Eye on Congress

The Obama administration has given up on half-hearted efforts to require companies to provide the government with access to encrypted electronic communications — the latest development in a long-running debate pitting national security against civil liberties that Congress is struggling to sort out. CQ's Adriel Bettelheim and intelligence reporter Ryan Lucas explain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Congress faces a Nov. 20 deadline to authorize spending on the nation’s highway and mass transit programs, another big task on lawmakers’ year-end to-do list. House and Senate negotiators will have to iron out differences in their plans by then to keep the money flowing. CQ's Adriel Bettelheim and Kellie Mejdrich explain.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Obama administration’s limits on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants have triggered a slew of lawsuits and set off a tempest for states, utilities, unions and trade groups. The final fate of the rules will be decided by the courts. This comes as the administration heads to an international conference in Paris in December with the hope of using the regulations to strike an accord on climate change.     Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Obama administration has taken a lot of heat for a Middle East policy that critics see as naïve and feckless. A CQ Weekly cover story shows how it’s most immediately playing out in Syria, where U.S. policy remains more or less stuck in the same place it was three years ago. CQ's Adriel Bettelheim and Intelligence Reporter Ryan Lucas explain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Republicans, Democrats and the White House all agree on the need to expand high-speed Internet to outlying areas. But there are sticky questions about how to cover the cost, and practical challenges to digging up thousands of miles of right of way to lay high-speed networks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A two-year agreement to lift budget caps and raise the government’s debt ceiling is speeding through Congress in time to beat a deadline for raising the government’s borrowing authority. But it won’t end bitter ideological fights over government spending and fiscal issues. CQ's Adriel Bettelheim and Jane Norman explain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Some pilots could be killed during ejections from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter being developed for the U.S. military under a nearly $400 billion program to acquire the warplane of the future. CQ's Adriel Bettelheim and Defense Writer John Donnelly discuss the potential problem. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Congress is considering legislation to fund sorely needed surface transportation programs nationwide but hasn't figured out how to pay for it. CQ's Adriel Bettelheim and Randy Walerius explain why. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices