Today in Washington D. C. - Jan 28, 2008

At 9 PM today, the House and Senate will hold a joint session for President Bush to deliver his final State of the Union address.

On The Floor: Senate reconvenes at 2 PM today. Following an hour of business, they will resume consideration of S. 2248, the FISA modification bill. At 4:30, senators will vote on a cloture motion on the Rockefeller-Bond substitute amendment (the Intelligence Committee bill) supported by the White House. Some Democrats have indicated they want to be able to offer more amendments and might vote against cloture. If cloture is not invoked, there will be a cloture vote on an amendment introduced by Reid to extend the current FISA law for 30 days.

From Senate & News Sources: With the current FISA revisions expiring on Friday, the Senate faces a cloture vote on the bipartisan Intelligence Committee bill this afternoon. If cloture is invoked, the Senate could pass the bill and send it quickly along to the House.

Unfortunately, Democrats are signaling that they want to drag the process out further and instead pass a 30 day extension to the current law. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has filed cloture on a 30-day extension amendment to the FISA bill and the House is expected to vote on a 30-day extension today. President Bush opposes a short-term extension, given that Congress has had months to fix the issues with FISA. The bill has already been to the floor of the Senate, but was delayed thanks to a filibuster led by Sens. Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Russ Feingold (D-WI).

Meanwhile, most the Hill is focused on the economic stimulus package. The House could vote on its agreement as early as tomorrow. In the Senate, some Democrats have expressed their desire to add spending or other provisions to any stimulus package. The AP reports on administration reaction to the possibility of Senate amendments: "I don't think the Senate is going to want to derail that deal," Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said. "And I don't think the American people are going to have much patience for anything that would slow down the process."

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