Ahead This Week Tax/Energy Bill -- PAYGO in Play: This week, the House will take up a package of tax incentives for alternative energy and energy conservation programs omitted from last December's energy bill... The House tax bill would cost about $18.1 billion over 11 years and would comply with PAYGO by denying or reducing tax benefits for big oil and gas companies. Stimulus 2.0 -- Housing Sector: Meanwhile in the Senate, time permitting, the Democratic leadership will seek this week to bring a housing stimulus package of direct aid, tax breaks, and other initiatives to the floor. Next Week FY09 Budget -- Budget Resolution (BR):

• Spending Caps -- the House and Senate Budget Committees are expected to mark up budget blueprints next week... watch in particular for domestic discretionary spending topline alternatives to the Bush budget caps, which amount to a $20.5 billion cut in real terms
• AMT Patch -- the Committee chairs are working behind the scenes on instructions in the BR for a reconciliation bill to allow a one-year "patch" for the AMT that would be offset with -- tax increases... Senate Budget chair Conrad (D-ND) has expressed concern that suchinstructions could doom the BR in the Senate
• Deadline -- generally observed only in the breach, the statutory dealdine for BR passage is April 15