Immigration overhaul faces a long road in Congress

The massive legislative overhaul of the nation’s immigration laws that’s expected to be unveiled in the Senate on Tuesday may represent a bipartisan breakthrough for the so-called Gang of Eight, but it’s just the beginning of a long slog. | 04/15/13 19:00:46 By - By William Douglas, James Rosen and Kevin G. Hall

Criticism of Sen. Roy Blunt’s role in agriculture provision illustrates concerns about Congress

Late last month, the Senate was under deadline pressure. The eleventh hour was approaching and Congress had to pass a stopgap budget bill to avert a federal government shutdown. The bill passed the Senate after a flurry of last-minute amendments on March 20. The House of Representatives approved it the next day. Buried in the 587-page package, a rider nicknamed the “farmer assurance provision” drew little notice. | 04/15/13 16:40:30 By - By Lindsay Wise

For gun control supporters, the hard part has just begun

The Senate next week plans votes on a wide-ranging series of gun control measures, the first time in years lawmakers will go on the record on major steps to curb gun violence, such as banning assault weapons and restricting the size of magazine clips. | 04/12/13 16:36:36 By - By David Lightman and Curtis Tate

Hearing on EPA nominee Gina McCarthy focuses on agency’s long reach

Even the Republicans who are the most critical of the Environmental Protection Agency had few questions about whether Gina McCarthy has the qualifications for the job. The agency’s regulatory practices and transparency got a lashing at McCarthy’s Senate confirmation hearing, though. And both Democrats and Republicans acknowledged that the agency under her leadership would likely take the lead in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the absence of significant congressional action on climate change. | 04/11/13 15:43:19 By - By Erika Bolstad

Spring is in the air on Capitol Hill – for now

The cherry blossoms are in bloom in Washington this week. Is long-absent bipartisanship on Capitol Hill flowering as well? | 04/11/13 15:34:10 By - By William Douglas and David Lightman

Gun measure clears first Senate hurdle, but tougher ones await

A Senate vote Thursday to proceed with debate on gun legislation cleared an important, early hurdle for supporters of firearms restrictions, but backers face huge and potentially insurmountable obstacles in the days and weeks ahead. | 04/11/13 17:23:10 By - By David Lightman and Curtis Tate

Come tax time, many refunds go to identity thieves

An epidemic of tax-related identity theft continues to plague the Internal Revenue Service despite efforts by the agency and law enforcement officials to combat the fraud, witnesses told a Senate panel Wednesday. | 04/10/13 19:03:33 By - By Lindsay Wise

Immigrant advocates rally for change on Capitol Hill

Nancy Chavez feels the pain of being away from her 2-year-old every time she leaves her Salinas, Calif., home to go to work in the fields picking broccoli and lettuce. | 04/10/13 18:35:19 By - By Rebecca Lurye

House Republicans push to give Keystone pipeline approval authority to Congress

Promoters of the Keystone XL pipeline are agitating for its fast approval now that the State Department has downplayed the project’s impact on global warming. Energy leaders in the House of Representatives back a bill to force the government to approve it, and the premier of the Canadian province of Alberta is in Washington lobbying for the project. | 04/10/13 18:07:08 By - By Sean Cockerham

Senate moves closer to compromise on gun background checks

Nearly four months after the shooting deaths of 20 schoolchildren and six others in Connecticut, the Senate moved closer Wednesday to a vote on a package of gun-related legislation, in a turnaround for supporters of new gun restrictions whose efforts have faltered in recent weeks. | 04/10/13 19:29:52 By - By Curtis Tate

Senators apply brakes to fast-moving immigration talks

The bipartisan group of senators who last week proclaimed the imminent release of the most sweeping immigration overhaul in decades may have hit some political snags. | 04/09/13 17:53:34 By - By Franco Ordonez

Energy nominee Ernest Moniz questioned about Hanford nuclear site

President Barack Obama’s energy secretary nominee, Ernest Moniz, faced Senate questioning Tuesday on how he’d fight global warming and fix federal mismanagement of the contaminated Hanford nuclear site in Washington state. | 04/09/13 17:23:52 By - By Sean Cockerham

Obama budget: An act of political outreach?

President Barack Obama will unveil a spending plan Wednesday that he hopes will provide a compromise to the two feuding parties on Capitol Hill, offering Republican-friendly proposals – including those that cut Social Security and Medicare – tied to tax increases on the wealthiest Americans. | 04/05/13 17:25:11 By - By Anita Kumar, Lesley Clark and Kevin G. Hall

Is Democratic Alaska Sen. Mark Begich conservative enough to win again?

In the hyper-partisan world of Washington politics, it’s not surprising that there are two competing narratives about Mark Begich’s four-plus years in office as a first-term senator. | 04/04/13 15:45:46 By - By James Rosen

NRA-paid study calls for armed guards on all school campuses

A task force working for the National Rifle Association recommended Tuesday that at least one armed guard be stationed on every campus in America as part of a three-month review on how to make schools safer in the wake of the mass shooting in Newtown, Conn. | 04/02/13 18:03:43 By - By Anita Kumar

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