WASHINGTON — When Congress adjourned until late January, several significant church-state issues were left unsettled.

According to Associated Baptist Press, the Senate failed to pass an omnibus funding bill for several federal agencies before it recessed Dec. 9. Included is a measure that would create the first federal school-voucher program, targeted for schools in the District of Columbia. The House passed the bill on a 242-176 vote Dec. 8. Senate Republicans had hoped to bring the bill up for a vote the next day. The earliest the bill can now be passed is when the Senate reconvenes Jan 20.

The voucher program would provide scholarships of up to $7,500 a year to low-income D.C. students to attend the private school of their choice, including religious schools, the news service reported.

Many church-state separatist organizations say voucher programs are a violation of the First Amendment's ban on government support for religion.

Last year, however, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a school-voucher program in Cleveland was constitutional because government money flowed to the religious schools through the genuine private choice of parents.

If passed, the bill would establish the first federally funded voucher program in the nation. Political observers speculate that if brought to the floor Jan 20, it may face a filibuster.

Other legislature that touches on church-state issues includes the Federal Marriage Amendment, which would amend the U.S. Constitution to ban marriage and "the legal incidents thereof" for same-sex couples.

Government funding for religious charities and partisan political involvement by religious groups are two other issues that are expected to be debated when Congress reconvenes.