WASHINGTON — A mounting military death toll abroad. Growing government debt at home. Massive power failures in the Northeast. Raging forest fires in the West.
All that tumult, rocking the nation and the world while Congress enjoyed a monthlong summer recess, is reshaping the agenda lawmakers face as they return to work this week.
The big blackout added momentum to energy legislation that has languished for months. The wildfires in Montana and elsewhere have fueled demands for passage of a White House plan to thin forests. Fresh projections of big budget deficits have cast a shadow over efforts to provide costly drug coverage under Medicare. And growing costs and casualties in Iraq are generating new questions about U.S. plans there.
Intensifying the pressure on Congress is the assumption of many lawmakers that chances of crafting major legislation will rapidly diminish once the 2004 presidential campaign kicks into high gear.
"Medicare and energy are clearly the two biggest items out there that need to be settled before this year is over," said Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri, House Republican whip.
With polls indicating that Bush's once-stratospheric approval ratings have dropped, some Democrats see a new opening for their party -- and for Congress as a whole -- to more greatly influence domestic and foreign policy.
Citing the polls, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) predicted that lawmakers from both parties "will play a more important role" in shaping these policies.
The GOP has remained united behind Bush on most battles, but Republicans have begun to break ranks on some issues -- most obviously new federal rules that would allow big media companies to control a larger share of the nation's television markets.
The administration backs the rules approved by the Federal Communications Commission, but a congressional move to block them enjoys bipartisan backing from lawmakers opposed to further consolidation of media ownership. A Senate vote on the measure is expected within two weeks; the House voted in July to overturn the rules.
But the most important question looming for Bush is what Congress will do about his top domestic and foreign policy priorities -- Medicare reform and the stabilization of Iraq. Neither is a sure thing.
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