Congress

WASHINGTON — House appropriators approved a $115.5 billion Military Construction-VA spending bill Thursday on a 30-20 vote, with Texas Republican Will Hurd joining Democrats to advance the legislation to the floor. The rest of the panel’s Republicans opposed Democrats’ decision to add $12.5 billion... Read More

WASHINGTON - Business leaders, during a congressional hearing Thursday, advocated for greater access to financial services for minority and women-owned businesses. They said government bailout money and low-interest loans for businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic are going first to established... Read More

WASHINGTON - Foreign policy experts at a congressional hearing Tuesday described the Russian government as increasingly troubled under the rule of Vladimir Putin and a growing threat to the United States. They said recent reports that the Russian military paid... Read More

Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., has been recognized for her support of small business, by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Houlahan, who has represented Pennsylvania’s 6th Congressional District since 2018, is not only an Air Force veteran, engineer and educator, she’s... Read More

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Chamber of Commerce recognized Rep. Antonio Delgado, D-N.Y, with its yearly Spirit of Enterprise Award for his support of business-friendly initiatives in the first session of the 116th Congress. The chamber has rated members of Congress... Read More

A congressional committee criticized President Donald Trump’s administration on Thursday for a series of problems in distributing personal protective and testing equipment during the coronavirus pandemic and called on the administration to come up with a better plan. “We need... Read More

WASHINGTON - House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told reporters at his weekly pen and pad session that the House will vote later this month to remove the bust of Chief Justice Roger Taney from the U.S. Capitol. Taney wrote the... Read More

WASHINGTON - Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, D-Texas, received multiple honors from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce last week for her efforts on behalf of small business and her constituents.  Fletcher, who was elected to represent Texas’ 7th Congressional District in 2018,... Read More

WASHINGTON -- The House on Monday voted to block the Trump administration from overhauling rules that affect how banks make loans to people in lower to moderate-income communities. The resolution, introduced by Rep. Maxine Waters, challenges a recent ruling by... Read More

WASHINGTON - A psychologist and psychiatrist on Tuesday suggested Congress provide stronger federal intervention to prevent a mental health crisis during the coronavirus pandemic. They said suicides and substance abuse are on the upswing as Americans struggle with quarantines, social... Read More

WASHINGTON - Defense policy discussions are attracting most of the attention on Capitol Hill this week as the Senate takes up the fiscal 2021 defense authorization bill on the floor and the House Armed Service Committee marks up its version.... Read More

Proxy voting has been extended through mid-August in the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Monday.  House Sergeant-at-Arms Paul D. Irving, in consultation with the Office of the Attending Physician, notified Pelosi that the public health emergency due to the coronavirus... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Democratic-controlled House approved a bill Friday to make the District of Columbia the 51st state, saying Congress has both the moral obligation and constitutional authority to ensure that the city's 700,000 residents are allowed full voting... Read More

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump does not have the authority to unilaterally divert Pentagon funds to build a miles-long wall on the U.S. border with Mexico, a federal appeals court ruled Friday afternoon. In a 2-1 ruling, the 9th U.S.... Read More

WASHINGTON - Confronted with an extraordinary public health crisis, the federal government moved with uncommon agility to bolster the economy and quickly establish services for those infected with the virus, the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office said Thursday. But in doing... Read More

WASHINGTON - The Trump administration filed a legal brief with the Supreme Court Thursday night, arguing the entire Affordable Care Act should be struck down by the Justices. Overturning the Affordable Care Act would take away health coverage for about... Read More

WASHINGTON -- The House of Representatives on Friday will vote on historic legislation that would grant statehood to the District of Columbia, making it the 51st U.S. state. The bill -- aptly named H.R. 51 -- is expected to pass... Read More

WASHINGTON -- Current and former Justice Department attorneys on Wednesday accused the U.S. Attorney General of allowing Trump administration policies to influence criminal investigations and prosecutions. They also said during a House Judiciary Committee hearing that Justice Department administrators threatened... Read More

WASHINGTON - A policing reform bill proposed by the Senate's lone Black Republican failed to garner enough votes to pass on Wednesday after Senate Democrats said its proposed reforms didn't go far enough in the wake of the deaths of... Read More

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan effort to expand the employee retention tax credit has gained a significant endorsement from a coalition representing 130 small businesses and key industry organizations.  The bill, entitled the “Jumpstarting Our 5 Businesses’ Success Credit Act”, or... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — With coronavirus cases rising in about half the states and political polarization competing for attention with public health recommendations, Dr. Anthony Fauci returns to Capitol Hill on Tuesday at a fraught moment in the nation's pandemic response. The... Read More

WASHINGTON - House Democrats unveiled a sweeping $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan on Thursday that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said combines the best of several existing proposals on roads, education, broadband and more, with a particular focus on clean energy, sustainability... Read More

WASHINGTON – Two senators serving on the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation introduced legislation designed to improve aviation safety following two fatal crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia.  Sens. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., chairman and ranking member,... Read More

WASHINGTON - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., on Thursday ordered the removal of four portraits in the Capitol of previous House Speakers who served in the Confederacy. The move is the latest in her effort to expunge honorifics for Confederate... Read More

WASHINGTON - New legislation filed in the House of Representatives would designate June 27 as National Post-Traumatic Stress Injury Awareness Day and all of June as National PTSI month. The resolution, along with its companion legislation in the Senate, seeks... Read More

WASHINGTON - The New Democrat Coalition on Tuesday endorsed the Justice in Policing Act, bicameral legislation that seeks to better hold police accountable, change the culture of law enforcement, and build trust between law enforcement and communities. “Action is long... Read More

WASHINGTON -- School administrators cautioned Congress Monday about underfunding education as the COVID-19 epidemic takes a big bite out of government appropriations. They said many schoolchildren already are falling behind in their studies while they face a likelihood of fewer... Read More

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic created a global economic downturn, the U.S. faced a mounting affordable housing crisis. In March, the National Low Income Housing Coalition estimated that the U.S. needs at least 7 million more affordable units to sufficiently house extremely... Read More

WASHINGTON – The New Democrat Coalition Action Fund announced Friday that it is doubling down on its commitment to hold the Democratic House Majority by backing five additional challengers in their bids for Congress. These include Alyse Galvin, who is... Read More

WASHINGTON - House Representatives Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio, and Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., introduced a bill on Thursday to give District of Columbia officials new titles matching those of leaders in U.S. states. The proposed measure, dubbed the District of Columbia... Read More