This week, we saw Democrats in the Senate becoming more assertive in their second year as the majority party, as the chamber continued its fracas over electronic intelligence reform and prepared to vote on its own economic stimulus package.

The House on Tuesday passed its version of an economic stimulus bill [3]. Backed by President Bush, the legislation includes tax incentives for business investment and rebate checks for working Americans. However, also on Tuesday, Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus [4] (D-Mont.), rained on the stimulus parade, signaling his committee would vote on an expanded economic package.

The Senate’s plan for stimulus varies from one drafted in the House. The Senate version would offer tax rebates check to more Americans, including seniors and the wealthy. However, those rebates would be worth less compared to the House proposal: $500 vs. $600 for individuals, and $1,000 vs. $1,200 for couples. It also raises the ceiling for who can get checks: for individuals, $150,000 and, for couples, $300,000. The House ceilings are half as high.

The Senate will take up the House version of the bill on Monday, and will then offer provisions of its plan as amendments. It’s unclear whether Democrats will have enough votes to include a long-term unemployment benefits extension or 5.6 billion in renewable energy and efficiency tax credits. There does appear to be support for funding low-income heating assistance.

There’s more on FISA below the fold including details on a deal reached in the Senate.

Following a showdown over the RESTORE Act [5] — a bill aimed at reforming oversight of the country’s electronic surveillance programs — President Bush on Thursday signed a 15-day extension to the Protect America Act [6]. First approved in August, 2007, the Protect America Act loosened judicial oversight of intelligence gathering conducted on telephone Internet communication networks under the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act [7]. The Protect America Act was approved with a six-month sunset, and would have expired today without congressional action.

The RESTORE Act was meant to be a permanent reform for FISA, but a fight over legal immunity for phone companies that helped the government spy on Americans has held up the legislation. Last week, senators defeated a version of the RESTORE Act that stripped immunity. This week, the Senate has been battling over the amendments being offered on the bill, including several dealing with the immunity provision.

Yesterday, the Senate appeared to reach a deal, and will only require a majority vote on several of the amendments: notably, one sponsored by Sens. Chris Dodd [8] and Russ Feingold [9] to strip telecom immunity from the bill, and another that would substitute the government for the phone companies in several pending lawsuits.

The FISA debate should resume on Monday, with votes on the amendments expected in the afternoon.