Congress
WASHINGTON -- The million acres of forest that burned in western states in the past week were a lesser concern for a congressional panel that discussed the hazards of high heat caused by climate change Wednesday. “It’s becoming a routine... Read More
The Subcommittee on Military Personnel held a hearing recently to discuss a new set of recommendations to better address sexual assault in the military. “The toll that sexual assault and sexual harassment has taken on our military is devastating and... Read More
WASHINGTON -- As the international blame game over ransomware heats up this week, the U.S. government is scrambling for solutions with increasingly combative strategies. Legislation that won tentative approval in Congress on Monday anticipates a bigger role for the U.S.... Read More
WASHINGTON (AP) — A proposal to strengthen IRS enforcement to crack down on tax scofflaws and help fund a nearly $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure spending bill is officially off the table, Republican Sen. Rob Portman said Sunday. Portman, who is... Read More
WASHINGTON -- The Senate continued its search Thursday for ways to prevent the kind of devastation brought to U.S. supply chains by COVID-19. Industry executives told a Senate panel the pandemic exposed U.S. dependence on foreign suppliers to keep the... Read More
WASHINGTON -- A congressional panel called a group of virologists together Wednesday to figure out the source of the COVID-19 virus but ended their hearing by concluding they still don’t know. However, they did agree the virus that has killed... Read More
WASHINGTON - A trio of House Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, accused the nation’s largest pharmaceutical companies on Thursday of being more concerned with... Read More
WASHINGTON- A recent report from the Economic Policy Institute outlines structural reforms for unemployment insurance in the U.S., including a stronger role for the federal government in providing that insurance. According to the report, unemployment benefits in the country, a... Read More
WASHINGTON - Nine in 10 registered voters want federal infrastructure plans to be paid for with offsets, including clearly identified spending cuts or revenue raisers, a new Peterson Foundation poll found. And the result holds true for 86% of Democrats,... Read More
GALESBURG, Ill. (AP) — Pickup trucks and cars rumble north across East Main Street's railroad tracks into Galesburg, Illinois, past the red-brick Lindstrom's appliances building that has occupied the same corner for more than 100 years. An edifice from more... Read More
WASHINGTON -- Legislation intended to prevent China from threatening U.S. telecom networks was front and center Wednesday during a meeting of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology. Introduced by House Republican Whip Steve Scalise, R-La. and... Read More
WASHINGTON -- Free press advocates told Congress Wednesday that the Justice Department is out of control in secretly seeking Internet-based information about its political adversaries. Comments from lawmakers during a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee indicated the FBI and... Read More
WASHINGTON- A bipartisan bill that would speed up the refugee process for Afghans who assisted U.S. soldiers passed the House on Tuesday. It is part of the attempt to shield them from retaliation, which has become a pressing issue as... Read More
WASHINGTON - The House voted Tuesday to pass Rep. Abigail Spanberger’s, D-Va., bipartisan bill to repeal a pair of outdated war authorizations; one for the 1991 Gulf War and the other a Cold War authorization regarding the Middle East. The... Read More
Congressional leaders and a media advocacy group are urging the Federal Communications Commission to examine how policy decisions and programs have disparately harmed Black Americans and other communities of color, according to a letter sent Tuesday to the acting FCC... Read More
Policymakers and representatives of the pharmaceutical industry debated the cost of prescription drugs and the myriad of proposals on Capitol Hill to bring those prices down at last week's Milken Institute Future of Health Summit. Amitabh Chandra, a health care... Read More
WASHINGTON — “With the flick of a pen, Biden could get it done,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., about student loan forgiveness. From a campaign promise to a potential policy, student loan forgiveness is being touted not only... Read More
WASHINGTON -- Environmental advocates promoted a plan to Congress Tuesday that calls for the United States to reach a 100% clean energy economy by 2050. Fossil fuels and coal-fired electrical generating plants would be replaced by solar power, hydroelectric dams... Read More
WASHINGTON -- America’s racial reckoning that started last year continued Monday with a House hearing on removing statuary from the U.S. Capitol that depicts Confederate sympathizers. In one case, a pending bill would replace a statue of a U.S. Supreme... Read More
WASHINGTON - A heated debate took place in the House Judiciary Committee markup of a merger fee legislation that skated through the Senate, but their congressional counterparts took three hours Wednesday to come close to an agreement. The single amendment... Read More
WASHINGTON (AP) — Without speaking a word or scratching a pen across paper, President Joe Biden drove up the pressure on Big Tech companies already smarting under federal and congressional investigations, epic antitrust lawsuits and near-constant condemnation from politicians of... Read More
WASHINGTON - Despite being in the early phases of an investigation into PFAS contamination at nearly 700 U.S. military installations, the Department of Defense says the future environment clean-up of these facilities will cost at least $2.1 billion and likely... Read More
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Securities Exchange Commission granted the accelerated approval yesterday of a rule change proposed by the National Securities Clearing Corporation related to its calculation and collection of supplemental liquidity deposits. The change would have both activities performed... Read More
If the White House and Congress are serious about making clean energy a meaningful part of the still-to-finalized infrastructure package, they need to enact a 10-year extension of an investment tax credit that has buoyed the industry in recent years.... Read More
WASHINGTON (AP) — Gas prices have whizzed past $3 per gallon in much of the nation. The cost of used cars and new furniture, airline tickets, department store blouses, ground beef and a Chipotle burrito are on the rise, too. ... Read More
WASHINGTON (AP) — Until recently, the act of governing seemed to happen at the speed of presidential tweets. But now President Joe Biden is settling in for what appears will be a long, summer slog of legislating. Congress is hunkered... Read More
In the latest call for regulators to limit the power of big tech companies, a group of Canadian news media publications has asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to force revenue sharing negotiations among tech behemoths Google and Facebook and Canadian... Read More
WASHINGTON -- The chances for Puerto Rico to become the 51st U.S. state never seemed brighter than during a congressional hearing Wednesday, despite opposition from top Republicans. Congress is expected to vote on a bill that proposes Puerto Rican statehood... Read More
WASHINGTON — The rise in profit-driven cyberattacks has prompted Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., to contemplate a mandatory reporting bill so law enforcement can promptly take action on urgent threats. Warner told Axios recently that he... Read More
WASHINGTON -- A powerful congressional committee is beginning an investigation into reports the Justice Department secretly subpoenaed information about members of Congress and journalists during the Trump administration. The committee’s chairman said he was concerned the Justice Department “used criminal... Read More
