Dean Heller

Pummeled in the media and on Capitol Hill because of continuing delays in processing benefits claims, the Department of Veterans Affairs instituted mandatory overtime hours as part of its pledge to resolve by 2015 a backlog estimated at more than 845,...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Washington's top tax official was fired on Wednesday as President Barack Obama sought to stem a rising tide of criticism over the Internal Revenue Service's improper targeting of conservative groups for special scrutiny. With three...

* Obama says he 'will not tolerate' partisan actions by IRS * Republicans vow to continue probes of agency * Investigations will look for any links to White House By Matt Spetalnick and Kim Dixon WASHINGTON, May 15 (Reuters) - Washington's top tax...

WASHINGTON -- The gun bill was going down, but Sen. Joe Manchin, the West Virginia Democrat who reached a compromise to try to save it, went to the Senate floor Wednesday morning to give it one more try. In an unorthodox tactic, he appealed directly...

WASHINGTON — After four months of debate and maneuvering, the Senate headed for a showdown over gun control — a series of back-to-back votes on rival plans Wednesday afternoon that could end in the collapse of the entire effort. The...

WASHINGTON -- A Senate plan to expand the background-check requirement for gun purchases faced a narrowing path to success Tuesday, as advocates for stricter laws sought to scrape together the last few votes they need from among a dwindling number of...

WASHINGTON -- Earlier this month, I wrote that the Senate was making quiet progress toward passing a gun control bill that would make background checks mandatory on buyers in almost all gun purchases, including most sales between individuals. And that,...

WASHINGTON -- The Republican-controlled House will vote next week to permit the government to borrow more money to meet its obligations, a move aimed at heading off a market-rattling confrontation with President Barack Obama over the so-called debt limit....

WASHINGTON — Democrats retained a narrow majority in the Senate on Tuesday, but Republicans kept their grip on the House, delivering another divided, and highly polarized, Congress. The balance of power was likely to shift by no more than a seat...

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called on Republicans to cooperate with an expanded Democratic majority Wednesday, a day after the Democrats picked up at least one more seat in the chamber. "It is better to dance than to fight," said Reid, D-Nevada....

WASHINGTON -- Democrats retained a narrow majority in the Senate on Tuesday, but Republicans kept their grip on the House, delivering another divided, and highly polarized, Congress. The balance of power was likely to shift by no more than a seat or two,...

Even before a second Republican Senate candidate tripped over incendiary comments about rape, GOP leaders in Washington knew that their once promising chances of winning control of the Senate had diminished. Whether Richard Mourdock of Indiana can move...