The Waco Democrat, in the fight of his career as he runs for re-election in the most Republican House district held by a Democrat anywhere in the country, got a big boost Monday when the National Rifle Association's Victory Fund announced it would support him over his GOP opponent, Bill Flores. Full Story
Joining her home state Republican colleague, John Cornyn, U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison will oppose Elena Kagan's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. Full Story
... is Ciro Rodriguez, D-San Antonio — or at least that's what the big spenders at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee seem to think. Full Story
A clip of U.S. Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, in which he apparently flares up at a constituent questioning him on health care, is making the rounds in the conservative blogosphere. Full Story
Federal and military officials say Texans needn't worry about 17 Afghan military trainees who disappeared from Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. Many of the Afghans, who were studying English, have been located — and they say none of them pose the national security threat U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and other lawmakers fear. Full Story
U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Ennis, isn't the only Texas congressman making headlines in Washington. Citing a "retired F.B.I. agent" as his source, U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Tyler, said on the floor of Congress last week that terror cells are plotting to breed future terrorists inside the United States. Full Story
Two little words — “I apologize,” uttered by U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Ennis, to Tony Hayward, the CEO of BP — have upgraded the status of David Cozad’s campaign from Sure Loser to Longer-Than-Longshot. Full Story
Congressional Republicans — led by members of the Texas delegation — are poised to file a bill lifting Barack Obama’s moratorium on offshore drilling. Ben Philpott filed this report for KUT News and the Tribune. Full Story
Congress is known for having arcane battles, but the biggest fight these days in water law is over a single word in a 1970s-era measure designed to reduce pollution in America's waterways. Texas environmentalists and ranchers are anxiously awaiting the outcome. Full Story
Thevenot on the ideological backbiting at the internationally famous State Board of Education; Stiles, Narioka and Hamilton plumb employee salary data in Texas colleges and universities; Grissom looks at the problem of insufficient indigent defense; Cervantes on the push for "veterans courts" emphasizing treatment and counseling over punishment; Aguilar finds border congressmen asking the governor for a fair break on federal homeland security dollars; M. Smith on another BP rig in the Gulf; Ramshaw reports on nurse practitioners trying to get permission slips from doctors; Hu follows up with lawmakers poking at whistleblower allegations of trouble in the state's workers' compensation regulation; Hamilton stops in on Luke Hayes and his efforts to turn Texas into a political powerhouse for Obama; and Ramsey writes on generation changes at the Capitol and on political pranksters: The best of our best from May 17 to 21, 2010. Full Story
It's not only rich people and lobbyists and interest group activists who make political contributions. Texas congressional candidates gave at least $1.3 million to other campaigns and causes over the last 15 months, according to itemized records of campaign expenditures released for the first time by the Federal Election Commission. Topping the list of big spenders in the Texas delegation were U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Surfside, who contributed at least $240,000 — the highest dollar amount — and Charlie Gonzalez, D-San Antonio, who gave more than 60 contributions — the highest number. Search our database to see who gave what to whom. Full Story
On Tuesday, the Federal Election Commission for the first time released detailed records for all congressional candidates' campaign spending. These records tell us who the candidates hire for advertising, consulting, etc., and can often be more interesting to politics junkies than lists of campaign donations. We've made spending by the Texas delegation in the U.S. House of Representatives searchable. Full Story
The Obama administration is taking heat from Texas Democrats in Congress over its slowness in filling the state's vacant federal judgeships. Six are open, and a seventh will be next month — with no solution in sight. In his first 16 months in offfice, as Matt Largey of KUT News reports, the President has not nominated a single person to the federal bench in Texas. Full Story
President Obama and the U.S. Senate haven't yet installed U.S. Attorneys in any of Texas' four federal court districts. As our national map shows, more than half of the country is in the same situation. Full Story
The Port of Houston Authority is poised to make the Lone Star State the top U.S. trade partner with communist Cuba after gaining permission for its container vessels to sail there. Full Story
FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell on why people who use more bandwith should pay more, what he thinks of the recent court decision preventing restrictions on "information service" providers, and more. Full Story
Cut through the routine Republican primary rhetoric about government spending and job creation and a narrative about the new and old guard emerges in the April 13 runoff in Texas' 23rd congressional district. Full Story
A midterm Congressional report released today by the National Latino Congreso asserts Texas’ U.S. House delegation votes against progressive immigration reform proposals 63 percent of the time. Full Story