WASHINGTON, Jan 4: The new Republican-controlled Congress convenes next week facing a backlog of spending bills, unemployment issues and a push by President George W. Bush for a new round of tax cuts aimed at boosting the economy.

With an election victory that strengthened their hold on the US House of Representatives and gave them control of the Senate, Republicans hope to push through a round of tax cuts for businesses and individuals over Democratic criticism that they will benefit the wealthiest Americans.

But soon after returning on Tuesday and working through organizational matters, lawmakers plan to tackle spending and unemployment issues left over from last year.

Bush urged lawmakers last month to move swiftly to restore extended jobless payments for about 800,000 unemployed workers whose benefits expired Dec. 28.

Democrats had pushed to extend the program, which gave an extra 13 weeks of payments to jobless workers who exhausted the normal 26 weeks of benefits. But the House and Senate failed to work out differences over the program.

Lawmakers then are expected to turn to a backlog of spending measures. Only 11 of 13 annual spending bills funding the government were approved last year and a stopgap measure that has kept the government operating expires on Jan. 11.

The House hopes to pass the remaining spending measures quickly, but changes in the leadership of the narrowly divided Senate could slow legislation. Republicans have 51 seats in the 100-seat chamber, and under the Senate’s arcane rules it often takes 60 votes to get anything done.

Sen. Bill Frist of Tennessee will take over as majority leader after Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi was forced to quit that post after making racially charged remarks a 100th birthday party for Republican Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina.

Bush is expected to unveil an economic stimulus package next week calling for about $300 billion in tax cuts for businesses and individuals. The centerpiece is expected to be a sharp reduction on taxes paid on corporate dividends to individual investors.

Congressional Republican aides said the White House could also add aid to cash-strapped states, possibly incorporating a proposal embraced by Democrats calling for $75 billion or more in federal grants to cash-strapped states.

The White House has made reviving the lackluster economy the top domestic priority besides homeland security. Bush’s re-election chances in 2004 could depend on robust growth.

Democrats, who say Bush’s proposals will benefit mostly the wealthy, plan to unveil a rival plan. House Democratic leaders met on Friday to finalize details of a plan they said would focus on middle class Americans while trying to keep long-term budget deficits from ballooning out of control.

It is important that whatever we do actually create jobs rather than simply using the plight of the jobless as an excuse to provide additional ‘bennies’ (benefits) to people who are already doing the best of anybody in the economy, said Rep. David Obey of Wisconsin, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee.

Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle said in the weekly radio address to air on Saturday that Bush’s economic proposal was the “wrong idea at the wrong time to help the wrong people.”

In addition to the economy, lawmakers will be dealing with financing the war on terrorism, beefing up domestic security and a possible war against Iraq, congressional aides said.

Bush is also expected to make a major push for a prescription drug benefit for the elderly that is coupled with an ambitious reform of the Medicare health care program. Congress has been bogged down for several years on how to add a prescription drug benefit. The White House has signaled a willingness to add a drug benefit to Medicare but within the context of an overall reform that would help pay for it.

Rising health care costs is shaping up to be a major issue in next year’s presidential elections and Republicans say they hope to address it with medical liability reform. Supporters argue that huge damages in malpractice lawsuits are pushing up insurance costs that they say fuel rising health care costs.

Congress must also renew the 1996 “welfare to work” law. Republicans want to add tougher work requirements.—Reuters