Danny Glover

Lawmakers want Federal Prison Industries to compete with the private sector for government contracts. FPI has had an edge in the way it sells products like prisoner-manufactured furniture to the government.

As the federal government's inspectors general celebrated the 25th anniversary that created their world, officials debated anew the oversight idea that has sparked admiration in some circles and fear or resentment in others.

The debate over the Davis-Bacon Act after Hurricane Katrina has shined a spotlight on the 1931 law once again. The concept of "prevailing wages" sparked little concern when the statute was enacted but has prompted many calls for repeal since then.

Meteorologically speaking, Hurricane Katrina died days after slamming into the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29, 2005. Politically speaking, it is very much alive in the nation's capital. The real test of its staying power will be the policy changes it spawns.

The political circumstances surrounding current efforts to strengthen the Freedom of Information Act resemble those when the law was first enacted in the 1950s. It took 11 years to get the concept written into law.

This year's debate over transportation spending may be decided by presidential veto. It wouldn't be a first. President Andrew Jackson vetoed the Maysville Road bill in 1830 — and for reasons similar to criticisms of the current proposal.

The current congressional debate over bankruptcy reform encompasses a classic American tug-of-war between creditors and debtors. It harks back to the late 1800s, the era of the first long-term bankruptcy statute in U.S. history.

Republicans who see personal retirement accounts as the salvation for Social Security have a new hero: Franklin Delano Roosevelt. But they don't mentioned what happened to FDR's plan for such accounts. It died for lack of support.

Much of the money that lawmakers earmark for their states and districts these days goes toward technology-related projects. National Journal's Technology Daily found nearly $1 billion for such projects in spending bills and conference reports.

After gaining prominence in the media and the political arena, blogs are becoming a force within policy-making circles. Think tanks and their wonks have blogs. So do trade associations, watchdog groups and other special interests.

Pointed rhetoric has been a hallmark of Brad Smith's five-year tenure at the Federal Election Commission. It explains why self-styled campaign reformers celebrated his departure from the post and why free-speech advocates are lamenting the loss.