House Speaker John Boehner says if President Barack Obama doesn't reverse a new policy requiring religious schools and hospitals to provide employees with access to free birth control, the Congress will.

House Republicans say a fresh push for a 1,700-mile Canada-to-Texas pipeline could be part of a new round of negotiations over extending the payroll tax cut and benefits for the long-term unemployed.

Don't look for the Pentagon to shut down one side of its famous five-sided building. Don't expect the Education Department to pull back its grants just yet.

One crisis averted, on to the next. The day after Congress managed to avoid a government shutdown again Republicans and Democrats stared ahead Tuesday at major fights over spending that underscore a deep divide that's sure to define the fast-approaching national elections.

For the dozen lawmakers tasked with producing a deficit-cutting plan, the threatened "doomsday" defense cuts hit close to home.

The special panel's goal is lofty: concoct a deal both parties will embrace to slash federal deficits by a mammoth $1.5 trillion or more over the next decade.

A military built for fighting wars is looking more and more like a health care entitlement program.