Congress

WASHINGTON -- Democrats in Congress want to overhaul the nation’s voting laws with the “For the People Act” (H.R. 1). Their majority in the House makes approval of the bill likely as soon as this week. H.R. 1 would reduce... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI Director Chris Wray is set to testify for the first time since the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, with lawmakers likely to press him on whether the bureau adequately communicated with other law... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats' hopes of including a minimum wage increase in their $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill seemed all but dead as the Senate prepared to debate its own version of the House-passed aid package.  Four days after the... Read More

WASHINGTON -- A congressional hearing Friday showed that foreign computer hackers are facing a growing likelihood of counterattack from the United States as a result of the SolarWinds software breach. Lawmakers and computer industry officials agreed the hackers must face... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — As Congress begins debate this week on sweeping voting and ethics legislation, Democrats and Republicans can agree on one thing: If signed into law, it would usher in the biggest overhaul of U.S. elections law in at... Read More

WASHINGTON – The House passed a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package in the wee hours of Saturday morning, helping President Joe Biden clear the first hurdle in passing an economic stimulus bill that includes $1,400 in direct payments to U.S.... Read More

WASHINGTON -- A congressional panel wants to cut off funding for the kind of White supremacists who raided the U.S. Capitol building Jan. 6. They described the attack as the first of many against government targets unless they act promptly... Read More

Congress needs to create mandates to curb the abusive power exerted by a handful of online platforms, according to all six witnesses at a Capitol Hill hearing on Thursday. During the hearing, members of a House Judiciary subcommittee grappled with... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Senate cloture rule might be the biggest Legislative obstacle in front of President Joe Biden’s policy agenda.  Simply put, the cloture rule is a debate-limiting procedure that requires 60 Senators to agree before moving on to a... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats are ready to shove a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package through the House on Friday, despite a setback that means a minimum wage boost is unlikely to be in the final version that reaches President Joe... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Democratic-led House passed a bill Thursday that would enshrine LGBTQ protections in the nation's labor and civil rights laws, a top priority of President Joe Biden, though the legislation faces an uphill battle in the Senate.The... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans rallied solidly against Democrats' proposed $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill as lawmakers awaited a decision by the Senate's parliamentarian that could bolster or potentially kill a pivotal provision hiking the federal minimum wage.  Despite their paper-thin congressional majorities,... Read More

WASHINGTON - Reps. Derek Kilmer, D-Wash., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Penn., have launched an effort to untangle the increasingly common deadlocks at the Federal Elections Commission and enable it to more effectively carry out its mission to oversee and enforce campaign... Read More

WASHINGTON -- The news media fell under attack Wednesday in Congress for exacerbating the COVID-19 pandemic, encouraging the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and irresponsibly downplaying threats of global warming. The criticisms were hurled during a House Energy... Read More

WASHINGTON -- Lawmakers repeated their conviction at a Senate hearing Tuesday that never again should insurrectionists be allowed to attack the U.S. Capitol like they did on Jan. 6 while acknowledging huge security lapses. They reviewed failures in intelligence reports,... Read More

Four panelists warned today that proposed legislative reforms for more aggressive antitrust enforcement in Big Tech would likely spill over across all industries, hindering innovation and harming consumers. Strengthening the antitrust laws - federal and state statutes that restrict the... Read More

AUSTIN, Texas - Saturday, May 1, will be the day of the special election to fill the Texas 6th Congressional District seat recently vacated due to the death of Rep. Ron Wright. Gov. Greg Abbott made the announcement Tuesday, adding... Read More

WASHINGTON - Two former chairs of the Federal Elections Commission -- one a Democrat, the other a Republican -- have thrown their support behind the election reform provisions of the For the People Act. In a letter to the leaders... Read More

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — For Native Americans, Deb Haaland is more than an elected official on track to become the first Indigenous secretary of the Interior Department. She is a sister, an auntie and a fierce pueblo woman whose political... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Oil and natural gas will continue to play a major role in America for years to come, even as the Biden administration seeks to conserve public lands and address climate change, President Joe Biden's nominee to head... Read More

WASHINGTON -- Merrick Garland brought his middle-of-the-road opinions of justice to a Senate hearing Monday to help lawmakers decide whether to confirm him as the next U.S. attorney general. Garland is a federal judge who also is President Joe Biden’s... Read More

WASHINGTON — The House Budget Committee approved reconciliations to President Joe Biden’s proposed $1.9 trillion novel coronavirus relief legislation Monday, setting in motion the bill’s final vote in the full House of Representatives expected to follow this week.  If enacted,... Read More

WASHINGTON -- Speaking to a congressional panel on Friday, child care experts talked about how children and their caretakers were thrown into sometimes chaotic lifestyles and schedules by the coronavirus pandemic and the recession it caused. A House Appropriations subcommittee... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic leaders have a potent dynamic on their side as Congress preps for its first votes on the party's $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill: Would any Democrat dare cast the vote that scuttles new President Joe Biden's... Read More

WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden told reporters waiting for him at Joint Base Andrews Friday evening he has no intention of withdrawing the nomination of Neera Tanden to lead the White House Office of Management and Budget. A short time... Read More

The decision by the online brokerage firm Robinhood to impose restrictions on customer trading at the high point of last month’s online trading frenzy was brought under scrutiny at Thursday’s hearing of the House Financial Services Committee. While Robinhood insists... Read More

WASHINGTON - Neglected for too long, America’s severe infrastructure needs must finally be placed at the top of the U.S. policy agenda, the Committee for Economic Development of The Conference Board said Thursday. A new, comprehensive report, offers several policy recommendations... Read More

WASHINGTON – As they did last year, the New Democrat Coalition on Thursday endorsed the reintroduced H.R. 1, the For the People Act. H.R. 1 is a sweeping campaign finance and election reform bill that will make it easier for Americans to... Read More

WASHINGTON — With proposals by both the Biden Administration and Sen. Mitt Romney coming to the table in early 2021, prospects for an American child allowance have their strongest-ever chance of coming to fruition. Both plans create a new child... Read More

WASHINGTON -- A congressional subcommittee tried to assess the well-being and mental health of its own workforce Thursday after a year that one of its members described as “like drinking from a firehose while in freefall.” Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-N.Y.,... Read More