WHAT CONGRESS IS UP TO

ALONG with all of its politicking, is Congress going to do any real lawmaking? Nowhere near as much as the partisan demands might indicate. The Republicans are trying to embarrass the Democrats on civil rights, but expect no new legislation to be passed. The Democrats accuse the Administration of neglecting national defense, but are not planning any major increases in defense appropriations. The Democrats are set to ignore several of the measures that the President called for in his message to Congress, including a new farm bill, increases in postal rates, authorization of 40 new federal judgeships, liberalization of immigration laws, abolition of the interest-rate ceiling on long-term Treasury bonds.

What the Democrats do expect to get enacted is their short list of five "must" bills:

Foreign Aid. The President originally asked for $4.2 billion. The House appropriated $3.6 billion. The Senate will probably restore most of the cut.

Minimum Wage. The House has passed a bill increasing the minimum from $1 an hour to $1.15. Senate

Democrats, led by John Kennedy, happy with a poor man's issue, want to boost it to $1.25 and extend coverage to an additional 5,000,000 workers, though conservatives in both parties disapprove. A $1.25-an-hour bill is expected to pass the Senate this week.

Aid to Education. Both houses have passed billion-dollar-plus bills, but the House version is bottled up by the Rules Committee, chaired by Virginia's crusty Howard Smith. Expected outcome: $1.3 billion aid for school construction, but no federal subsidies for teachers' salaries.

Housing. The Senate has passed a $1.2 billion omnibus bill. A similar House bill is blocked by the Rules Committee. The President wants a "moderate" bill.

Medical Insurance for the Aged. House passed an Administration-backed "Medicare" bill for voluntary health insurance subsidized by limited matching federal-state grants. Senate Democratic liberals want a compulsory plan financed by an increase in social security levies. If the Democratic bill looks too costly, Ike may veto.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.