WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Four years ago, Senator Claire McCaskill was one of Barack Obama’s biggest boosters in his presidential campaign. But when he recently visited her state of Missouri, she did not have time to join him.

Many of McCaskill’s fellow Democrats in Congress may also decide they are too busy to be with Obama, whose approval rating of about 40 percent as the economy struggles threatens to be a drag on their own reelection chances next year.

“You may see a number of Democrats say ‘Sorry, I have a scheduling conflict,’” said a senior Democratic lawmaker.

Democrats face a big decision about whether to stand by their man in the November 2012 elections.

Many, particularly those in difficult campaigns like McCaskill, are tempted to keep their distance.

But others figure they can survive any anti-Obama backlash in their predominantly Democratic states. And they want to help their party’s top star and fundraiser defeat whoever the Republicans throw at him.

More importantly, Democrats believe their best shot at retaining the Senate and taking back the House of Representatives is to help Obama rally and win a second term.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Democrats and Republicans have fired opening shots in a populist battle over corporate America’s power, with the political impact as uncertain as trading on Wall Street.

In a speech on Friday, House of Representatives Republican Leader Eric Cantor assailed anti-Wall Street protesters as “growing mobs” that are trying to divide the country.

The Democratic Obama administration countered that the New York demonstrations that began three weeks ago and include nurses, students and union workers give voice to democracy and people demanding financial fairness.

If the Occupy Wall Street movement evolves into a potent force, it could influence the November 2012 presidential and congressional elections.

Republicans are fashioning the elections as a chance to rescue the economy from a bloated government while Democrats are calling for Washington to protect Middle America from financial abuses that contributed to the 2008 economic crash.

Larry Sabato, a political science professor at the University of Virginia who tracks presidential and congressional races, said it is too early to judge the impact the protests will have.

“Democrats hope this becomes the equivalent of the Tea Party,” he said. “But that would require a lot more than carrying signs in the street. It’d require raising money, knocking on doors, organizing, going to the polls and voting.”

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. millionaires would be hit with a new 5 percent surtax to pay for President Barack Obama’s $447 billion jobs program under a new funding plan unveiled Wednesday by his fellow Democrats in the Senate.

Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid said he aims to hold votes within days on Obama’s proposal, which Republicans have denounced as a political gimmick that they likely will block.

The anticipated gridlock would underscore the inability of Congress to address the country’s 9.1 percent unemployment rate. The weak economy will be the key issue in the 2012 congressional and presidential elections.

Under the proposal, the surtax would apply to all income over $1 million, including capital gains and dividends. It would take effect on January 1, 2012, if enacted.

Only about 240,000 Americans or 0.17 per cent of taxpayers, earn upwards of $1 million a year.

While Republicans have denounced tax hikes as a non-starter, saying they would stunt economic growth, Reid cited studies that Obama’s plan would create jobs with a mixture of stimulus spending and tax cuts largely for the middle class and small businesses.

Reid said polls showed that most Americans — Democrats, Republicans, independents — favored increasing taxes on the rich.

WASHINGTON, Sept 30 (Reuters) – President Barack Obama’s fellow Democrats in the Senate are exploring fresh ways to pay for his stalled $447 billion jobs program that go beyond simply raising taxes on the rich, key lawmakers said on Friday.

Senator Charles Schumer said on Friday he was hopeful these alternatives would draw broad support. But he did not disclose what they may be.

Obama has proposed that his jobs bill be funded primarily through tax hikes on corporations and the rich, but Republicans and some Democrats oppose that idea.

Schumer said Obama was open to other ideas to fund the bill, which has yet to be taken up by Congress despite his pleas for lawmakers to act quickly. The bill aims to tackle stubbornly high unemployment through a mixture of stimulus spending and tax cuts.

“We are actively exploring alternatives that I think may garner very broad support,” Schumer said during a conference call with reporters.

Democratic aides said no decisions have been made but acknowledged the alternatives could include other tax hikes or savings through spending cuts.

While Obama’s call for job growth has generated plenty of Democratic support, senators on both sides of the political aisle have raised objections to how Obama plans to pay for it, said Democratic Senator Dick Durbin.

WASHINGTON, Sept 26 (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate approved a deal on Monday to avert a government shutdown, ending a standoff that highlighted a dysfunctional Congress’ trouble in passing even the most basic legislation.

“We’ve averted a disaster — until the next one,” said Democratic Senator Ben Nelson.

With thousands of Americans battered by hurricanes, tornadoes and other disasters this year, Democrats and Republicans had deadlocked over whether emergency-relief money would have to be offset with budget cuts.

The dispute threatened a broad spending bill that would keep the government operating past Friday, the end of the fiscal year. Congress had looked set to take the government to the brink of a shutdown for the second time this year.

