Congress rushed to get home this week, ultimately leaving a number of major issues undone and tough choices for the new legislative session next year.

The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation approved Thursday by a voice vote a bill to reauthorize the Surface Transportation Board (STB) and make a number of needed reforms that will improve competitive conditions and transparency in the rail industry and provide improved mechanisms for challenging rates.

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack made news in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Washington, D.C., this week when he seemed to acknowledge flaws in his Department’s analysis of climate change legislation’s effects.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson announced Monday that her Agency has finalized an endangerment finding against six greenhouse gases (GHGs), empowering it to regulate emissions of those gases under a 2007 Supreme Court ruling.

The House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy and Research held a hearing Wednesday to look at proposals that would put into place dramatic new regulations in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Many industry representatives and Members of Congress continue to speak out about the job-creation power of trade as the end of the year nears without consideration of pending free trade agreements on the horizon.

The 100th episode of America’s Heartland, the public TV show about American agriculture, will begin showing on PBS stations throughout the country the week of Christmas.

The House of Representatives voted 225 to 200 on Thursday to extend 2009 estate tax law into 2010 and beyond.

The House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy and Research held two hearings this week to look at the costs and benefits agriculture can expect from climate change legislation and a cap-and-trade program like that included in a House-passed version.