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Road Map: Democrats Determined to Finish Bill by Easter

March 9, 12 a.m.

The long, bruising slog on health care reform finally appears headed for a conclusion, with Congressional Democrats sensing fresh momentum and urgency to get it done.

Road Map: Majority Spins Bunning Gold

March 2, 12 a.m.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and the White House may want to send a few dozen roses to Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) for throwing them a lifeline last week.

Road Map: Reid Pokes at Popular Pork

Feb. 23, 12 a.m.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is in serious danger of being against it before he was for it.

Road Map: Agenda Idles as Recess Looms

Feb. 9, 12 a.m.

The traffic in downtown Washington isn’t the only thing the winter of 2010 has brought to a near standstill.

Road Map: Budget Brings Pain and Hope for Gain

Feb. 2, 12 a.m.

The federal stimulus gravy train is about to slam to a halt, but not before one last trip to the trough.

Road Map: Majority Wrestles With Jobs Strategy

Jan. 26, 12 a.m.

How many jobs bills does it take to save the Senate Democratic majority? It depends on who you ask.

Road Map: Senate GOP Feels the Momentum Flowing

Jan. 19, 12 a.m.

The Senate Democrats return to work this week feeling battered, weak and almost desperate to quickly power through what has become a politically damaging health care debate.

Road Map: Health Deal-Making Kicks Off

Jan. 12, 12 a.m.

House Democrats return to Capitol Hill today armed with a growing wish list for a final health care reform deal, despite repeated warnings from Senators that their wiggle room is limited.

Road Map: Wednesday House Departure Increasingly Unlikely

Dec. 15, 12 a.m.

House Democrats are grumpy. Not only are Members unlikely to leave town by Wednesday, but their No. 1 domestic priority, health care reform, is teetering on the edge across the Dome.

Road Map: Defense Bill Allows Obama to Start Troop Surge

Dec. 8, 12 a.m.

Congress is poised to quickly clear tens of billions of dollars in war funding for Afghanistan that President Barack Obama intends to use to start his controversial surge — a fact that is largely lost amid the end-of-year scramble to keep the government running.

Road Map: Mystery Surrounds Compromise on the Public Option

Dec. 1, 12 a.m.

There’s an air of mystery surrounding just who among Senate Democrats is going to broker a critical compromise on the public insurance option.

Road Map: Reid’s Health Bill Push May Spell Weekend Work 

Nov. 17, 12 a.m.

If you’ve got a dog in the health care reform fight, you might want to keep this weekend open for another nail-biter vote — this time in the Senate.

Road Map: Democrats Continue Hunt for Votes on Health Care

Nov. 3, 12 a.m.

Would you buy something sight unseen?
Neither will many Senate Democrats, which is putting Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and his leadership team in the awkward position of looking for votes on a major health care reform bill that doesn’t quite exist.

Road Map: Health, Climate Bills Yield Many Parallels

Oct. 27, 12 a.m.

When Senate Environment and Public Works Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) kicks off the three-day markup of her climate change bill today, the opening statements, debate on amendments and even the final vote aren’t expect to break through the din of the health care debate.

Road Map: A Lot of Work Remains for Lawmakers in 2009

Oct. 20, 12 a.m.

Congressional Democrats are going to have to step up the pace a bit if they hope to do all those things they promised before the end of the year.

Road Map: GOP Continues Attack On Health Bill’s Cost

Oct. 13, 12 a.m.

That leg the Democrats are standing on? It belongs to Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.), whose health care reform bill has finally given President Barack Obama and the Democratic majority in Congress something to crow about.

Road Map: Democrats Continue to Await Snowe’s Next Move

Oct. 6, 12 a.m.

Regardless of whether Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) is a “yea” or “nay” when the vote on a health care reform bill is called in the Finance Committee this week, her decision will certainly be fodder for countless headlines.

Road Map: Reid, Obama Weigh Fate of Public Option

Sept. 29, 12 a.m.

Is the public insurance option alive or dead? It kind of depends on whom you talk to these days. Some Senators say they can’t vote for any bill without it. Just as many say they can’t vote for anything with it.

Road Map: Congress Prepares to Battle Over Troops Again

Sept. 22, 12 a.m.

The stark warning revealed Monday from the top commander in Afghanistan that the country risks “failure” without a surge of troops reignited a debate that has divided Democrats and emboldened Republicans.

Road Map: Finance Negotiators Refuse to Leave Table

Sept. 15, 12 a.m.

If you’ve ever been strung along by a boyfriend — waiting for him to pop the question — you probably have a good sense of what it’s like waiting for a bipartisan group of six Senate Finance Committee negotiators to come to a resolution in their seemingly never-ending health care reform talks.

Road Map: Beyond Health Care, Fall Agenda Is Crowded

Sept. 8, 12 a.m.

Time flies when you’re getting screamed at by constituents and organized protesters over your party’s plans for health care reform.

Road Map: Democratic Infighting Complicates Agenda

Aug. 4, 12 a.m.

Washington loves a good fight, and Democrats have been giving the media plenty of fodder lately as moderates and liberals battle over the various bills the party has been waiting for decades to enact.

Road Map: Passing Appropriations This Year Gets Trickier

July 28, 12 a.m.

What’s another missed deadline among friends?
Congressional Democrats have already given themselves a little more time to fight it out on health care. So it probably won’t surprise anyone when they blow past the Oct. 1 cutoff date for funding the federal government, having sent only a handful of spending bills to the president’s desk.

Road Map: Climate Change Will Be Senate’s Next Battle Royal

July 21, 12 a.m.

Climate change is the ticking political time bomb on the Senate’s agenda this fall, and Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has the timer set to go off in late September.

Road Map: Leaders Eyeing One More Week in August

July 14, 12 a.m.

Don’t inflate those beach balls just yet, and if you’ve got plans for Christmas, you might want to cancel those, too.