Lawmakers were able to shelve the disaster relief funding spat when the Federal Emergency Management Agency said it probably would not run out of money in the coming days. It had previously said it would be broke by Tuesday.

By a bipartisan vote of 79 to 12, the Democratic-controlled Senate approved a complex deal that would keep the government running through Nov. 18 and replenish FEMA’s coffers. The Republican-controlled House of Representatives is expected to sign off on the deal as well.

The disaster relief debate may flare again as FEMA will likely have to ask Congress for more money in coming months. The disaster-relief agency has put $450 million in reconstruction projects on hold to ensure that aid can go where it is needed most urgently.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Senate approved a deal on Monday to avert a government shutdown and make billions of dollars of aid available to victims of recent disasters.

The complex agreement would end a standoff that has threatened disaster aid for thousands of Americans and imperiled government operations for the third time this year.

“We’ve averted a disaster — until the next one,” said Democratic Senator Ben Nelson.

The resolution, which passed on a bipartisan vote of 79 to 12, is not likely to quell concerns that Congress is unable to pass even basic legislation without a fight and lacks the stomach for tougher budget decisions in the coming months.

Republican and Democratic lawmakers had been deadlocked over whether additional budget cuts were needed to offset the additional disaster aid needed to help those displaced by one of the most extreme years for weather in U.S. history.

Earlier on Monday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said its dwindling disaster fund could probably last until the end of the week, several days longer than previously thought.

That allowed Democrats and Republicans to drop their fight over how to pay for the additional aid.

WASHINGTON, Sept 26 (Reuters) – The U.S. Senate reached a deal on Monday to avert a government shutdown and make billions of dollars of aid available to victims of recent disasters.

The complex deal would end a standoff that has threatened disaster aid for thousands of Americans and imperiled government operations for the third time this year.

The resolution is not likely to quell concerns that Congress is unable to pass even basic legislation without a fight and lacks the stomach for tougher budget decisions in the coming months.

Republican and Democratic lawmakers had been deadlocked over whether additional budget cuts were needed to offset the additional disaster aid needed to help those displaced by one of the most extreme years for weather in U.S. history.

Earlier on Monday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said its dwindling disaster fund could probably last until the end of the week, several days longer than previously thought.

That allowed Democrats and Republicans to drop their fight over how to pay for the additional aid.

The Democratic-controlled Senate was expected to approve a measure that would keep the government running on a temporary basis through Nov. 18, giving lawmakers enough time to finalize their spending bills for the fiscal year that starts on Oct. 1.

WASHINGTON, Sept 23 (Reuters) – With aid to disaster victims running out, the U.S. Senate Democratic leader on Friday vowed to hold a quick vote to defeat a House-passed spending bill, clearing the way for negotiations to avoid a government shutdown.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he planned a morning discussion with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell to discuss how to craft a bill that could be more palatable to Democrats.

Congress is up against a Sept. 30 deadline, when the fiscal year ends and government money runs out.

“We expect a vote very quickly,” Reid said at the opening of the Senate, adding the chamber was awaiting the bill that passed early Friday in the Republican-led House of Representatives.

Adding to the urgency, aid for victims of tornadoes, wildfires and other disasters could dry up by Monday if Congress does not replenish a dwindling relief fund. Funding for everything from national parks to law enforcement could expire in a week.

Even in the face of rock-bottom approval ratings of Congress, the dispute saw lawmakers struggling to bridge their differences to pass even the most essential legislation.

By a largely party-line vote of 219 to 203, the House in an after-midnight vote approved a bill that would keep the government running through Nov. 18 and provide $3.65 billion for disaster relief in one of the most extreme years for weather in U.S. history.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The fight between Rick Perry and Mitt Romney for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination has moved into the corridors of Congress where they are trying to win support from lawmakers.

Former Massachusetts Governor Romney on Tuesday named Senator Roy Blunt, a 14-year-veteran of Capitol Hill, to help him win Republican backing in both the Senate and House of Representatives.

Blunt played a similar role for former President George W. Bush during the 2000 campaign when Blunt was a member of House Republican leadership.

“I know that he will be an effective liaison in sharing my vision for America with his colleagues,” said Romney.

Texas Governor Perry’s aides have spoken to lawmakers, and Perry recently named freshman Representative Mick Mulvaney, a member of the House Budget Committee, as an economic adviser.

With prodding from the conservative Tea Party movement, Republicans have driven much of the agenda in Congress this year, forcing President Barack Obama to accept record spending cuts as part of the effort to trim the massive U.S. deficit.

But lawmakers, like Obama, have drawn fire for failing to create jobs and cut the U.S. jobless rate, now stuck at a stubbornly high 9.1 percent.