Scheduling

Congress returns with just a few days to either find an alternative to the sequester, or watch $85 billion in spend cuts take effect on March 1.

With such a short time-frame, most now assume the sequester will happen, which many on both sides say will be disastrous for the Defense Department in particular.

After pressure from Democrats and some Republicans, the House leadership has placed the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) on the calendar for consideration next week.

The House Rules Committee announced Friday that it would begin consideration on Tuesday of a House substitute for S. 47, which the Senate passed earlier this month on a 78-22 vote.

House members next week will be examining the effect budget cuts will have on the U.S. military.

On Tuesday, Chief of Staff to the U.S. Army Gen. Raymond Odierno will discuss the fiscal challenges facing the Department of Defense as defense spending continue to shrink. He is testifying before the House Appropriations Committee.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) will preside over a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on legislation to reinstate the ban on assault weapons next Wednesday.

Democratic lawmakers have been more actively calling to gun-control legislation since the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting in Newtown, Conn., where a gunman killed 20 children in December.

The move leaves only four days to deal with the $85 billion sequester on their return.

The House meets at 9 a.m. for legislative work on two measures, one freezing the pay of federal workers and members of Congress, and the other condemning the nuclear test North Korea conducted this week.

Work on the pay freeze bill, H.R. 273, was started on Thursday — members approved the rule, and now just have to debate the bill and pass it.

The House will demonstrate tough love for federal workers this Valentine's Day, by considering a bill that would block President Obama's attempt to give them a pay hike.

Members meet at 10 a.m. for speeches, and shortly after noon it will take up H.R. 273, to eliminate Obama's proposed 0.5 percent salary increase for government employees.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) filed a cloture motion on the nomination of former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) to be the next Secretary of Defense.

Reid said he was forced to file the motion Wednesday because Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and other Republicans “are not willing to consider” Hagel’s nomination. This means Democrats will need 60 votes to advance President Obama's nomination.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) set up a vote on a judicial nominee for 2:30 p.m. Wednesday.

At 2 p.m. the Senate will begin to consider the nomination of William Kayatta, Jr., of Maine, to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the First Circuit.

The Senate meets at 10 a.m., and at some point is expected to take up the nomination of former Sen. Chuck Hagel to be the next secretary of Defense.

On Tuesday, the Senate Armed Services Committee voted 14-11 in favor of Hagel's nomination. The party line vote suggests that most GOP senators will oppose Hagel, a Republican, while most Democratic senators will support him. There are also signs Republicans may have enough support to delay Hagel's nomination until he provides more information about various meetings he's held over the last few years.