Moments after President Obama concludes his State of the Union address from the imposing podium of the House of Representatives on Tuesday night, Rep. Paul D. Ryan will deliver the GOP's answering speech from the House Budget Committee's hearing room, across the street in one of the House office buildings.
The 112th Congress gaveled open Wednesday with Republicans taking control of the House and immediately rewriting the chamber's rules, making it easier to cut spending and taxes, harder to add new spending, and more open to voters who want to keep tabs on what lawmakers are doing.
The next chairman of the Republican National Committee will face a money-raising challenge of historic proportions.
Revamped gun measures and tougher rules for payday lenders are among the laws set to take effect across the country on Saturday. But some of them may not be on the books for long.
Revamped gun measures and tougher rules for payday lenders are among the laws set to take effect around the country on Jan. 1 — but some of them may not be on the books for long.f
Neither rookies nor seasoned veterans were spared in Tuesday's House Democratic bloodbath, which saw Republicans defeat three major committee chairmen and at least seven lawmakers who had 20 years' seniority or more in Congress.
A full, permanent extension of the Bush tax cuts could help the economy grow by nearly 2 percent more next year — and would be a bigger boost than just a partial extension, Congress' chief scorekeeper said Tuesday.
