In spring 2021, President Joe Biden struck a deal with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to remove U.S. sanctions on a Russian company building a natural gas pipeline from Russia to Germany. While analysts suggested the move was made to protect U.S. relations with Germany, the decision was opposed by both Republicans and Democrats as well as several European countries. The Nord Stream 2 pipeline, constructed by the Russian state-controlled gas company Gazprom, is projected to double natural gas exports into Europe once German regulators certify the recently completed project. The pipeline runs under the Baltic Sea and bypasses Poland and…

As lawmakers negotiated annual government spending bills this summer and fall, federal funding for abortions emerged as a contentious issue. Democrats pushed for the removal of an annual appropriations rider known as the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal funding for abortions, while Republicans said they were committed to keeping it on the books. First enacted by Congress in 1976, the Hyde Amendment, named for former Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Ill.), means there is no coverage for abortions for Medicaid recipients and those who get health care through other federal programs like the Indian Health Service, Medicare and the Children’s Health Insurance…