Get ready for a little deja vu from Washington. The federal government is about to hit the debt ceiling, now set at a whopping $16.8 trillion. Yes, again. It's like the Bill Murray movie "Groundhog Day" — only this time, unfortunately, no one is laughing.
Democrats wasted no time in blaming Republicans for the Boston Marathon bombings. House Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer immediately faulted the Republicans, since, as he said, they were the cause of the sequestration cuts that allowed the bombings to be carried out. He conveniently forgets, evidently, that President Obama proposed the sequestration, which was only considered after he backed away from a deal made with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker John A. Boehner.
Top House leaders said Tuesday they're inching closer to an immigration deal they can bring to the floor for a vote "in the near term," and political momentum continued to build across the Capitol with Sen. Rand Paul adding his voice to those calling for the GOP to take a softer line on illegal immigration.
House Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer says Congress must "put aside ideological constraints" and resolve differences over taxes, budget and spending.
After conducting their own independent review of gun violence, House Democrats on Thursday outlined new gun-control proposals very similar to the White House plan: Broader background checks and bans on military-style semiautomatic weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines.
A rare and likely fleeting show of bipartisanship enveloped Capitol Hill on Monday as members of both parties congratulated President Obama on his second inauguration, though some Republicans tempered their praise with concerns about the tasks ahead.
What if they read the Constitution and barely anybody came?
What if they read the Constitution and nobody came?
Who's worth watching in 2013? Here are 10 lawmakers of note as the curtain rises on a new season of political theater in Congress.
