Washington ? A blackout darkened the skies of the Northeast, more blood has been shed in Iraq, and the government’s financial picture has become more grim in the four weeks Congress has been on vacation.

Back to work this week, lawmakers will pummel Bush administration officials with questions and assertions about each. But with the election season fast approaching, their attention also will be on public demands for a prescription drug benefit for seniors.

The Senate approved a national energy bill as one of its last acts before its departure, sending it to a House-Senate conference. Similar legislation has died there in the past, but the massive power blackout in the Northeast and record high gas prices could propel lawmakers toward a compromise.

Democrats are primed to question the cost of the operation in Iraq, both in terms of human lives and the nearly $1 billion a week in taxpayer money.

The Pentagon had said it has enough money to last through this budget year, which ends Sept. 30, but the administration is now considering asking Congress for several billion dollars in emergency spending. If there’s a request, the House will take it up, said John Feehery, spokesman for House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill.

Cost will also be an issue for some fiscal conservatives as House and Senate conferees try to reach a compromise on a $400 billion Medicare prescription drug benefit. “We obviously have some trouble on the right,” and must make clear that this is part of overall Medicare reform, Feehery said.

Hoyer said Democrats would not cooperate with any moves to turn Medicare functions over to private health care companies, which they say could result in many Americans losing medical coverage.