Good Bill Hunting

Rep. Robin Kelly's bill would raise the cap to 20 percent if the extra produce is sold or donated in "food deserts," poorer areas where high-quality groceries are lacking. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP)

Illinois lawmakers take on ‘food deserts’

Steven Nelson · February 13, 2018 5:00 am

Rep. Tom MacArthur, R-N.J., is proposing the Transparency for Taxpayers Act, which would require the Internal Revenue Service to make available an online tax calculator to give taxpayers the ability to see the probable impact of the bill on individual income taxes. (CQ Roll Call via AP Images)

Tom MacArthur pushes for online tax calculator as GOP tries to sell tax reform

Al Weaver · February 6, 2018 5:01 am

Rhonda Worthington talks on her cell phone with a 911 dispatcher after her car become stuck in rising floodwaters from Tropical Storm Harvey in Houston, Texas, Monday, on Aug. 28. In the coming weeks, the government is expected to finalize its estimate of how much federal aid states and territories will need to update their 911 services. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

Calling 911 is still woefully low-tech. These lawmakers are trying to rescue it

Pete Kasperowicz · January 16, 2018 5:01 am

Sen. Ted Cruz with his daughters Caroline, right, and Catherine, in Columbus, Ind., on April 25. Cruz's ongoing school choice push, a topic he has consistently pushed since his 2012 election to the Senate, calls it the "civil rights issue of the 21st century." (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Ted Cruz makes DC school choice push

Al Weaver · December 12, 2017 5:01 am

Vice President Mike Pence in 2007 co-sponsored a bill called the Free Flow of Information Act, which was aimed at setting strict conditions for when the government can force reporters to give up their confidential sources.

Lawmakers enlist Mike Pence to protect reporters from Trump administration

Pete Kasperowicz · December 4, 2017 5:01 am

"I don't want lawmakers with a sufficient knowledge of how the system works pushing their own special interests," said Rep. Trey Hollingsworth, R-Ind. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP)

Rep. Trey Hollingsworth’s idea to ‘drain the swamp’ could put ex-congressmen in jail

Steven Nelson · November 26, 2017 5:01 am

Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., admits his Fair Representation Act won't be an easy sell and may not pass for decades. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

Bill would nix gerrymandering in favor of multi-member districts

Steven Nelson · October 23, 2017 4:01 am

Along with West Virginia, Kentucky, and New Hampshire, Ohio has been ravaged by the opioid crisis. In 2016, 4,000 Ohioans died from drug overdoses. So far in 2017, 964 overdoses have been reported in Trumbull County, Ryan's home county. In one recent week in the county alone, 59 overdoses and five deaths were reported.

Tim Ryan, Evan Jenkins lead push to curb infant mortality amid opioid epidemic

Al Weaver · October 16, 2017 4:01 am

Rep. Pete Welch says it's too easy for Congress to pass huge spending bills, and then hem and haw later over whether to facilitate that spending by allowing more government borrowing. (AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke)

One lawmaker’s debt ceiling fix: Don’t vote on it at all

Pete Kasperowicz · October 2, 2017 4:01 am

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., says many older Americans are shocked to learn they pay federal income tax twice: once as workers on pay diverted into the Social Security system, and again after receiving retirement checks. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call via AP Images)

Massie wants to eliminate taxes on Social Security income

Steven Nelson · September 25, 2017 4:01 am

Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-WA) has introduced legislation that would mandate the formation of "cybersecurity civil support teams" within the Air and Army National Guard nationwide.

National Guard could be America’s next cyber defenders

Joel Gehrke · September 18, 2017 4:01 am

Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Colo., center, said passage of his bill is time sensitive given the actions taken by the Maduro regime and the suffering within the country, which he warns could become the next Cuban-style dictatorship. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Energy and Environment

Mike Coffman targets oil imports to slow Maduro regime in Venezuela

Al Weaver · September 11, 2017 4:01 am