Senate Democratic lawmakers from rural states are balking at legislation to let the post office close thousands of offices. Read more...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Democrats have begun preparing a backup plan to extend a tax cut for workers if a special congressional negotiating committee fails to reach quick agreement, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said on Friday. Reid#39;s comments, in a conference call with reporters, were seen by some congressional aides as a signal to Republicans that he is prepared to play hard ball on ...

As the Senate moves forward on a bill to ban insider trading among members of Congress, Democratic senators said Thursday that they#39;ve agreed to a key Republican demand--to expand the ban to federal employees.

The aim is to force quick disclosure of contributions to the proliferating committees established to help a specific candidate.

Senate Democrats are calling for a probe into superPAC fundraising. The announcement comes a day after release of the new political action committees#39; fourth-quarter 2011 fundraising, and after Republican Mitt Romney#39;s Florida primary victory — which was fueled in part by superPAC ads.