Health care reform remains in "File 13" (the waste-paper basket).

There is about a 1-in-20 chance that Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, will attempt to jump-start the process, but at this juncture, the chances are slim and none, and as that old joke goes, "Slim is out of town."

At this juncture, the only possible tack would be the reconciliation process. That would involve the U.S. House of Representatives first passing the U.S. Senate's health care reform bill as-is -- without any changes -- then have the House and Senate pass a second bill with specified changes under the reconciliation process, which enables a bill to bypass the Senate's filibuster and needs only a simple majority -- 51 votes – to pass the Senate. (The reconciliation process also streamlines committee review.) The reconciliation bill would have the changes some members in the House seek.

At this coming week's 2010 North American International Auto Show, automakers are expected to try to put the dismal past year behind them and move on to whatever futures await.

Two of the U.S. auto industry's largest and oldest players, GM and Chrysler, tumbled into bankruptcy last year and required a handout from from the federal government to save them from liquidation. Was it worth it? Investors, analysts, and car enthusiasts will be looking for answers this week.

"The party is over. Never again." These are the words of Speaker Nancy Pelosi regarding the bill to regulate financial markets that passed the House of Representatives on 223 to 203 vote.

In broad terms, these are the provisions of the House bill:

• Large financial companies would be hit with billions of dollars in fees and would see new restrictions on their operations.
• The Federal Reserve's powers to write consumer-protection laws would be stripped.

Perhaps the Democrats and Republicans can agree on one tactic capable of stimulating the U.S. economy: the $8,000 income tax credit for first-time home buyers.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, Thursday hinted that Congress is not only evaluating whether to extend the $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers past its November 30 deadline, but also is weighing whether to expand the program.

"There's under consideration whether we extend the first-time homeowners' credit," Pelosi told reporters today in Washington Thursday, Bloomberg News reported. "And the question is, would that be just first-time homeowners or would you open it up to other purchasers of homes?"

Like all good marriages, the union of Barack Obama and the American people will start tomorrow with the best of intentions. The problem is that it won't last, particularly when it comes to the economy.

The president-elect already is at odds with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi over whether to repeal the Bush tax cuts before they expire in 2010, according to the Wall Street Journal. The economic stimulus package is expected to top $850 billion as part of Obama's pledge to create jobs and reducing taxes. Meanwhile, the housing market continues to stink and the stock market continues to be dreadful.

Improving the economy is going to be a long, painful process. Think turning around a super-tanker and you get the idea. Good news is going to be hard to come by over the next 12 months. Bad news will be plentiful. Here are some predictions of the troubles that lie ahead for the economy no matter despite Obama's best intentions.

• Corporate bankruptcies -- Experts are predicting one of the biggest waves of corporate bankruptcies and restructurings in years. Already, Circuit City Stores Inc. (OTC: CCTYQ) has bitten the dust and the year is just getting started. Loads of retailers who are already operating on the razor's edge of profitability may be pushed over the edge. I doubt that enough credit will be unlocked by government fiat to address this problem.

Congress is not wiling to put much money into the U.S. car companies even though General Motors (NYSE: GM) and Chrysler are close to running out of money. So, it appears that they will provide a very modest amount of money and punt the problem to the next Congress. It may seem the coward's way out, but it is also the only practical solution.

According to The Wall Street Journal, late Friday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the White House were "near a deal, but not 100%" on a plan to provide short-term funding for the Big Three auto makers, a senior congressional aide said.

The real trouble is deciding what comes next. With most members of Congress leaving soon for the rest of the year and those who were not re-elected gone of good, solving the complex funding issues cannot be done in a few days.

There is still no plan in place for what happens to The Big Three long term. Resolving that could take several months. Will they be put through prepackaged bankruptcies with the government as the debt-in-possession or will they get their $34 billion with some new federal agency overseeing their restructuring?

At the end of the day, the competing needs of the car companies and the reluctance of Congress to spend tax-payer money may still sink the industry. But, this way, no one's Christmas gets ruined.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

All House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, wants for Christmas -- happiness for her grandchildren aside -- is a tax cut.

