congress

March 2, 2015 - With a fight underway in Congress over protecting more U.S. waterways from industrial pollution, Environment America has issued a report looking at the millions of dollars spent on politics each year by polluters. Besides the Kansas-based oil and chemical giant, other big-spending polluters include Southern meat processors and an energy company.

February 6, 2015 - Backlash against the South's recent rapid growth in the immigrant population may be contributing to the region's negative response to the president's executive action on immigration. But demographic trends may be fueling a more welcoming environment in the region's cities.

January 28, 2015 - The Obama administration has proposed opening Atlantic waters to offshore oil and gas drilling after years of being lobbied by a coalition of coastal-state governors that had more than a little industry help. But a growing grassroots movement aims to keep the drills at bay.

January 13, 2015 - The choice is clear, says the climate movement: Promote the oil industry's interests, or demonstrate a commitment to addressing climate chaos by saying "No" to a dirty oil pipeline.

January 6, 2015 - The IRS faces a number of hurdles before its new regulations for social welfare nonprofits can be finalized, including potential opposition from Congress.

December 22, 2014 - Environmentalists say a long-awaited federal rule governing disposal of the toxic waste left over after burning coal is "too little and too late" -- and that when the next disaster inevitably occurs the White House will share the blame.

November 14, 2014 - President Obama reportedly plans to issue an executive order before year's end dramatically overhauling U.S. immigration policy, sparing as many as 5 million people from the threat of deportation. What will the political consequences be?

September 5, 2014 - Two election cycles after the landmark Supreme Court decision loosening restrictions on corporate money in politics, research is emerging that assesses its impact on our political system -- and it finds that the decision has disproportionately benefited Republicans, especially in North Carolina and Tennessee.

August 15, 2014 - A federal program to transfer Defense Department gear to local law enforcement has led to police even in small communities looking like an occupying military force. It's now under scrutiny because of shocking scenes of police violence that unfolded this week in Missouri following an officer's deadly shooting of an unarmed black teen -- and it's also caused problems across the South.

August 4, 2014 - Should companies that reincorporate abroad to avoid federal taxes be able to win federal contracts? A group of Democratic members of Congress has drafted legislation to halt the practice.