The top two senators on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee said Tuesday the federal government has control of only 32 miles of the 4,000-mile-border with Canada, providing terrorists with what could be an easier entry point than the southern border. Published February 1, 2011
Plans targeting federal spending are coming fast and furious on Capitol Hill, but lawmakers are treading lightly around the big three of entitlement programs — Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Published January 31, 2011
To those who predicted that the tea party movement would get swallowed up by Washington, Sen. Rand Paul says the cynics have got it completely backward — it's the tea party that has co-opted Capitol Hill. Published January 27, 2011
House Republicans drove home the new political reality on Capitol Hill on Wednesday by convening a series of hearings aimed at scrutinizing President Obama's first two years in office and sending a message against what they see as his expansive government agenda. Published January 26, 2011
Arguing that the United States can no longer blindly turn over billions of dollars to the United Nations, members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee said the new Congress should withhold contributions to the global body until it adopts serious reforms. Published January 25, 2011
Leaders of a nationwide tea party group say they are heartened by early steps the new Republican majority has taken in the House, but they remain concerned that GOP leaders could walk away from campaign promises when it comes to cutting spending and reducing the national debt. Published January 24, 2011
Wasting no time, House Republicans moved quickly ahead Thursday with their own overhaul of the nation's health care system, commanding key committees to get to work and launching a fresh attack on federal policies regarding abortion funding. Published January 20, 2011
House Republicans on Wednesday scored their first victory in their long-shot bid to scrap President Obama's health care overhaul, delivering a repeal bill to the Senate and a stiff rebuke of White House policy that will help shape the political landscape over the weeks, months and years to come. Published January 19, 2011
House Republicans already are looking past Wednesday's expected vote to repeal Democrats' health care law, going so far as to dare Senate Democrats to bring the bill up for a vote in their chamber. Published January 18, 2011
!["Cutting the [U.N.] budget is not enough, because you need to reform the monster, you need to reform the beast, and if you don't get fundamental reform, you are still rewarding a corrupt, mismanaged agency," said House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. (Associated Press)](https://twt-thumbs.washtimes.com/media/image/2011/01/17/20110117-203128-pic-111362932_c0-839-2249-2149_s326x190.jpg?1a02e437c8d41782c867eb35b4a06e123cf407f8)
The new Republican majority in the House is poised to revive some old battles over the U.S. government's financial contribution to the United Nations, vowing once again to use the power of America's purse to force what it calls needed reforms at the world body. Published January 17, 2011
With consumers already enjoying prescription-drug discounts, expanded health coverage for young adults, and insurance plans for pre-existing conditions, Democrats say the Republican push to repeal the health care overhaul will encounter opposition from the growing number of people who benefit from it. Published January 16, 2011
In rolling out their "Pledge to America" last year, House Republicans repeatedly cited Congressional Budget Office research as proof President Obama's health care overhaul was too expensive. Published January 12, 2011
Sen. Mark Udall wants his colleagues to adopt a new seating arrangement, calling on lawmakers to break with tradition by sitting next to a member of the opposing party during President Obama's State of the Union address Jan. 25. Published January 12, 2011
Two lawmakers said they'll push for tougher gun controls, including stricter limits on high-capacity ammunition magazines. Published January 10, 2011
Congress' official scorekeeper said Thursday that the House Republicans' first major bill, which would repeal last year's health care law, would increase deficits by $230 billion over 10 years - setting off a firestorm of criticism from Democrats who said the GOP is already walking away from its pledges of fiscal restraint. Published January 6, 2011
Tea partyers may be getting all the attention, but the centrist wings of both parties remain the fulcrum in Congress, though which way they swing depends on the issues lawmakers tackle first. Published January 5, 2011
Eager to dispel the notion that their protest movement is a mere flash in the pan, the nation's tea party activists are preparing to welcome the newest crop of lawmakers to Washington by reminding them of the consequences if they walk away from their campaign promises. Published January 4, 2011
It's no coincidence the tax-cut deal President Obama and Republicans reached extends the Bush-era tax breaks for two years, or just in time for the next national election. Published December 26, 2010
The repeal of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy owes much to Sens. Susan Collins and Joseph I. Lieberman, who kept the issue alive when it appeared dead in the kind of partnership that is likely to become a model for getting things done in next year's divided Congress. Published December 21, 2010
Responding to the federal repeal of the military policy banning open gays from serving in the armed forces, a state lawmaker in Virginia plans to fight back with legislation that bars "active homosexuals" from serving in the Virginia National Guard. Published December 19, 2010
