Congress

WASHINGTON (AP) — People with private health insurance will see the nasty shock of “surprise” medical bills virtually gone, thanks to the coronavirus compromise passed by Congress. The charges that can run from hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars... Read More

WASHINGTON - A select, bipartisan committee tasked during the 116th Congress with finding ways to make the body more effective, efficient and transparent, got a new lease on life Monday, ensuring its work will last at least two more years.... Read More

WASHINGTON — House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., released the text of a $2.3 trillion omnibus spending bill Monday afternoon consisting of all 12 fiscal year 2021 appropriations bills, $900 billion coronavirus relief, and other authorizations. In addition to... Read More

WASHINGTON - A statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee that has represented Virginia in the U.S. Capitol for 111 years was removed from the building Monday morning. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam had requested the removal and a state commission... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Top Capitol Hill negotiators sealed a deal on a $900 billion COVID-19 economic relief package, finally delivering long-overdue help to businesses and individuals and providing money to deliver vaccines to a nation eager for them. The package,... Read More

WASHINGTON -- Congress is trying to make sure the lights don’t go dark on Broadway any longer than necessary as the coronavirus pandemic devastates the live entertainment industry. Since quarantine shut down much of the industry last March, actors, singers,... Read More

WASHINGTON - The House and Senate on Friday evening passed a two-day, stopgap spending bill to avert a government shutdown and provide negotiators additional time to resolve differences over a longer-term appropriations bill and COVID-19 relief package. The House passed... Read More

WASHINGTON - Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., is urging House leadership to schedule a classified, bipartisan briefing for members of Congress regarding the recently revealed cyberattack on the networks of the federal government and major American companies. The attack is widely... Read More

WASHINGTON - High-ranking government officials, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Vice President Mike Pence, began receiving their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine Friday, part of an effort to ensure the continuity of the government and reassure hesitant... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Bearing down on a midnight shutdown deadline, top negotiators on a must-pass, almost $1 trillion COVID-19 economic relief package are committed to sealing an agreement Friday as they resolve remaining differences in hopes of passing the legislation... Read More

WASHINGTON -- Members of Congress lashed into the Sackler family Thursday for its pharmaceutical company’s role in promoting a painkiller blamed for killing about 230,000 Americans. Lawmakers on the House Oversight and Reform Committee said the Sacklers and Purdue Pharma... Read More

WASHINGTON - This week, Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, introduced legislation in the House to authorize a public advocacy campaign to promote COVID-19 vaccine participation and provide science-backed information to the public. Joined by Reps. Ron Kind, D-Wis., Roger Marshall, R-Kan.,... Read More

WASHINGTON — A Senate vote on overriding President Donald Trump’s expected veto of a massive defense bill may prove to be a final test of the Republican party’s loyalty to the commander-in-chief. Sen. Jim Inhofe, the Republican chairman of the... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — It's a hurry up and wait moment on Capitol Hill as congressional negotiators on a must-pass, almost $1 trillion COVID-19 economic relief package struggled through a handful of remaining snags on Thursday. The holdups mean a weekend... Read More

WASHINGTON – This week, Reps. Terri Sewell, D-Ala., and Tom Reed, R-N.Y., introduced the New Markets Stabilization Act, bipartisan legislation that will preserve access to the New Markets Tax Credit for underserved communities.  “Historically underserved communities have faced tremendous economic... Read More

WASHINGTON – This week, Reps. Cindy Axne, D-Iowa, Andy Levin, D-Mich., and Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., sponsored the Sustainable Investment Policy Act and the Retirees Sustainable Investment Policies Act, two pieces of legislation aimed at protecting and increasing sustainable investments. The... Read More

WASHINGTON — In the fourth session of their ongoing virtual national security briefing series entitled “National Security in the Shadow of COVID-19,” Reps. Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., and John Katko, R-N.Y., hosted retired Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster to discuss how the... Read More

WASHINGTON - President-elect Joe Biden has asked Democratic Rep. Deb Haaland, of New Mexico, to serve as the first Native American interior secretary, a historic pick for a department that oversees the country’s vast natural resources and much of the... Read More

WASHINGTON – The 538 state electors gathered this week to cast votes for president with little drama, but some Republicans plan to complicate the usually ceremonial process of Congress counting the electoral votes on Jan. 6 — and that could... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional negotiators are closing in on a $900 billion COVID-19 economic relief package that would deliver additional help to businesses, $300-per-week jobless checks and $600 stimulus payments to most Americans. But there was no deal quite yet.... Read More

Recently, the Problem Solvers Caucus endorsed two proposed rule changes to the House of Representatives that would make the legislative body more effective and member-driven. The House rule reform changes were spearheaded by Rep. Van Taylor, R-Texas, in partnership with... Read More

WASHINGTON - A bicameral and bipartisan group of lawmakers unveiled a two-part version of their previously announced $908 billion coronavirus package, hoping the change in structure will help move it through Congress and on to the president by the end... Read More

WASHINGTON - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Monday evening that the Select Committee on the Climate will return to work in the 117th Congress. Formed at the start of the outgoing 116th Congress, the committee effectively met its original charge... Read More

WASHINGTON — House and Senate lawmakers are close to agreement on a $1.4 trillion omnibus spending package for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1 and are planning to file the legislative text on Tuesday, according to sources familiar with... Read More

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump, who has threatened to veto the fiscal 2021 defense authorization bill, has until Dec. 23 to either do so or sign it into law, congressional aides said Monday. The Senate cleared the $731.6 billion measure... Read More

WASHINGTON -- Democratic members of Congress are trying to throw a lifeline to families and individuals teetering toward financial disaster during the COVID-19 pandemic with a new bill designed to make claiming bankruptcy easier. The Consumer Bankruptcy Reform Act introduced... Read More

President Donald Trump and other top U.S. officials will be offered the newly approved coronavirus vaccine within days as part of a plan to ensure continuity in government amid the pandemic, people familiar with the effort said. The vaccinations will... Read More

WASHINGTON - The Senate, as expected, overwhelming endorsed a $740 billion national defense policy bill Friday, sending the measure on to the White House where president Trump threatened to veto it. Ignoring those threats, the Senate voted 84-12 in favor... Read More

WASHINGTON – Future Forum, a caucus of younger House Democrats, has elected its new leaders for the 117th Congress. The mission of the caucus, which was founded in 2015, is to address issues important to millennial and Generation Z Americans,... Read More

WASHINGTON - House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer predicted Wednesday that the new rules package for the upcoming 117th Congress will be "pretty much" in line "with what has been," but he said Democrats are continuing to look at the fate... Read More