Congress returns to work this week for its first session since the impeachment trial. The fundamental question facing the 106th is whether its will choose as its legacy healing or spite.

By happy coincidence, the week also brings to Washington the National Governors’ Association. Although the 50 state chief executives meet annually to swap ideas and to lay out a legislative agenda, they can perform no greater service this time than to deliver the message that the folks back home expect more from Congress than nearly two years of manuvering for advantage in the 2000 elections.

And that is exactly how the governors, regardless of party affiliation or political philosophy, introduced themselves to the national spotlight as they began gathering this weekend.

Republican Gov. George Ryan of Illinois: “It’s time for all this political rhetoric to be put to bed. The American public has had enough political posturing. People want results.”

Democrat Gov. Thomas R. Carper of Delaware: “… people hunger for a sense of civility and consensus building, and an end to this enmity, this bitterness and rancor.”

Independent Gov. Angus King, no introduction necessary: “… fill the potholes, make schools work and get on with it.”

Of course, the governors didn’t go all the way to D.C. just to nag and chide. They have a lot on their minds. If past conferences are indicative, they’ll leave town with something settled and no hard feelings.

First, they want the federal government to keep its hands off of the $195 billion settlement the states reached with tobacco companies. Congress had its chance to recover federal Medicaid expenditures and blew it. The states followed through. The governors are right to resist this muscling in.

The governors also want Congress to address the issue of how states and cities can collect sales taxes on Internet commerce. While Congress and the Federal Communication Commission continue to be duped into believing the Internet is some wild, free thing that can never be tamed, shopping on it is nothing than a slightly faster version of mail order and the governors know it.

The conference is not just a 50-member mutual admiration society. There are divisions: on the federal role in education funding and policy; on school vouchers; on the federalization of crimes; on whether the income tax should be cut and, if so, whether the cuts should be across-the-board or targetted. Within the Republican caucus alone, there are heated debates on a patients’ bill of rights, on partial-birth abortion.

In keeping with their image as nuts-and-bolts politicians, the governors arrived in town Saturday and, before unpacking their bags, attended a session on information technology. Monday morning, while Republican and Democrat congressional leaders were issuing separate statements on how willing they are to work together when other side stops being wrong about everything, the Republican and Democrat (and independent) governors actually were working together at a conference on global economic development strategies.

Congress is at a crossroads. It can waste the next two years trying to prevent the other side from accomplishing anything or it can listen to the governors and get on with it.