Politics - Congressional Quarterly

Al Franken arrived on Capitol Hill on Monday for the first time as a senator-elect, more than eight months after Minnesota voters went to the polls to choose between him and Republican Norm Coleman.

After months of uncertainty about the timing, candidates to succeed former California Rep. Ellen O. Tauscher are gearing up for a Sept. 1 primary.

As his presidency approaches the half-year mark, Barack Obama is on pace to be the most successful Oval Office occupant in more than half a century when measured by his ability to get Congress to vote his way -- even though he shows signs of carefully picking his fights on Capitol Hill.

A government-run insurance program would be an "obstacle" to health care overhaul, a top Senate Republican said Sunday, and such "unfair competition" would lead to nationalized health insurance, while a top Senate Democrat defended it as one means to "keep the private insurance companies honest."

With the health care overhaul a major item on Congress' agenda, the pharmaceutical industry has ramped up its lobbying efforts in Washington. Many drug companies posted the biggest increases in lobbying expenditures in the first quarter of this year over quarterly reports last year, according to CQ MoneyLine analysis of federal lobbying reports. See this table for more information.

When it comes to food safety, Rep. Rosa DeLauro means business, even if it triggers the first World Trade Organization complaint filed against the United States in the Obama administration.

Few House members seeking re-election next year will be as vigorously targeted for defeat by the opposing party as freshman Reps. Walt Minnick of Idaho and Anh "Joseph" Cao of Louisiana.

Within hours of House passage June 26 of sweeping energy legislation, the party fund-raising letters were already going out.

Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee signaled anew Friday that Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor will be questioned about lawsuits charging racial bias during her tenure on the board of a Latino legal advocacy group.

Another new month brings another tough-to- swallow employment report. The headlines trumpeted an increase in the number of jobs lost in June and a rise in the jobless rate. Neither was really a surprise. We know the picture is grim and will remain so for a while.