It’s not that anyone here in Washington begrudges Britain, and to some extent Spain, their fledgling recoveries. But President Obama and other proponents of more government spending aren’t delighted that those nations’ austerity programs seem to be paying off in renewed growth rather than in the perpetual recession the Keynesian try-another-stimulus-crowd in the White House has been predicting. Conservatives are saying that the austerity sauce for the British roast beef would be just as tasty on the U.S. hot dog.

On Monday the House and Senate reconvene, with Syria dominating the agenda. But key components of economic policy will also have to be addressed this month: funding the government’s operations; defunding  the unpopular Obamacare health care “reform”—or not; raising the debt ceiling—or not; approving another Obama stimulus  program—or not. For good measure Obama will be sending his choice of Ben Bernanke’s successor as chairman of the Federal Reserve board to the Senate for confirmation. So in the next 30-60 days most congressmen might have to take time from fundraising, photo ops, and posturing before television cameras to earn their salaries.