Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-Nev.) race to pass a health care bill by Christmas is on hold while the Congressional Budget Office analyzes a compromise proposal that could break an impasse among Democrats over the public insurance option.

Rep. Brian Baird's retirement announcement Wednesday afternoon has undoubtedly made the Washington Democrat's 3rd district seat competitive for Republican strategists looking for House takeover opportunities in 2010.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Thursday angrily denounced what he called GOP efforts to use the chamber floor to "embarrass or denigrate" with accusations that he was trying to cancel weekend votes to attend a fundraiser.

Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Thursday that the Senate will be in session Saturday and Sunday to dispose of a $446.8 billion omnibus spending measure, but he said the schedule for the rest of the chamber's health care debate remained unclear.

Hoping to provide President Barack Obama with "guidance" during his trip to Copenhagen for international climate change talks, a bipartisan group of lawmakers released what they dubbed a comprehensive framework for legislation they hope to use as the basis for a compromise bill next spring.

House Republican Conference Vice Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Wash.) defended her $20 million earmark haul in the $446.8 billion omnibus spending conference report Thursday, saying her local projects "deserve taxpayer support" while touting the transparency of the earmarking process.

Former Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) suffered a stroke Wednesday night and remains in intensive care in a Washington, D.C., hospital, according to a statement released Thursday by his son.

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) on Thursday officially endorsed Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael Williams, one of a handful of Republicans seeking the seat that Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R) is expected to vacate in a few months.

Moderate Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) indicated Thursday that she would likely oppose a Democratic proposal to expand Medicare under the health care reform bill.

Rep. Christopher Carney (D-Pa.) endorsed fellow Navy veteran Manan Trivedi on Thursday in the Democratic primary for an open House seat in southeastern Pennsylvania.

As Americans reach into their wallets and pocketbooks this holiday season, few will have the resources of a Congressional campaign's treasury to bankroll their gift-giving spirit.

Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) endorsed President Barack Obama's Afghanistan war proposal during a meeting with reporters on Thursday.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), long the most powerful advocate for a public insurance option in a sweeping health care overhaul, on Thursday signaled she could live without one in a final package.

Senate Republicans are lambasting Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-Nev.) surprise decision to try to avoid holding votes this weekend, leveling accusations that Reid may be trying to clear the decks so he can travel to New Orleans for a fundraiser on Saturday.

Screaming television commercials peddling everything from cleaning products to the latest sport utility vehicle might be a thing of the past if some Members of Congress get their way.

House Appropriations Committee Republicans vowed Thursday to vote against the Defense spending bill if Democrats use it as a vehicle to a raise to the debt ceiling.

Hoping for a weekend off, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) sought consent from Republicans Thursday to consider an omnibus appropriations measure and avoid having to use procedural maneuvers that would push the process into a Saturday vote.

Amid some speculation in Tennessee Republican circles that farmer and gospel singer Stephen Fincher will get a primary challenge in the race to replace retiring Rep. John Tanner (D), the National Republican Congressional Committee gave their recruit a vote of confidence Thursday morning.

In strikingly tough-minded language, President Barack Obama accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo on Thursday, mixing a call for peace and idealism with a stark reminder that he commands the U.S. military and that war is sometimes necessary.

As they exited a special caucus meeting Wednesday night, Democratic Senators said the session was light on the substance of a potential compromise to the public insurance option. The meeting, called by Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), was instead heavy on cheerleading, they said.