The incoming Obama Administration, driven by the U.S.'s large economic problems and by prudence, is expected to seek quick approval of a major fiscal stimulus package soon after Inauguration Day on January 20. Even so, Speaker Pelosi may do the administration one better: Pelosi will seek to include a tax cut in a fiscal stimulus package, Pelosi's spokesman told Bloomberg News.

In addition, Congressional Democrats are considering passing two fiscal stimulus packages: one during the current lame-duck session and another after the Obama Administration and new Congress take office in January.

Pelosi favors a tax cut over the earlier stimulus version of tax rebates because the latter would take too long to administer, taxs-news.com reported. Pelosi will seek Senate agreement on a modified-version of a roughly $61 billion stimulus measure the House approved earlier in September, before seeking approval from President Bush.

CNBC is reporting a Second Stimulus May Arrive by Christmas - I hope it looks different than the last one.

It is being reported that

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday urged passage of at least $61 billion in new economic stimulus funding this month, but said the future of the legislation requires the cooperation of Republicans in the Senate and President Bush.

I am having deja vu all over again! At least $61 billion but discussions are ranging up to several hundred billion dollars. I hate this idea and stated so numerous times last March, including one of my most important stories of the year (I think) Fund roads & bridges NOT mad money stimulus.

By almost all accounts, the defeat of the bailout / rescue bill stunned those both inside the beltway, on Wall Street, and across the nation.

Many political analysts projected that the bill would be approved by the U.S. House of Representatives by about a 80-100 vote margin. The reality: bill defeated, 228-205 and the stock market plunged a big seven zero zero and more.

Public policy analysts, professional and otherwise, will spend ample time investigating the reasons why the bill failed, but in a crisis such as this one, congressional leaders, save for reviewing their mistakes, do not have time for the stuff of graduate seminars in public policy: they need to get a rescue bill passed.

Now what?

Well first, don't panic. As George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart) said during the bank run on the the Bailey Building & Loan in the movie, It's A Wonderful Life, "Now just remember that this thing isn't as black as it appears. Now, we can get through this thing all right. But we've, we've got to stick together."

Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi is not the most intriguing Speaker of the House to come along, and she hasn't carved the high-profile that predecessors like Newt Gingrich did.

But I don't think anyone expected her book to flop this badly. Drudge Report reports that Know Your Power: A Message to America's Daughters sold just 2,737 copies in its first week. That's bad enough to make it the 41st bestselling nonfiction book of the week and the reviews on Amazon have been equally appalling. 131 reviewers have given it an average rating of 1.5 stars, all the more impressive give that it's not possibly to rate a book 0 stars.

Publisher's Weekly's generally positive review sums up why the book hasn't sold well: "Pelosi's book is a simply crafted acknowledgment of the support of her family, mentors and helpful colleagues without rhetorical flourishes, insider scandal or intimate revelations-a gentle account from a tough politician."

Boring! People reading books by politicians want to hear about scandal.

Perhaps the sequel should be called Know Your Limits: Just Because You're a Successful Politician Doesn't Mean People Want to Know Your Life Story.

Congressional Democrats, including Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va, are pushing for the enactment of a second economic stimulus bill worth $24 billion, including a $6 billion lifeline for the beleaguered auto industry. Odds of it passing in a presidential election year are slim to none.

Democrats, though, are giving the people what they want. Regardless of whether it's a good idea or not, it's fantastic politics. Democrats can prove to voters, who are fed up with the lousy economy, that they "feel their pain," leaving aside the debate of whether it's needed.

That explains why House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., says that the second stimulus bill will need to have bipartisan support -- as the first one got -- because it is vital for the economy. Like the first economic stimulus plan, Byrd's bill will be temporary, targeted and provide disaster relief, according to CQ Politics.com.

"The Speaker earlier had vowed to enact a second measure, totaling at least $50 billion, before Congress leaves this year," the website says. "But the president and congressional Republicans have been less enthusiastic about the idea, repeatedly arguing that lawmakers should wait to assess the impact of the tax rebates and other incentives enacted in February."