Congress returns this week to take up a long to-do list that includes financing nearly every federal agency, and dealing with major questions on surveillance, the farm bill, Pentagon spending and energy policy. The energy bill would increase fuel economy standards for the first time in more than a decade. A critical Senate comittee vote on global warming is set for later in the week. Meanwhile, as the season’s first major storm blanketed Vermont with several inches of snow and temperatures were forecast to dip into single digits, Senator Bernie Sanders planned on Tuesday to introduce legislation to provide $1 billion for home heating assistance.

For a New York Times overview on the final month of the legislative calendar, click here.