This week in Congress saw the showdown over the 2008 Budget come to a head and the reemergence of a partisan feud over Iraq War funding.

President Bush followed through on his threat to veto the Labor-HHS-Education spending bill [3] last week, and though the margin was short, the House was unable to approve an override. Bush has promised vetoes for some of the other spending bills, so the future of the budget process remains uncertain.

With passage of the Defense spending bill out of the way, Democrats renewed efforts to force a timeline for troop withdrawal in Iraq. The House approved the Orderly and Responsible Iraq Redeployment Appropriations Act [4] on Monday, with the Senate taking up the measure on Thursday. If it seemed like déjà vu, you weren’t alone: Senate Republicans successfully blocked a cloture vote, and the bill died, like every similar bill before it.

In other news, two additional members of Congress, Jim Saxton [5] (R-N.J.) and Barbara Cubin [6] (R-Wyo.), have announced they would not run for re-election in 2008.

Senate Majority Reader Harry Reid will keep the Senate in a pro forma session next week (in order to keep President Bush from making any recess appointments), though there probably won't be anything happening in either chamber. Regardless, come by Monday to check out preview!