Eye on Congress

For the next three weeks Congress will be engulfed in the controlled chaos of drafting spending bills to keep the government running in the next fiscal year. And while election year politics will surely factor in the outcome, so too will ongoing rifts among Republicans over spending levels that so far have sidelined Speaker Paul Ryan’s hopes for drafting a budget plan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Barack Obama is urging Congress to pass legislation that would prevent U.S.-based firms from moving their headquarters overseas to avoid paying federal taxes. The president’s calls came after the Treasury Department introduced new rules against inversions, transactions in which U.S. companies take a foreign address, by merging with a smaller overseas firm. The new rules were narrowly crafted to take away the incentive for pharmaceutical giant Pfizer to merge with Ireland’s Botox-maker Allergan and prevent other U.S. companies from similar deals.  The rule change worked because Pfizer announced it cancelled the $160 billion merger. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Obama hosts the fourth and final nuclear summit of his presidency, a gathering of 52 world leaders including China aimed at getting voluntary pledges to secure nuclear materials and guard nuclear plants. Past gatherings have resulted in the withdrawal or destruction of enough nuclear material to build hundreds of warheads. But world events, such as the terrorist attacks in Brussels, may shift the focus to other global security matters.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The high-profile debate over whether law enforcement should be able to force Apple to unlock iPhones when investigating criminal cases is over. But unsettling questions remain over how the government turned to a third party to get the job done, and what that could mean for ongoing discussions inside and outside of Congress about balancing national security with privacy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The terror attacks in Brussels have spurred much discussion about whether such an incident could happen in the United States. Experts and national security minded members of Congress note that while border security is more fragmented in Europe than the United States, enough soft targets exist to make an ISIS-inspired attack a major concern. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Barack Obama’s historic trip to Cuba is over, but how his diplomacy affects the United States' ties with its Caribbean neighbor is very much an open question. While the administration and its Cuban counterparts are identifying business opportunities, Congress still holds the cards in deciding whether to lift a Cold War-era trade embargo on the island nation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The handful of red state governors and lawmakers who have been willing to expand Medicaid under the 2010 health care law have tried to put their own spin on the program – and one of their favorites has been pushing recipients to find jobs.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Speaker Paul Ryan’s goal of passing a budget plan for fiscal 2017 is being sidelined by hardline conservatives in the House of Representatives. Though the budget is largely symbolic and can’t become law, it illustrates the lingering tensions within the GOP that are putting a check on Ryan’s ambitions.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Obama put Senate Republicans on the spot by nominating Appeals Court Judge Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court. A former prosecutor who’s served 19 years on the powerful U.S. Court of Appeals for the District Circuit, Garland is widely seen as a safe, moderate addition to a court that’s been divided 4-4 since the death of Antonin Scalia.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Obama will soon select a nominee to replace Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court. What happens after that is unclear. Senate Republicans who control the confirmation process have vowed not to consider the nomination in an election year, and many insiders expect the position to remain vacant until early next year.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A top secret military exercise last summer showed the United States can’t adequately respond to a terrorist attack on nuclear missiles deployed in the northern plains states. Congress and the Pentagon agree they need to replace the Vietnam-era helicopters that are supposed to play a pivotal role in protecting the missiles. But lawmakers are divided on whether to move fast to deal with the problem or to seek bids for new helicopters and potentially get a piece of contracting action for their states. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New York Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin and Nebraska Democrat Rep. Brad Ashford are two freshman House members worth watching in this year’s campaign. Zeldin is a Republican in a district which President Barack Obama carried by about 1,600 votes in 2012. Ashford is a Democrat in a district which Mitt Romney carried with 54 percent. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Congressional Republicans have just weeks left to meet an April 15 deadline for producing a tax and spending plan that is supposed to green light the writing of annual spending bills that fund the government. But with the GOP deeply divided over federal spending, the entire process is in limbo, raising doubts whether party leaders can fulfill their pledges of fiscal honesty and stable governing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Congress is weighing what to do about prescription painkiller and heroin abuse – a problem statistics show is killing more Americans than car accidents. But the administration and Republicans are far apart on how to pay for a response, especially whether to have a dedicated stream of mandatory spending to address the problem. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Puerto Rico's struggles to crawl out from under $72 billion in debt has set off a debate in Congress over how to extend a lifeline to the island commonwealth. One option is a special type of bankruptcy – an unpalatable option for some Republicans and investors wary of a bailout.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Supreme Court this week heard arguments in the first substantive abortion rights case to reach justices in almost a decade. But whatever happens in the challenge to a Texas law regulating abortion clinics, it’s likely to leave uncertainty for state lawmakers and plenty of room for more legal battles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Congress is trying to finish a child nutrition bill in an election year – no small task with a tight legislative calendar and sensitive decisions over questions such as the size of reimbursements for federally subsidized lunches and breakfasts. The outcome will affect subsidized lunches and breakfasts served to an estimated 30 million kids. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The presidential candidates are spending a lot of time warning about the influence of millionaires and billionaires on American politics. But the rhetoric isn’t likely to change Congress’ low-energy approach to restructuring campaign finance laws – a process that’s been hindered by vested interests and a lack of specifics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Congress is looking at privatizing the nation’s air traffic control system in order to help raise funds for efforts such as a next generation navigation system. But the spinoff faces powerful opposition from lawmakers who control the purse strings, the military and other players who contend the idea would be a sop to the airlines and disrupt a system that’s worked well for the public. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The battle between Apple and the Justice Department over access to iPhone data is putting encryption policy back in the congressional spotlight. But it's unclear whether Congress get around the perennial challenge of balancing security with privacy and sort out whether the case sets a dangerous precedent. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices