Washington —- Democrats bent on showing they can govern and Republicans anxious about a sour re-election climate are pushing a pared-down agenda when the Senate returns today and the House on Tuesday. But there's little time left to cut deals. Lawmakers will scatter again in August for a monthlong break. And with fall re-election campaigns and the White House race, Congress will be away from Washington much of the fall. This month's agenda:

GAS PRICES

Gasoline prices are a big voter concern, but lawmakers probably won't put aside their partisan blame-fest and compromise on an energy measure that could offer some relief. Democrats are pushing for more conservation and energy alternatives, while Republicans favor more domestic energy production, including oil drilling on federal lands and in waters now off-limits because of environmental concerns.

HOUSING

A measure to help hundreds of thousands of homeowners buckling under subprime mortgages has drawn broad support in the Senate, where a procedural vote is expected today, with the measure expected to pass as early as week's end. It includes a plan for the Federal Housing Administration to insure up to $300 billion in new, more affordable fixed-rate loans for borrowers otherwise considered too financially strapped to qualify. The proposal also would overhaul the FHA and tighten rules for government-sponsored mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

ECONOMIC RELIEF

Republicans have been hostile to Democrats' calls for a second economic relief measure on top of the one that sent rebates of $600 to $1,200 rebates to most wage earners this year.

TERRORISM

Terrorist surveillance legislation is expected to win approval Tuesday.

TAXES

Tax legislation is ensnared in a dispute between Democrats who insist on pairing extensions of expiring tax cuts with tax increases elsewhere to prevent a rise in the deficit, and Republicans who oppose such increases.

MEDICARE

Senate leaders plan to reprise a bill preventing a 10.6 percent cut in Medicare payments to doctors. It passed the House overwhelmingly, but fell one vote short of the 60 it needed to advance in the Senate. Bush and Senate Republicans don't like offsetting cuts to insurance companies that use Medicare money to offer private health care coverage to about 20 percent of older people. The lower fees to doctors went into effect last Tuesday, but Medicare officials are holding off processing new claims, hoping Congress will restore the higher payments.

OTHER ISSUES

Lawmakers are considering a measure to ban lead in toys and a $50 billion program to combat AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in Africa and elsewhere. A catchall measure to pay for government programs through year's end is a must-pass item.