Congress

President Barack Obama's nominee to head the Central Intelligence Agency, John O. Brennan, was about as cagey as they come last week at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee. Asked right off the bat by the committee chairwoman, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, whether he would be more forthcoming than his predecessors in apprising committee members of covert U.S. military operations abroad - particularly the administration's secret drone program of targeted killings - he vigorously affirmed that to be his intention.

I direct the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research and have been studying gun violence for more than 20 years. Much of my research has focused on illegal gun sales and acquisition and strategies to reduce the diversion of guns to criminals. The opinions stated in this letter are mine alone and do not necessarily represent the views of Johns Hopkins University. I support the Gun Trafficking Prevention Act of 2013 ("Cummings to push bipartisan gun control bill," Feb. 4). Illegal gun trafficking is a major contributor to our nation's staggering rate of gun violence and why the rate of firearm homicides in the United States is 20 times higher than that of the average high-income country.

Is this really the best anyone in Washington can do to avert sequestration? President Barack Obama's call for delaying the automatic spending cuts past the March 1 deadline would seem reasonable enough, except he hasn't really offered up a specific plan to do so. Instead, he's recommended that a few months of delay might be achieved through a "smaller package of spending cuts and tax reform. " Republicans are flatly rejecting any form of tax increase (and, apparently, ending a tax break on corporate jets is regarded as just that by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell)

Baltimore County Police Chief James W. Johnson added a much-needed voice of reason to the national debate over gun control last week when he appeared before Congress to testify in favor of universal background checks for gun purchases and a ban on assault rifles and large capacity ammunition magazines. It was only common sense, he told lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary Committee, to extend the reporting requirements for federally licensed firearms dealers to the private individuals who account for 40 percent of gun sales in this country.

Speaking at an emotional hearing on federal gun control proposals, Baltimore County Police Chief James W. Johnson urged lawmakers Wednesday to close loopholes and ban assault weapon sales or risk more tragedies like the recent elementary school shooting in Connecticut. Johnson, wearing his uniform, spent nearly four hours offering law enforcement's case for tighter gun laws, confronting a well-known witness - National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre - and noting the proliferation of guns sometimes makes police work "creepy.

Even as Congress and the White House appeared to be at a standoff over the fiscal cliff last month, lawmakers and the president were able to agree on at least one thing: an update of the Hatch Act. The 1939 law prohibits federal employees and certain state and local workers from engaging in partisan political activity on the taxpayer's dime. Violators typically have faced two types of penalties - both severe. Congress passed bipartisan legislation in December that broadened the range of penalties and loosened the rules so that most state and local government workers - including those in the District of Columbia - can run for partisan elective office.

A recent article highlighted the dysfunction resulting from the broken Medicare physician payment system ("End the 'doc fix' charade, once and for all," Jan. 22). Physicians who care for millions of Medicare patients across our nation are weary of the destabilizing series of scheduled cuts and short-term patches, coupled with payment rates that have fallen well below the rate of inflation over the past decade. It is widely agreed that Congress must eliminate this problem once and for all. But this is only the first step.

How can Republicans believe it is legitimate to blackmail the country into accepting the same extreme agenda that the American people rejected at the ballot box in November? The Republican Party is threatening to shut down the federal government again over raising the debt ceiling in yet another game of "chicken. " This could seriously damage the economy. The last time they played this game, 2011, Republicans sabotaged confidence in the U.S. economy and were responsible for the downgrade in our credit rating, effectively strangling the economic recovery.

Are there any honest politicians in Congress? They were tasked to put together a bill to help the victims of Hurricane Sandy, but like addicts they couldn't do it without adding pork to suit their own agendas ("House agrees to emergency aid for superstorm victims," Jan. 16). Lawmakers have once again have shown their lack of respect for the American taxpayers' money. Before retiring from GM, I did not receive a raise for four years because the company was in debt for billions of dollars.

Congressional Republicans are stepping up their rhetoric on federal employee pay, positioning the issue as a central bargaining chip in negotiations next month over raising the debt ceiling and keeping the government open. House GOP leaders will hold a vote this week on legislation to overturn an executive order President Barack Obama signed last month to provide a 0.5 percent pay increase to the federal workforce - the first raise since the administration imposed a government-wide pay freeze in 2010.