When lawmakers return to Capitol Hill this week, a group of House Republicans known as the FIT Force will unveil an effort to expose Washington waste.

Exactly one year after angering conservatives with an amnesty bill for illegal aliens, Sen. John McCain managed to fire up the right again last week.

The Labor Department’s seven-year effort to improve financial reporting and disclosure by unions could come to a screeching halt once President Bush leaves office.

Talk about bad timing. Gas prices are spiking and U.S. energy policy is contributing to skyrocketing food costs.

A congressional Web site devoted to spending reform may soon fall victim to a nearly 10-year-old House rule governing online activity. If the Web site is axed, it will serve as an embarrassing example of just how behind the times our lawmakers are.

Just when it appeared House Republicans had turned the corner on earmark reform, party leaders did the unthinkable. They picked pork-loving Rep. Jo Bonner (R-Ala.) for the vacant seat on the Appropriations Committee.

Seven minutes into his final State of the Union address, President Bush declared war on earmarks. It took him seven years and came after significant expense to taxpayers, but it was a sign that official Washington might finally be waking up to the problems of pork-barrel politics.

The U.S. treasury secretary did such a poor job representing the White House in negotiations on the economic stimulus deal, it wasn’t clear if Paulson was purposely trying to help House Speaker Nancy Pelosi or simply unaccustomed to how business is done in Washington.

President Bush doesn’t like to admit he’s made mistakes. But if White House chatter about an economic stimulus package is true, the president is about to repeat a misstep made early in his first term.

Members of Congress return to Washington this week $4,100 richer. During their three-week vacation, the annual cost-of-living adjustment kicked in, bringing the salary of a congressman to $169,300.

All eyes will be on New Hampshire Wednesday morning for the first true primary in the 2008 elections. But even as hardy New Englanders trudge to the polls, something at least as consequential will happening in Washington, D.C.

Earmarks were supposed to be a thing of the past for Republicans after allegations of corruption cost the GOP control of Congress in 2006.

The federal government’s union watchdog agency will have to get by on less next year. The mammoth omnibus spending bill passed last week hacks nearly $3 million from the Office of Labor Management Standards -- a small gift for Big Labor just in time for Christmas.

Feeling pressure to wrap up work on 11 of the 12 unfinished appropriations bills that fund the federal government, congressional Democrats will push this week to pass a mammoth omnibus spending package just in time for Christmas.

Sen. Jim DeMint is as frustrated as anyone on Capitol Hill about Congress’s failure to wrap up work on the federal budget. The South Carolina Republican has a simple plan to save taxpayers $31 billion.

CNN had an opportunity to shine as co-host of last week’s Republican presidential debate. Instead, the network faltered.

Ask Clarence Thomas what he enjoys doing and he’ll tell you about driving his RV across America or cheering for his beloved Nebraska Cornhuskers. That hardly sounds like the life of a U.S. Supreme Court justice, but in the case of Thomas, he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Free trade has fallen on hard times in America. With commentators such as CNN's Lou Dobbs promoting protectionism and liberal politicians pandering to Big Labor, the tide has clearly turned.

Congressional Republicans have tried hard this year to reclaim the GOP’s traditional “brand” as the party of fiscal responsibility. They’re about to face a test that will show whether their rhetoric matches reality.

CNN had an opportunity to shine as co-host of last week’s Republican presidential debate. Instead, the network faltered with millions watching.