WASHINGTON -- The 111th Congress will convene this week determined to avoid the mistakes of two eras: the Great Depression and the Carter administration.

The first task for the Democratic leaders of the House of Representatives and the Senate is to contain the economic crisis by passing a stimulus package worth $500 billion to $850 billion. They're hoping to complete it before Barack Obama is sworn in Jan. 20 as the 44th president.

On a parallel track, congressional Democrats who spent eight years in a confrontational relationship with President George W. Bush are shifting gears as they prepare to work with a president -- and former senator -- from their own party.

Senators also have been making contingency plans in case Roland Burris, whom scandal-plagued Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich tapped to replace Obama in the Senate, tries to report to work next week. Majority Leader Harry Reid has said he won't seat any Blagojevich appointee.

Obama plans to visit Capitol Hill early in the week and meet with Reid, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and congressional Republicans.

Democrats want to make the most of their shared control of the legislative and executive branches and avoid the legislative, policy and personal missteps that marked the relationship between President Jimmy Carter and congressional Democrats when Carter took office 32 years ago.

Carter, intent on changing what he saw as a culture of corruption in Washington, assembled for his staff a team of outsiders who couldn't work well with Congress. He distrusted lawmakers and went after appropriators' pet projects. He and his aides were accused of not returning calls, not giving lawmakers notice when he planned to visit their districts, not developing personal relationships with lawmakers and being unwilling to make deals on legislation. Congress pushed back, and it cost Carter much of his agenda on consumer protection, energy and tax policy, welfare and some foreign policy.

''The economy is on everyone's mind, and they have to show they're thinking about what to do at this point. That's got to be issue No. 1,'' said Julian Zelizer, a Princeton University history professor. ``But just as important is getting the groundwork ready to work with the new president. They're desperately trying to avoid another Jimmy Carter situation.''

Congressional Republicans, struggling to rebuild their party, have their own challenge: how to be an effective voice of dissent against a party whose incoming president starts out with huge approval ratings and the public's call for change.

The Senate has been preparing for weeks for confirmation hearings on Obama's Cabinet picks.

GRAND JURY

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, the commerce secretary designee, would have faced questions about a grand jury probe of a donor who's being investigated for ''pay-to-play'' dealings, but Richardson withdrew on Sunday. Eric Holder, the nominee for attorney general, expects questions about his involvement in President Bill Clinton's pardon of tax fugitive Marc Rich. With those exceptions, Democrats are supporting Obama's nominees and Republican objections appear modest.

Obama's transition team and House and Senate members also are discussing how quickly to proceed with legislation involving equal pay for women, more relief for homeowners who are facing foreclosure, stem cell research, children's health insurance and offshore oil drilling. Congress will engage with Obama on the Iraq War and other foreign-policy issues once he takes office.

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