Washington Post

At the height of the nation’s economic crisis, 28-year old Kimberly Panicek answered the call to serve.

“Government was an inspiring prospect, and I wanted to come to D.C. to roll up my sleeves, get involved and fix the root of the financial problems,” said Panicek.

With his white hair and decidedly senatorial demeanor, no one would mistake Sen. Richard Lugar for a rock star.

But the Indiana Republican apparently enjoys a stature normally reserved for chart-toppers in Ukraine, where he is, as they say, huge.

So, the inevitable has occurred: Following the withdrawal of troops, the American diplomatic presence in Baghdad may be cut drastically, making the massive, $750 million New Embassy Compound a monstrous white elephant.

Former Sen. Rick Santorum might have won the Minnesota primary, but he’s not “Minnesota nice.”

We noticed this zinger from the Pennsylvania Republican following his triple-threat victories last night in Minnesota, Colorado, and Missouri, according to our colleagues Philip Rucker, Nia-Malika Henderson and Debbi Wilgoren.

Back in 1999, we bitterly opposed the sale of the spectacular Chelston estate, the residence of the U.S. consul general in Bermuda.

“The absolutely perfect diplomatic appointment, the one we’ve dreamed of for years, is about to be diminished forever,” we wrote then.

The federal workforce was targeted on two fronts Tuesday as House Republicans pushed to limit employees’ annuities and for greater privatization of airport security screening operations.

After a sometimes passoniate debate, the Oversight and Government Reform Committee approved, with a 22 to 16 vote, legislation that would make federal employees pay more for what in some cases would be lower retirement benefits.

Back in 1999, we bitterly opposed the sale of the spectacular Chelston estate, residence of the U.S. consul general in Bermuda.

“The absolutely perfect diplomatic appointment, the one we’ve dreamed of for years, is about to be diminished forever,” we wrote then.

Rep. Louie Gohmert, patron saint of amorous wildlife? The Texas Republican, who’s not exactly known as a champion of animal rights, said his primary concern in the development of a massive Alaskan oil pipeline is the love life of the caribous surrounding the project.

The fantastic package by our Post colleagues looking into how congressional earmarks benefit projects located near lawmakers’ own property has us feeling a little like the curious neighbor dropping by the open house down the block.

Less than a week after House Republicans voted to freeze pay increases for federal employees, a bill forcing the rank and file to pay more for retirement benefits is up next.

A bill under consideration Tuesday by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee would force workers to pay 1.5 percent more toward their pensions over three years beginning in 2013. The bill is expected to pass the committee on a party-line vote, then move to the full House for consideration.

About 50 nights a year, Brian Mason can be found under the huge white dome on the grounds of the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C., peering into a 26-inch telescope and observing double stars. He catalogs the information he gathers to help provide the Navy and Department of Defense with a reliable navigation data to back up their global positioning systems (GPS).

In many ways, President Obama is right when he calls the folks on Capitol Hill a “do-nothing Congress.” But you can’t say that about House Republicans who have marched to a steady beat in pressing legislation that would make life more difficult for federal employees.

The United States’ view of warfare has been changing.

To deter potential conflicts, the nation will have forward-based sea, air and ground forces in strategic areas around the globe. It will also retain its nuclear triad of land- and submarine-based intercontinental ballistic missiles and strategic bombers.

Last week, the Senate stumbled its way into a momentous debate on congressional ethics, as a seemingly narrow bill to ban insider trading on Capitol Hill — the STOCK Act — morphed into a sweeping package of reforms.

Forget dieting dogs and Ferris Bueller — or Mario Manningham’s clutch catch for that matter. As far as Washington was concerned, the biggest moment in last night’s Super Bowl was that Clint Eastwood ad touting Chrysler.

Good news for NASA!

The Washington Post- ABC News poll released Monday contains some good news for the increasingly underfunded space agency and some excellent news for presidential candidate Newt Gingrich.

It seems that Mitt Romney’s impromptu performance of “America the Beautiful” is becoming a campaign trail staple.

Our colleague Philip Rucker reports that the former Massachusetts governor is making a spoken-word performance of the patriotic tune — even though our resident fact checker Glenn Kessler says the GOP candidate isn’t quite accurate with his claims about national anthems.

Days before the U.S. Postal Service announced record-setting losses in September, the nation’s top postal regulator traveled to Scotland for meetings with European envelope manufacturers.

A few weeks later, Postal Regulatory Commission Chairman Ruth Y. Goldway visited Portugal, Switzerland and China to meet with international postal regulators.

This week’s talk of extending the pay freeze for federal workers has fired up many government employees.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill Wednesday that would take President Obama’s initial two-year mandate through 2013. Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.), the bill’s sponsor, argued that Washington (Congress’s pay would also be frozen) and public employees have to make the same sacrifices as Americans in the private sector.