Congress

WASHINGTON - Even after the call-to-arms of the Kenosha Guard militia group had been flagged on Facebook 450 times, it was not taken down because it did not “meet the standards” for removal, said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., at a... Read More

With a stroke of his pen last week, President Joe Biden added sesame to the federal list of "major" food allergens. As a result, the presence of Sesame must be noted on the label of all packaged foods containing it... Read More

WASHINGTON - Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer urged his colleagues to swiftly pass the sweeping water infrastructure bill that came before the chamber Tuesday, calling it a potential starting point for Democrats and Republicans to collaborate on infrastructure, "when and... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden's first address to Congress is an invite-only affair, no guests allowed.The restrictions for Wednesday's event are due to COVID-19 safety protocols, but will have the added security benefit of a limited number of people... Read More

Six states will see their congressional delegations grow in the next Congress, officials with the U.S. Census Bureau announced Monday. Dr. Ron S. Jarmin, the bureau’s acting director, said as of April 1, 2020, the number of people living in... Read More

A new report prepared by the Problem Solvers Caucus offers an astonishing array of bipartisan recommendations on how to rebuild and responsibly invest in the nation’s woefully out-of-date and sagging infrastructure. Just 20 pages long, the report, which has been... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly passed a bill that would help combat the rise of hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, a bipartisan denunciation of such violence during the coronavirus pandemic and a modest step... Read More

WASHINGTON -- The House of Representatives passed a bill Thursday to make the District of Columbia the 51st U.S. state at a time political support for the legislation is the strongest it has ever been. The bill, entitled H.R. 51,... Read More

WASHINGTON - A bipartisan bill with support in both chambers of Congress aims to bolster the nation’s leadership in scientific and technological innovation through greater investment in research that will translate into new industries and create new high-tech jobs. The... Read More

Eighteen members of Congress on Wednesday announced the formation of a new Congressional Caucus whose intent is to ensure that the priorities and concerns of cities and counties across America are heard on Capitol Hill. The bipartisan Congressional Caucus of... Read More

WASHINGTON — West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, is used to being an energy advocate. Sure, he represents coal country, but he has fashioned himself as an “all of the above” energy... Read More

WASHINGTON -- As COVID-19 puts pressure on industries to innovate for solutions, a Senate subcommittee is looking at why women and minorities are left behind in the search for new technologies. The ultimate goal of the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on... Read More

WASHINGTON - As Congress continues to worry about the nation’s cybersecurity, a key high-ranking military witness during a Senate hearing Wednesday said he was “concerned about the pace” of building an adequate cybersecurity workforce.  When Congress tasked the Department of... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Bolstered with new momentum, Congress is ready to try again to change the nation's policing laws, heeding President Joe Biden's admonition that the guilty verdict in George Floyd's death is "not enough" for a nation confronting a... Read More

WASHINGTON - The House Rules Committee will take up the issue of food insecurity next week with the first of an anticipated series of hearings on what Committee Chair James McGovern is calling “the hunger crisis in this country.” The... Read More

WASHINGTON - The dominance of Google and Facebook as “gatekeepers” for online information and massive market power, particularly in digital advertising, has left U.S. journalism in a “state of crisis” and “Americans have had enough,”  said Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I.,... Read More

WASHINGTON - The New Democrat Coalition has endorsed a slate of legislation intended to prevent future acts of domestic terrorism. The measures, drafted in the wake of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, honor the actions of the... Read More

With at least 4 million long-term unemployed American workers more than a year into the pandemic, witnesses before a US Senate hearing Tuesday called for the expansion of a post-secondary education grant to cover short-term, high quality programs.  Throughout the... Read More

WASHINGTON - The White House on Tuesday formally threw its support behind the D.C. Statehood bill, saying it would provide the residents of the District with "long overdue full representation in Congress." "Establishing the State of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth as... Read More

WASHINGTON - House Democrats are expected to adopt a new rule Tuesday that will temporarily enable Majority Leader Steny Hoyer to speed votes on noncontroversial bills and bypass the partisan maneuvering that has repeatedly drawn out votes this Congress. In... Read More

WASHINGTON - House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Tuesday that he was both “very disturbed” and “very disappointed” to learn of an effort by “a pretty significant number” of Republicans in the chamber to form a new caucus based “on... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional leaders have always faced rebels in their ranks. But Reps. Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene are presenting top House Republicans with a test of how to handle a new breed of Trump-era, social media-savvy firebrands.... Read More

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan delegation of governors is urging Congress to pass legislation that would allow banks and credit unions to provide services to licensed cannabis dispensaries.  The governors of 20 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands circulated a letter... Read More

WASHINGTON - A dozen members of Florida’s congressional delegation, Republicans and Democrats, are urging their colleagues to make Everglades restoration a priority as they consider infrastructure projects to fund this year. In a letter sent to the House Transportation and... Read More

Officials from the top U.S. pharmaceutical companies making the COVID-19 vaccine are saying vaccinated persons are likely to need booster shots within a year. In fact, they probably will need to get vaccinated yearly for the foreseeable future, similar to... Read More

WASHINGTON - House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told a Select Committee on Thursday that it's high time Congress was brought into alignment with the best practices of the private sector when it comes to employee recruitment and retention. Appearing before... Read More

Thirty-five states are at extreme or high risk of partisan gerrymandering, according to an in-depth report by the nonpartisan RepresentUs organization. The Gerrymandering Threat Index rates all 50 states, and its authors argue their findings underscore the urgent need to... Read More

WASHINGTON -- A Biden administration plan to increase affordable housing drew sharp warnings from Republicans about adding to the U.S. budget deficit during a congressional hearing Wednesday. Meanwhile, Democrats said the $213 billion plan for affordable housing more equitably distributes... Read More

WASHINGTON - A bill that would make the District of Columbia the 51st state made it out of the House Oversight and Reforms Committee on Wednesday, and will come up for a vote in the full House next week. Last... Read More

WASHINGTON - Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, the top Republican on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, announced Wednesday that he will not seek reelection next year after serving since 1997. "This term, my 13th, will be the last," Brady... Read More