FACTBOX: U.S. Congress set to return to plenty of work

(Reuters) - The Democratic-led U.S. Congress heads back to work Monday after a two-week recess. Here are some of the issues on what is shaping up as an ambitious and contentious agenda:

* In one of its first orders of business, the Senate is to consider a bill backed by Democrats and some Republicans to tighten financial fraud laws. The measure would place mortgage lenders who are not federally regulated within the scope of bank fraud laws applying to "financial institutions."

* Democrats in both the House of Representatives and Senate will push to pass legislation to provide health insurance to all Americans before Congress begins its month long August recess. Major fights over costs and the role of government in individuals' medical care are certain.

* Lawmakers will seek a deal on massive budget plans passed by the House and Senate earlier this month. Republicans complain that both plans too closely mirror President Barack Obama's $3.55 trillion budget proposal they say contains too much spending and taxes. Obama says it will help end the recession.

* The House Energy and Commerce Committee will try to write a bill to require cuts in U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide and other pollutants blamed for contributing to global warming. The panel hopes to finish work by the end of May and could send the bill to the full House in June or July. Republicans, questioning global warming and warning that energy prices will rise under the Democrats' proposal, will oppose the bill.

* The Senate is headed toward confirming veteran diplomat Chris Hill as U.S. ambassador to Iraq. It is also likely to vote soon on Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius, Obama's nominee for health chief.

* Lawmakers are expected to deal with a range of proposals to bolster regulation of the financial industry, including ones to crack down on credit card practices seen as abusive by critics and impose new limits on predatory lending and subprime mortgages.

* Senate Democrats look set to take another run at rewriting bankruptcy law to allow modifications of primary residential mortgages to try to help distressed homeowners.

* Lawmakers want more aid for Pakistan to help thwart militant groups trying to gain the upper hand there. One bill would roughly triple nonmilitary aid to Islamabad to $1.5 billion in each of the next five years.

* The House and Senate will also face a request by Obama for $83.4 billion to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan through the end of fiscal 2009.

* Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testifies Wednesday before the House Foreign Affairs Committee about Afghanistan and other matters, possibly including her call for a coordinated international effort to fight piracy.

(Reporting by Thomas Ferraro, Richard Cowan, Jeremy Pelofsky, Donna Smith, Susan Cornwell and Kevin Drawbaugh; Editing by Peter Cooney)