Congressional Calendar March 16, 2010

As the final “final” week of health care reform takes shape on Capitol Hill, Tea Party activists plan to visit Congressional offices to voice their concerns with the legislation pending before Congress. Before the office visits, they will hold a rally at 10:00a on the grounds of the Capitol.

Most of the members’ legislative activity will take place behind closed doors Tuesday, but we will be there to stake out House Democrats and Republicans after their weekly conference meetings. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) will also talk to the press following meetings with their caucus in the early afternoon.

Budget talks continue, with a host of government officials meeting before House committees to talk about the upcoming fiscal year. President Barack Obama’s economic team will meet with the House Appropriations Committee to talk about the FY 2011 budget and the economic outlook in the short and long term. Beginning at 10:00a Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, and Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers Christina Romer will share their thoughts with the committee. General David Petraeus, commander of the U.S. Central Command will testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee on the budget for fiscal year 2011 and the Future Years Defense Program.

In other economic news, a bipartisan group of Senators led by Charles Schumer of New York will hold a press conference at 12:30p to discuss China’s currency. Many feel that the Communist nation has unfairly pegged their currency to the US dollar in order to maintain cheap export prices. Will this maneuver lead to an increase in protectionist economic policies from the United States in response or will the assembled Senators push for a more multilateral, global approach? We’ll be watching.

And as we enter the home stretch on health care, more news is bound to break throughout the day so stay tuned to the Fox News Channel for the latest…