Congress

WASHINGTON — Automobile industry advocates suggested on Friday that Congress act quickly to secure a U.S. role in manufacturing electric vehicles before the opportunity slips away to foreign competitors. They testified at a congressional hearing in Pontiac, Michigan, where automobile... Read More

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan delegation of lawmakers is renewing the push to create a clear path to permanent legal status for individuals who age out of temporary protection from deportation. In a Capitol Hill press conference on Wednesday, Sens. Alex... Read More

WASHINGTON — Defense intelligence officials told a congressional panel Tuesday that sightings of "unidentified aerial phenomena" are increasing but they could not explain why. They don’t know where they come from or how the ultra-fast flying discs stay in the... Read More

WASHINGTON — The New Democrat Coalition, the largest Democratic caucus in the House of Representatives, turns 25 this week; an anniversary that coincides with but by no means caps, a very busy and effective year for the group. At the... Read More

WASHINGTON — Space was described as the final frontier for defending the United States against weapons of mass destruction from China and Russia at a congressional hearing Friday. Leading the U.S. defense effort is the Space Force, a new branch... Read More

WASHINGTON — Hydropower offers a promising clean energy option for producing electricity but only if the current regulatory obstacles can be overcome, according to energy industry and environmental officials who testified to Congress Thursday. Last year, hydroelectricity generation produced about... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will appeal for a renewed international commitment to attacking COVID-19 as he convenes a second virtual summit on the pandemic and marks “a tragic milestone" as the U.S. approaches 1 million deaths. “As a nation, we... Read More

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Democrats are trying to intervene in the upcoming trial of Trump advisor Steve Bannon to counter his request to a federal court to dismiss charges against him for contempt of Congress. They have prepared an amicus... Read More

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A Florida judge declared a congressional district map approved by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis unconstitutional Wednesday because it intentionally “Diminishes African Americans’ ability to elect the representative of their choice.” Leon County Circuit Court Judge Layne Smith... Read More

WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives approved a resolution Tuesday evening that allows its staffers to form a union, granting them the same rights to negotiate with their employers that workers across the country have. The resolution passed along party... Read More

WASHINGTON — Rep. Tom Reed, R-N.Y., resigned from Congress Tuesday, nearly a year after he announced he would not seek reelection in 2022 owing in part to accusations of sexual midsconduct made against him. In a statement read on the... Read More

WASHINGTON — All over Capitol Hill, the hullabaloo of the return to almost pre-pandemic normal was everywhere in evidence. Under a bright blue late afternoon sky, mobs of rambunctious school children were being corralled on the Capitol steps for class... Read More

ATLANTA — Georgia's secretary of state on Friday evening accepted an administrative law judge’s finding that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., is qualified to run for reelection. Earlier in day, Administrative Law Judge Charles Beaudrot held that Greene is qualified... Read More

ALBANY, N.Y. — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul filled the state’s vacant lieutenant governor position on Tuesday, naming Rep. Antonio Delgado to take over the role. The appointment means the congressman, who flipped New York's 19th Congressional District to the... Read More

WASHINGTON — Animal disease experts at a congressional hearing Thursday described a bleak future for preventing wildlife viruses from jumping to humans before ballooning into pandemics without stronger government intervention. Human encroachment into the habitats of wild animals along with... Read More

WOODRIDGE, Ill. — U.S. policy on alternative fuel vehicles is at a turning point in the transition away from gasoline-powered engines, according to witnesses at a congressional hearing Thursday. Delays in securing the metals and minerals to manufacture rechargeable electric... Read More

WARWICK, R.I. (AP) — After the Capitol riot, longtime U.S. Rep. Jim Langevin said he thought briefly that the foolishness and recklessness of dividing the country would finally stop. That didn’t happen, and the Rhode Island Democrat says it’s one... Read More

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Despite ongoing litigation over whether a new congressional district map in Ohio dilutes the minority vote, a three-judge federal panel on Tuesday said it won’t block the certification of votes in the state’s May 3 primary. In... Read More

MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee area is an unfortunate example of how economic decline can work injustices on the Black population, according to witnesses at a congressional field hearing Tuesday. From its heyday as the nation’s machine shop in the mid-1960s,... Read More

WASHINGTON — A group of Democratic lawmakers sent a letter to House and Senate Armed Services Committee leadership asking for the District of Columbia National Guard Home Rule Act to be included in the fiscal year 2023 National Defense Authorization... Read More

WASHINGTON — In a rare show of bipartisan support, the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 was signed into law this week, yet many aspects of USPS modernization, including the future of an all-electric postal fleet, appear to remain starkly... Read More

WASHINGTON — Candidate Katie Arrington, currently hoping to unseat incumbent Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., in the upcoming South Carolina congressional primary, sued the Defense Department on Tuesday seeking the release of records related to the suspension of her security clearance.... Read More

WASHINGTON — The House voted 343-75 Monday in favor of bipartisan legislation that will advance research into the use of cannabis for medical purposes. Though scores of Republicans crossed the aisle to support the bill, all 75 of the no... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Home-district projects for members of Congress are back, sprinkled across the government-wide $1.5 trillion bill President Joe Biden signed recently. The official tally shows amounts modest by past standards yet spread widely around the country — and that understate... Read More

JUNEAU, Alaska — Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor who as the 2008 Republican vice-presidential nominee became persistent comic fodder for a bevy of late night hosts and particularly, Tina Fey, then of “Saturday Night Live,” shocked the world on... Read More

WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives voted to pass the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act and send it to the Senate on Friday. The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., removes marijuana from the schedules of controlled substances... Read More

WASHINGTON — Police officers’ immunity from liability fell under attack again Thursday in Congress as civil rights activists urged lawmakers to abolish the doctrine. They said the protection from lawsuits and criminal prosecution normally given to officers encourages irresponsible behavior... Read More

WASHINGTON — Nebraska’s longest-serving member of Congress was convicted Thursday of concealing illegal campaign contributions received from a Nigerian billionaire. The jury in Los Angeles decided that on at least two occasions Republican Rep. Jeff Fortenberry lied to FBI agents... Read More

LOS ANGELES (AP) — U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry of Nebraska was convicted on charges that he lied to federal authorities about an illegal $30,000 contribution to his campaign from a foreign billionaire at a 2016 Los Angeles fundraiser. A federal... Read More

WASHINGTON — Confirmation hearings opened in the U.S. Senate Monday for Ketanji Brown Jackson with Democrats commending the first Black female nominee to the Supreme Court but Republicans seeking assurances she would avoid being too activist. Democratic senators mentioned her... Read More