WASHINGTON — Members of Congress return to the Capitol on Monday with very little time to do very little work.

Lawmakers will have as few as seven legislative days before going home for the November midterm elections. And they have set their sights relatively low for that brief time: Pass a stopgap spending bill that keeps the government operating until December, keep the doors of the federal Export-Import Bank open until a lame-duck session of Congress in November and, possibly, extend a moratorium on federal Internet taxes that is scheduled to end on Nov. 1.

Senate Democrats and House Republicans will also take a series of politically freighted votes designed not to pass legislation but to rally their base voters, a difficult task when Americans hold members of Congress in such low collective regard.

While leaders typically want their members home campaigning for re-election, this year is extraordinary. House members will arrive late Monday with the promise of an early getaway Thursday afternoon, no real work until the Wednesday after that and, if all goes according to plan, a midafternoon getaway on Sept. 19 that will extend until Nov. 12. Discounting the days with a late start or an early ending, Congress may have just four full workdays over the next nine weeks.