Mayor Bloomberg top priority for the new Congress is legislative action that will preserve New York’s status as the world’s financial capital.

Among the policies the mayor is urging the new Congress to approve and fund are a relaxation of the stern regulations imposed by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, passed in the wake of corporate scandals. Also on the agenda are better health care for those who breathed toxic air at ground zero in the wake of the September 11 attacks; a rail link connecting Lower Manhattan to JFK airport and Long Island; more funding for the No Child Left Behind initiative; the defeat of legislation that would hamper the mayor’s gun ownership restrictions, and making sure the city gets its share of Homeland Security funds.

At the top of Mr. Bloomberg’s wish list is congressional funding and perhaps legislation to ensure that New York holds on to its status as the world’s financial center. The city is currently awaiting a report from McKinsey & Co. that will present proposals to improve its business climate and fend off challenges from other financial markets.

Mr. Bloomberg’s spokesman, Stuart Loeser, told The New York Sun yesterday that when the report is published, the city will lobby congressional leaders in Washington to implement the changes. The city’s lobbying office in Washington, headed by Judith Chesser, is gearing up to work with the new Congress, and Mr. Bloomberg also makes monthly trips to the capital.

It is likely the city will press the new Congress to change Sarbanes-Oxley to reduce the burden of auditing and accountability that has made running a business in America more expensive than in many of its commercial rivals.

The city can expect help on reducing the burden of Sarbanes-Oxley on businesses from the new House speaker, Rep. Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco. “We cannot afford to disadvantage small companies with overly burdensome regulatory requirements,” a spokesman for Ms. Pelosi, Andrew Hammill, said yesterday.

In addition, Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts is set to become chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, which sets federal policy for Wall Street. He is replacing Rep. Michael Oxley, who crafted the act that bears his name. The Financial Services Committee is awaiting federal regulators’ recommendations on Sarbanes-Oxley. The regulators are likely to suggest easing some of the obligations the act imposes on corporations.

Mr. Bloomberg is also pushing for funds to build a Lower Manhattan-to-Long Island rail link that would allow easy access to JFK Airport from the downtown financial district.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, who represents parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn, and Senator Clinton are leading the charge on another of Mr. Bloomberg’s priorities — getting treatment for New Yorkers with September 11-related health issues.

A spokesman for Mr. Nadler, Jonathan Doty, said the congressman is pushing for Medicare funding to cover victims’ treatment costs, which he hopes will find support in a Democrat-controlled House.

Mr. Bloomberg also wants the federal government to reopen the Victim Compensation Fund, which helped people affected by the attacks. Since the fund closed in 2004, some rescue workers and residents of downtown Manhattan have developed serious health problems resulting from the attacks.

Mr. Loeser said the mayor has pushed to stop illegal guns from flowing into cities, is concerned that Congress could pass a bill that would prevent federal agencies from sharing their data on illegal guns with local police forces.

Securing funds to implement the No Child Left Behind Act is also on the city’s shopping list, as is making sure Homeland Security funds are doled out based on threat levels and not as political pork.

Bringing in more federal support for city-led affordable housing initiatives is another item on the agenda.

“The city is expanding its housing programs without enough support from the federal government,” the chairman of the department of urban affairs and planning at Hunter College, Stanley Moses, said. While the city will lobby for increased federal support, it is unclear where the money will come from.

Democrats across the country campaigned on a pledge to reduce the federal deficit, which could squeeze new expenditures.”Democrats don’t have much flexibility because of the size of the deficit and the nature of the previous cuts,” Mr. Moses said.

If Democrats reduce the upper income tax reductions enacted in 2001, funds could be made available for various programs, he said. But if the money is used to provide tax relief for the middle class, little could be left over for New York.

“If this is an issue the Democrats want to run on in 2008 — helping the middle class — funds for cities could dwindle,” he said.