Washington Watch, Week of April 20 – 26

Lawmakers are still on their Easter/Passover/Spring break this week, and President Obama is on the move. He travels to Japan, Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines to discuss sensitive trade issues and take care of other business.

Monday: Before the president leaves for Asia, he and first lady Michelle Obama will host the annual Easter Egg hunt at the White House.

Also Monday, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz comes to Hartford as part of his efforts to gather information for an Energy Quadrennial Review. Moniz will meet with Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and Reps. Elizabeth Esty, D-5^th District, and John Larson, D-1^st District, as well as with state officials.

Tuesday: The Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case that could determine the future of free over-the-air signals of broadcast TV. The issue in American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. v. Aereo will determine whether a company can capture over-the-air signals of TV stations and send them to  subscribers over the web.

The High Court will also hear a challenge to an Ohio law that prohibits an individual or group from knowingly or recklessly making false statements in political campaigns. The decision, expected in June, could make it harder to air attack ads, a blessing for voters as political campaigns heat up this summer. Or, it could uphold the tradition of lying about a political opponent.

The case, Susan B. Anthony v Driehaus, was filed last August after the conservative Susan B. Anthony list was prohibited from launching a billboard campaign that accused a Democratic lawmaker of backing taxpayer-funded abortions because of his support for the Affordable Care Act.