OVERNIGHT MONEY: Debt ceiling vote expected this week

TUESDAY’S BIG STORY:

And they’re back … but don’t blink: The House returns on Tuesday to focus on a debt ceiling vote expected on Wednesday. 

Then House Republicans head to Baltimore for their yearly party retreat, which begins Thursday. 

{mosads}House Republicans on Wednesday are expected to vote to disapprove a request by President Obama to add $1.2 trillion to the $15.2 trillion federal debt, giving them a chance to highlight large deficits under the president’s tenure.

The fight against raising the debt limit — led by House conservatives this week — should be short but far from sweet. 

The House Rules Committee is expected to start the festivities on Tuesday leading into what will likely be a heated debate by Republicans who are angry that their leadership didn’t extract deeper cuts in an August debt-ceiling deal.

Conservative GOP members such as Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) said they will take to the House floor to express dissatisfaction for making concessions in the summer debate. 

Under the terms of that deal, the debt will increase unless the Senate and Obama go along with the House disapproval — and that’s not going to happen. 

WHAT ELSE TO WATCH FOR

Rolling out the welcome wagon: When lawmakers return tomorrow for the start of the 2012 session, they’ll have the Occupy movement waiting to greet them. The Occupy Congress wing of the populist protest movement has a slew of activities planned for Tuesday, including rallies in front of the U.S. Capitol and various protests throughout the day.

Talk like an Egyptian: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce will open its doors tomorrow to Mahmoud Al-Said Eissa, Egypt’s minister of industry and foreign trade.

Let’s talk about jobs: The United States Conference of Mayors holds its 80th Winter meeting from Tuesday through Friday with the focus on what Washington can do to combat high inner-city unemployment. On tap Tuesday is a lunchtime appearance from Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, who will discuss the Obama administration’s new summer jobs initiative that aims to get private businesses to commit to creating 250,000 jobs. Later in the week, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will speak and the mayors will attend a White House reception.

The week’s meeting will feature presentations by Obama administration Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and White House adviser David Plouffe.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel will also make a speech, and Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) is scheduled to receive an award.

For a good cause: Common Cause officials, including Robert Reich, who served as Labor secretary under former President Clinton, are set to brief reporters on Tuesday about a new campaign to bolster support for a constitutional amendment to overturn the Citizens United Supreme Court decision on election spending.

A popularity contest: The House returns for its new session tomorrow amid new data showing that Americans still have a distasteful view of Congress.

A full 84 percent disapprove of how lawmakers are doing their job, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, compared to just 13 percent who approve.

While the public isn’t exactly fond of Democrats on Capitol Hill, the party’s lawmakers do get a bit more support than their Republican colleagues: roughly one in three approve of congressional Democrats, while just one in five say the same about GOP lawmakers.

For what it’s worth, the new poll found opinion split right down the middle on President Obama, with 48 percent approval, 48 percent disapproval.

PRESIDENTIAL DAYBOOK

President Obama meets with the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness to discuss initiatives and policies to strengthen the economy, promote and accelerate job growth and bolster America’s competitiveness around the world. The last time the group met was October in Pittsburgh.

BREAKING MONDAY

Please don’t tell me now: The bailout fund established to fight the European debt crisis has been deemed a bigger risk by Standard & Poor’s, just days after several major European nations saw their credit downgraded.

The credit rating agency downgraded the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) Monday, lowering it from AAA to AA+. The move was spurred by Friday’s decision by S&P to downgrade several European nations, which are paying into the facility in an effort to help ailing members of the European Union.

Leaning to the right: Jon Huntsman’s presidential campaign might not have been embraced by conservative voters, but his financial ideas did earn some plaudits from right-leaning thinkers.

For instance, Huntsman, the former governor of Utah, proposed sweeping away every tax credit and deduction while drastically reducing rates for both individuals and businesses.

And taking a look at Wall Street, Huntsman dinged both his former boss, President Obama, and the GOP candidate he eventually endorsed, Mitt Romney, for not doing enough to rein in the nation’s biggest banks.

WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED

— Regulators face pressure from both GOP, Dems on implementing ‘Volcker Rule’

— Retailers predict continued slow sales this year

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