With fewer than 30 working days left before Congress adjourns for its August recess, the legislative branch is once again faced with a pile of must-pass legislation and a ticking clock. Before the end of 2010, Congress must pass a spate of bills to renew a set of expiring tax provisions, prevent stiff pay cuts for Medicare doctors, fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and prevent the expiration of the Bush tax cuts for the middle class. Congress is likely to truncate its legislative calendar so that members can return to their districts to campaign for this year's elections, lowering the odds of passing other "big-ticket" legislation like climate change policy and immigration reform.
On Capitol Hill, there exists a debate about the future of the Bush tax cuts and the federal estate tax. While President Bush's 2001 tax policy eliminated the estate tax for 2010, it is set to return to pre-Bush tax cut levels in 2011 unless Congress intervenes. How Congress chooses to address the estate tax will have significant implications for the federal budget deficit and the fair distribution of the nation’s prosperity.
If there's one thing Republicans and Democrats can agree on, it's that the economy has seen better days. Indeed, looking at various employment statistics, it's hard for anyone to express optimism about the nation's economic condition. The national unemployment rate is 
Around the time that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the Recovery Act) was being developed,