The House late Wednesday quickly passed two suspension bills by voice vote — one dealing with education, and the other dealing with the reliability of electricity generators around the country.

Members first passed H.R. 1949, the Improving Postsecondary Education Data for Students Act. This bill would require the Department of Education to assess how best to present information about college costs to parents and students trying to decide where to attend.

In a 241-175 vote, the House approved a bill that would take the decision of building Keystone out of Obama's hands.

The Senate passed a bill Wednesday that would criminalize making fraudulent claims about receiving military metals.

Rep. Joe Heck (R-Nev.) introduced the Stolen Valor Act, which passed in the House on a 390-3 vote earlier this week. Heck served in the military prior to running for office.

The Senate rejected a farm bill amendment that would have reformed the U.S. sugar program.

Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) introduced an amendment that would have reformed the subsidies and import restrictions on sugar within the United States. The amendment failed on a 45-54 vote Wednesday.

The Senate voted 99-0 on Wednesday on a resolution that calls for strengthening U.S. and international sanctions against Iran.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) introduced the resolution, which would reaffirm the United States’ support for Israel and recognizes the threat a nuclear Iran would pose to the West. 

The Obama administration said Wednesday that it would veto a Republican bill that would permanently base the interest rate on federally backed student loans on the 10-year Treasury note.

The House is expected to pass H.R. 1911, the Smarter Solutions for Students Act, on Thursday. The bill is meant to provide a permanent fix to what has become an annual problem for Congress of how to set student loan interest rates.

The House on Wednesday approved a rule governing floor consideration of a bill that would approve the construction of the northern leg of the Keystone XL pipeline, setting up a Thursday vote to pass the bill.

Members approved the rule for H.R. 3, the Northern Route Approval Act, in a 228-185 vote. Nine Democrats supported the rule, a sign that several will support the final bill on Thursday.

The Texas Republican said that he doesn’t trust members of his own party to negotiate a budget conference report.

A member of the House who spoke on the floor wearing a USO sticker drew a quick warning on Wednesday that members are not permitted to wear "communicative badges" while speaking in the chamber.

Rep. Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) was the first to deliver a "one minute" speech on the House floor on Wednesday. He had just been assembling a care package for overseas members of the Armed Forces and had left his USO sticker on his suit jacket.