice Department should both have their own investigations. "The reason we have confidence in our process is because there are checks and balances," Bayh said.

Bond agreed that Congress should have an oversight role when it comes to the intelligence services. "We in the Intelligence Committee have had extensive investigations, and one of the problems in the intelligence community is they have not held anybody accountable for anything," he said. "We are continuing to push to see that accountability exists."

The controversy is expected to continue in the coming weeks, as the Intelligence Committee's chairman, Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, and the House Intelligence Subcommittee's chairwoman, California Rep. Jane Harman, have both vowed to proceed with the investigations despite the Justice Department’s requests.

– CNN's Ted Metzger and Peter Lanier

Rockefeller told reporters he will likely hold hearings about the destruction of CIA interrogation tapes.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller told reporters Friday that he is “inclined” to hold hearings as soon as next week on news of the destruction of CIA interrogation tapes.

The revelation this week that the intelligence agency had destroyed 2002 video recordings of the interrogation of Al Qaeda suspects that may have involved the controversial “waterboarding” technique of terror suspects drew criticism from both sides of the aisle.

Rockefeller, who was ranking Democrat at the time, did not attend initial briefing on the tapes, held shortly after they were made, but said he learned about the tapes’ existence shortly afterwards. “[The CIA] destroyed it without letting us know, without asking our permission, without consulting, without informing us in any way,” he added. “They just did what the CIA likes to do.”

Said Rockefeller, “I’ll tell you I’m really sick of this. I’m really angry about it. It’s the manipulation of the Congress.

“The use of two people out of the Senate, two people out of the House, because nobody else can be told and they say… ‘oh! They’re briefed.”

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WASHINGTON (CNN) — An effort to require better mileage from U.S. cars and trucks failed in its bid for a full Senate vote Friday morning, 53 to 42.

Opponents of the measure, which passed the House Thursday, had threatened to filibuster the bill, and its supporters could not muster the 60 votes required to bring it to a full vote.

The bill, which was opposed by President Bush, would have ended some tax loopholes for the oil industry and used those funds to extend tax credits for renewable energy sources.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, had said earlier that he would require the four Senate Democrats currently on the presidential campaign trail to return to Washington if the bill came up for a full vote this weekend.

– CNN Congressional Producer Lesa Jansen

A former aide to Sen. Cantwell has been arrested on child sex charges.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — A staff member for Sen. Maria Cantwell has been arrested on charges he tried to arrange to have sex with a 13-year-old boy.

James Michael McHaney, 28, was arrested by federal agents Friday in the lobby of a building where they say he thought he would meet a witness cooperating with authorities and have sex with the boy, according to court documents.

A spokesman for Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington, said her office was informed of the arrest Friday afternoon and that McHaney was immediately fired.

"Our office has and will continue to fully cooperate with the ongoing federal criminal investigation," said Michael Meehan, Cantwell's chief of staff. "Sen. Cantwell has zero tolerance for crimes against children."

According to documents filed Nov. 30 in U.S. District Court in Washington D.C., the witness, while being supervised by authorities, sent an online message to McHaney Friday asking if he was interested in having sex with a 13-year-old boy. McHaney said he could take a long lunch break and went to the building where he was arrested and charged with attempted child exploitation, authorities said.

Channing Phillips, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Washington D.C., said McHaney appeared before a magistrate judge Monday and was ordered held without bond until a preliminary court hearing on Wednesday.

Sen. Dorgan presided over a short Senate session Friday morning.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — With the nation’s attention focused on Thanksgiving leftovers and bargain shopping, the Senate held another brief but significant session on Friday as part of a continuing effort to prevent President Bush from making unconfirmed “recess” appointments.

Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota took on the task of gaveling the Senate in and out of session; the formalities lasted approximately 28 seconds and no other senators were present. Dorgan followed Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia, who presided over a similarly brief meeting on Tuesday. By not going into recess, Democrats can prevent President Bush from filling federal government posts without going through the confirmation process. Dorgan’s holiday plans were not disrupted; he told CNN he was happy to preside, as he had already planned to be on Capitol Hill on Friday for an appropriations meeting.

– CNN Contributor Jamie Gray

Watch Jessica Yellin's report about Sen. Webb's unusual workday on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two days before Thanksgiving the Senate had a 22-second session, a fleeting moment in the life of an occasionally droning body but plenty of time for majority Democrats to keep President Bush from making "recess" appointments.

Senators have been taking turns standing sentry duty this week — just to prevent Bush from circumventing the confirmation process by immediately installing people in federal posts while the chamber is in recess. Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., who carried out that less than glamorous task Tuesday, is a relative newcomer, a low-ranking freshman and a senator who lives just minutes from the Capitol; he wielded his gavel before an empty chamber Tuesday, devoid of senators and even the young pages who serve as messengers.

"I'd much rather be doing this than allow the president to skirt the confirmation process in the Senate," Webb said in a statement. "This is an exercise in protecting the Constitution and our constitutional process."

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Former Virginia Gov. Gilmore participating in a Republican presidential debate prior to dropping his White House bid.

WASHINGTON – (CNN) Jim Gilmore officially jumped into the race for the Senate Monday.

The former Republican Governor of Virginia announced in an e-mail and on the Internet that he’s a candidate for the seat of retiring Senator John Warner, a long time Republican Senator from Virginia who announced earlier this year that he’ll retire at the end of his term rather than run for re-election next year.

"America has a lot of work to do and doesn't have the right leaders to do it," says Gilmore in his announcement, adding that "I'm running for the United State Senate from Virginia because I want to be one of those leaders who call on the spirit that is common in all of us, and use it to restore our country for the benefit of our people and in the eyes of the world."

Gilmore’s announcement sets up an expected high profile contest between two former Virginia governors. Democrat Mark Warner, who succeeded Gilmore at the State House in Richmond, jumped into the race for the senate seat earlier this year. Warner is not related to the retiring senator.

Besides being former Virginia governors, Mark Warner and John Gilmore have something else in common: White House aspirations.

Mark Warner contemplated a presidential bid last year before deciding against it. Gilmore jumped into the race for the White House late last year before dropping out in July.

–CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser

Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid is trying to thwart recess appointments by the President.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Senators have left town for the Thanksgiving holiday, but the Senate will technically stay in session — a move that keeps President Bush from making appointments while lawmakers are in recess.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, said he would schedule "pro forma" sessions during the two-week break, even though lawmakers will be absent and no business will be conducted.

The Constitution gives a president the power to fill vacancies without the Senate's confirmation when the legislative body is in recess. Such appointees can serve without confirmation through the rest of the current session of Congress, which ends in January 2009.

Bush has used the power before to install nominees whose confirmation Senate Democrats had blocked. The most notable instance came in August 2005 when he angered Democrats by naming John Bolton as U.N. ambassador.

"My hope is that this will prompt the president to see that it is in our mutual interests for the nominations process to get back on track," Reid said in a statement.

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