Primary Coverage - An Insider’s View
Robert L. Ehrlich
A prolonged GOP primary campaign is both a curse and a blessing for the almost certain nominee, Governor Mitt Romney. More »
House Passes Ryan Budget
George C. Crawford
After 2 days of debate, House Republicans successfully fended off several alternative budgets and passed the budget blueprint recommended by the House Budget Committee by a vote of 228-191. More »
Appropriations First on the Agenda When Congress Returns From Break
Thomas J. Spulak
Congress left Washington last Friday for a two week Easter recess. When it returns on April 16th, chief among its priorities will be the initiation of the FY 2013 appropriations process, that is, legislating the spending levels for every aspect of the federal government. More »
Draw Down of Strategic Petroleum Reserve Becomes Campaign Issue
George C. Crawford
An election year battle over gas prices continued over the weekend with House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) calling a potential draw down of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve "political pixie dust in an election year". More »
Senate Rejects Bill to Repeal Oil and Gas Subsidies
Allison F. Kassir
As part of a continuing political struggle to lay blame for rising gas prices, the Senate last week debated and rejected a bill to repeal billions of oil and shale gas tax subsidies for the five largest oil companies and use those savings to extend renewable energy tax credits and incentives. More »
The Uncertain Fate of the Health Care Reform Law in the U.S. Supreme Court
Preeya Noronha Pinto
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court presided over three days of historic oral arguments regarding the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. Although the Justices' questions to the lawyers for the government and the parties challenging the law provided certain clues suggesting how each Justice may ultimately decide the issues, the fate of the health care reform law is still unknown. More »
Highway Bill Update - Prospects for a Long-Term Bill Still Uncertain
William Clarkson
With the current funding authorization for federal highway, transit and safety programs set to expire the next day, President Obama signed a three-month extension bill on March 30th, setting the stage for another round of high-stakes Congressional negotiations when lawmakers return from recess on April 16th. More »
On Remand from the 7th Circuit, FERC Reaffirms PJM-Wide Allocation of Costs of New Transmission Lines of 500 kV and Above
David G. Tewksbury
On March 30, 2012, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) issued an order reaffirming a region-wide, postage-stamp methodology for allocating costs of new transmission lines of 500 kV and above in the PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. (“PJM”) on remand from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit. More »
A Watered Down Insider Trade Bill Heads to the President’s Desk
Thomas J. Spulak, Claudia A. Hrvatin
In the February 17th edition of Washington Insight, we reported that the House and Senate had passed separate versions of legislation intended to prohibit Members of Congress and their staff from using non-public information obtained as a result of their position or during the performance of their duties for personal financial benefit. More »
Conference on the Renaissance of American Manufacturing
Lauren M. Donoghue
Last week, King & Spalding was among a group of prominent organizations sponsoring the highly successful second annual “Conference on the Renaissance of American Manufacturing: Jobs, Trade and the Presidential Election.” More »
National Journal Names the Most Ideologically Extreme Members of Congress
On February 21st, National Journal came out with it’s annual vote ratings of the most ideologically extreme members of Congress. For 2011, these are the most conservative and most liberal members of the House. More »
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