Another proposal is to attach a small wind turbine to the chimney stack.
In trying to attach their proposal to measures to relieve the property insurers, the life insurers are trying to distinguish themselves from an array of industries seeking help.
When he tried in July to attach this proposal to another Senate bill, the Republican leadership yanked the entire bill from consideration.
The members say they hope to attach the proposal to the child tax credit bill in hope of drawing votes from Democrats representing those states: Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming.
Representative Patrick J. Murphy, Democrat of Pennsylvania and a leading advocate in the House for repeal, is hoping to attach the proposal to a defense authorization bill that will come up for a vote on Thursday.
Conservative Republicans like David Vitter of Louisiana also support the idea, and Mr. Sanders says he believes he can win the 60 votes needed to attach his proposal to the bill.
Senator Phil Gramm, Republican of Texas, vowed to fight any attempt by Democrats to attach the proposal to his homeland security bill, cosponsored by Mr. Miller, which includes the president's language on worker rights.
So far, Senators Paul Wellstone of Minnesota and Patrick Leahy of Vermont, both Democrats, have scuttled Republican efforts to attach the proposal onto unrelated legislation where critics would get little opportunity to amend its punitive provisions.
They sought to attach their proposals to what they probably regarded as must-pass legislation -- sometimes they succeeded, sometimes they failed -- and Congress then raised the debt limit to avoid a default.
Page A10 RULING ON PRISON PROPOSAL A state judge ruled that it was unconstitutional for the Florida Legislature to attach a far-reaching proposal -- one that would privatize 29 prisons in South Florida -- to "the hidden recesses" of an appropriations bill.
