The legislative year begins

But don’t be fooled by the lack of major legislation on the House and Senate floors. Much will be done this week — some of it behind closed doors and some at the committee level.

{mosads}Negotiators will continue their efforts to marry the House and Senate healthcare bills. At this point, staffers are ironing out the less contentious provisions while leaving the big wrinkles to members.

Healthcare reform fatigue is palpable on Capitol Hill, with House and Senate Democrats wanting to finalize the bill and send it to President Barack Obama within the next month. That will be no easy task.

Obama is more actively involved now that the bill is in the home stretch. He has indicated that he will sign a bill without a public option and has privately expressed his preference for a “Cadillac tax” on pricey insurance plans. Some House lawmakers, as well as organized labor, are not fond of those provisions.

Accordingly, Obama hosted labor leaders at the White House on Monday.

At some point, he will need to throw a bone to the lower chamber. Most House Democrats realize the public option is dead and are resigned to some sort of Cadillac tax plan. One area where the White House could embrace the House bill is on affordability/subsidies. Barring some concession, House liberals will get antsy and threaten to vote no on the final product.

Meanwhile, the House Intelligence Committee this week is holding a closed briefing on the attempted bombing of a Detroit-bound airplane on Christmas Day.

The House Armed Services Committee will conduct a hearing on China, while the House Foreign Affairs panel will analyze the impact of U.S. export controls on national security, science and technological leadership.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is dealing with the fallout from his recently revealed comment in which he referred to Obama’s light skin and lack of “Negro dialect.”

Reid quickly apologized to the public, and perhaps more importantly, to Obama and African-American lawmakers. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), who heads the Congressional Black Caucus, accepted Reid’s apology on Monday.

Congress this week is mourning the sudden death of Paula Nowakowski, the chief of staff to Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio). Nowakowski, 46, died of an apparent heart attack on Saturday night.

Nowakowski was an extremely talented staffer, an avid Detroit sports fan who was well-respected on both sides of the aisle. She will be missed.

Player of the Week: Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Calif.)

The attempt to blow up a plane on Christmas Day has reignited the debate on body-imaging technology to screen airline passengers.

{mosads}On June 4, 2009, the House passed an amendment 310-118 that would prohibit the use of whole-body scanners as a primary method of screening a passenger. The measure was sponsored by Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah).

Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Calif.) spoke out against the Chaffetz amendment on the House floor seven months ago. Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) did so, too.

In a release last year, Chaffetz said, “Nobody needs to see my wife and kids naked to secure an airplane.”

In retrospect, lawmakers who voted no look wiser than the ones who approved the Chaffetz amendment. One of Congress’s jobs is to see and meet threats before they materialize.

Lungren is planning to make the case this month that Congress needs to approve whole-body scanners to prevent future attacks. He notes that the use of the technology would significantly minimize the need for pat-downs.

The June vote was fascinating in many respects because it split both parties. And the vote is likely to be used as campaign fodder in November.

Members who voted yes on the Chaffetz measure included Reps. John Boehner (R-Ohio), Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), Mike Pence (R-Ind.) and Intelligence Committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes (D-Texas).

Members who voted no included Reps. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), Eric Cantor (R-Va.), James Clyburn (D-S.C.) and Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.).

In June, Lungren said, “We aren’t [using this technology] because we want to do it. We’re doing it because we have people around the world who want to kill us … ”

It is likely Lungren will soon have more to say about this issue.