Congressional Calendar March 17, 2010

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Congress is set to commemorate the occasion with a luncheon hosted by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The guests of honor will be President Barack Obama and Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen.  We expect plenty of green ties and maybe an "O'Bama" joke or two...

The health care push continues, with grassroots organizations visiting Capitol Hill for a second day. Today the pro-reform group FamiliesUSA will hold a press conference at 10:00a to urge Congress to get the health care overhaul bill across the finish line. In addition to pressure from leadership and in-person visits from constituents, Democratic Congressmen are getting plenty of feedback on health care legislation from folks back home. Phones have been ringing off the hook and email inboxes are inundated with messages. How are members (and their employees) handling the onslaught? Molly Henneberg reports.

As the health care whipping operation continues behind closed doors in the House, at least one Democratic member will declare his stance on the overhaul legislation. Ohio Representative Dennis Kucinich plans to announce how he will vote at a 10:00a press conference. A far-left member of Congress, Kucinich voted against the House bill in November because it did not contain a public option. Will he help to get the Democrats to the new magic number of 216 votes for passage this time around?

In floor action, the Senate is expected to move to final passage on the HIRE Act, a $15.6 billion jobs bill. The legislation includes an extension of increased expensing limits for small businesses, tax credits for hiring and retaining workers, and an extension of Build America Bonds, which are used by state and local governments for infrastructure projects. After the final vote, which we expect in the morning, a group of Democratic Senators will hold a press conference to discuss the results.

And as always, more news is bound to break throughout the day so stay tuned to the Fox News Channel for the latest developments…