Democrats are considering how far to take their standoff with President Bush on Iraq war funding now that he's vetoed a bill that would require a drawdown to begin early next year.

Congress voted to begin a troop drawdown from Iraq. The bill faces a presidential veto and it is unclear how long the power struggle will last.

A wave of bombs in Baghdad overshadows the current standoff over war funding. Despite meeting with congressional Democrats, President Bush has threatened to veto any bill on troop limits.

The surge to secure Baghdad is still in its infancy but has shown limited signs of success, even as resentment of the war grows among Iraqis and Americans.

U.S. patent law is widely considered obsolete, but the stakes involved in reform could complicate efforts to overhaul the system.

The House bill calling on President Bush to bring troops home from Iraq next year sets the stage for a showdown on management of the war.

With insurgent attacks growing more coordinated, Congress debates whether to condone President Bush’s latest plan to secure Iraq with more troops.

The Bush administration and Congress may join forces on immigration reforms, but there is growing public alarm at the local impact of illegal immigrants.

The battle in the halls of Congress has intensified over the Iraq War, as Republicans block a nonbinding resolution to reject President Bush’s surge plan.

President Bush’s decision to send more troops to Iraq has sparked a clash with a war-weary Congress, and his "surge" policy continues to draw fire at hearings. Yet while Congress controls a number of levers, its Democratic leaders appear intent on taking only a symbolic stand against the new policy.

Environmentalists heralded the power shift in Washington with optimism and expectations of a new, greener Congress. But environmental legislation—particularly on global warming—still looks like a tough sell to many legislators on both sides of the aisle.

With a new team of Iraq advisers emerging, President Bush looks set to call for a “surge” of more U.S. forces to Iraq. Some critics, including newly empowered congressional Democrats, think the emphasis should be on redeployment from Iraq.

The new Democratic Congress is looking to spend political capital with a flurry of legislation on everything from green energy initiatives to homeland security. But lawmakers will be spectators when President Bush unveils his new plan for Iraq.

A Democratic Congress may decide not to renew President Bush’s fast track authority, which could dampen global free trade efforts and lead to greater U.S. protectionism.

Americans voting in midterm elections appear to be more focused than ever on foreign policy issues, creating a scramble during this waning session of Congress for the correct posture on issues ranging from national security to immigration.

Talks of reconciliation with insurgents and a planned pullout of U.S. forces have experts and officials abuzz with end-game solutions to the war in Iraq.

Dubai Ports World has agreed to divest itself of its U.S. ports holdings that were the focal point of a firestorm in Congress over the last two weeks. Though the move should calm immediate fears, the larger questions of port security and foreign control of U.S. infrastructure are likely to linger.

President Bush's defense of a domestic wiretapping program has elicited an impassioned debate in Congress and among the American public. A February 6 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing sought to shed some light on this highly secretive program.

Whatever else it is, 2006 is an election year in the United States, and that fact will bear directly on the war in Iraq. Sustaining a difficult military mission gets even more difficult as U.S. lawmakers near their scheduled date with the electorate in November 2006.

Michael A. Levi and Daniel P. Ahn say, "If lawmakers decide to go ahead with further deficit reduction, they would be remiss not to take a hard look at higher oil taxes as part of the deal."