When the US Congress returns this week, several powerful lawmakers promise to pursue three issues: tightening the rules for retirement savings accounts, expensing stock options and barring US firms from incorporating offshore in countries such as Bermuda to avoid taxes.

Only a few weeks of legislating are left before Congress adjourns for the November elections, and several must-pass issues, including budget appropriations and the homeland security bill, are competing for floor time. The third major reform effort before Congress this autumn is companies that move offshore for tax purposes. The legislation gained momentum when the Stanley Works, based in New Britain, Connecticut, announced it was planning to reincorporate in Bermuda, which has no corporate tax.

The company expected to cut its taxes by about $30 million a year. The tool manufacturer subsequently reversed its decision, but Democrat Senator Max Baucus, and Republican Senator Chuck Grassley have introduced a bill to block such moves.

Some House Republicans say the legislation would cost American jobs because it would put US corporations at a competitive disadvantage with companies in countries with lower taxes. Also on the agenda, Democrat Senator Paul Wellstone is seeking to prohibit homeland security federal contracts for companies that set up shell headquarters in Bermuda or other tax havens.