We know you’ve missed your daily dose of DC here at the Independent, but never fear, the Congressional Roundup is making its triumphant return. With Congress back in session after the Veteran’s Day recess, attention once again turns to the Senate where health care is the topic of the day — for the foreseeable future.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., says there will be no health care bill today, but he hopes the first procedural votes will happen this weekend. And as for a potential filibuster, Senate Democrats say they are willing to force the Republicans to stay after hours if they wish to block the bill using the procedural hurdle.

Also in the Senate, in non-health care reform news, an amendment by James Inhofe, R-Okla., which “would have prevented the Pentagon from using funds to adapt or build any new facilities in the United States to house Guantanamo detainees,” failed this afternoon by a 57-43 vote.

The New York Times says the 2nd Congressional District race between Teague and former U.S. Congressman Steve Pearce will be one test of the political fallout of the vote on climate legislation. Basically, the story says, the Republican strategy is to tie Teague to the House leadership, notably Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

Senator Tom Udall announced yesterday on Twitter that he has visited all 33 counties in New Mexico this year. This is his first year as a Senator from the Democrat from Santa Fe. Udall previously served as the Representative for the 3rd Congressional District.

The liberal blog Democracy for New Mexico highlighted Congressman Ben Ray Lujan’s use of social media as a way to connect with his constituents.

“As a member of Congress, it’s my job to listen to and represent the people of New Mexico’s Third Congressional District. I’ve visited communities across the district to listen to New Mexicans’ views on health insurance reform. And I’ve reached out to thousands of New Mexicans through telephone town halls,” Rep. Lujan said. “Now, I’m using the internet to connect with my constituents. I’m a strong supporter of the public option, and together, our voices are more powerful. I want to hear from you and take your voice back to Washington.”

According to Gallup, Congress still isn’t all that popular, but isn’t quite as unpopular as it was last month. There is still some warning signs for the party in power, the Democrats.

“Approval of Congress now matches the level Gallup found just before control of Congress changed hands in 2006, and is close to the level found before control changed hands in 1994,” Gallup says. In 1994, the Republicans gained 52 seats in the House to become the majority party, while Democrats gained 31 seats in the House in 2006 to win the majority.

The national Congressional ballot (the questions basically ask if you would vote for a Republican or Democrat) puts the Democrats up by 3.9 percentage points according to Pollster.com.

Obama’s approval rating is at 52.3 percent according to Pollster.com.

In more polling fun, a YouGov/Polimetrix internet poll of 2,100 adults done by the University of Texas found, “62 percent said their own votes had little or nothing to do with the amount of money a candidate raises; 58 percent said the sources of those contributions, however, would be a factor when they cast their vote.”

It is an internet poll, however, so I’d take it with a grain of salt. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 2.1 percent.

Since it’s Sarah Palin week, one last polling note. While Palin is the main cable news talk of the day, and has been for nearly a week, Palin’s favorable rating among Americans is at just 36.4 percent. A poll by Rasmussen is the only poll of Palin in the past year to put her approval rating over 50 percent.