The pace at which Congress is considering the largest intervention into financial markets in the history of the United States, if not the world, is shocking. Over the weekend, the Bush administration proposed legislation that would grant it the authority to buy up toxic financial assets in an amount equal to five percent of gross domestic product (GDP). The magnitude of the funds requisitioned is matched only by the administration's requested level of unchecked power and opacity in how it would execute this historic market intervention. Congress has responded with uncharacteristic haste, setting the stage for passage of monumentally flawed legislation that purports to fix a yet-undiagnosed problem in roughly one week.

Congress is scheduled to adjourn for the election season on Sept. 26, but a set of what many consider must-pass tax cut bills have yet to be sent to the president's desk. As differences between the House and Senate remain over offsets, and as a massive Wall Street bailout bill has grabbed the spotlight, final congressional approval of these measures before adjournment remains less than certain.

Congress returned to Washington the week of Sept. 8 to a jam-packed schedule and just three weeks left to complete work for the year before the target adjournment date of Sept. 26. Below is a brief summary of some of the major pieces of legislation covering fiscal policy issues that will likely be addressed: