Senate
WASHINGTON — The number of wildfires driven by climate change has grown but the U.S. effort to control them has not, according to emergency response officials at a Senate hearing Thursday. At least not fast enough to prevent disasters like... Read More
WASHINGTON — Defense analysts repeated warnings Tuesday about a dangerous world the United States cannot afford to ignore in a second Senate hearing this week leading to a vote on an annual military budget. Russia is trying to expand its... Read More
WASHINGTON — The Senate on Thursday night voted in favor of a “laddered” proposal from the House to extend funding for some federal departments and agencies through March 8 and the rest through March 22. The 77-13 vote, which came... Read More
WASHINGTON — Foreign policy advisors suggested to a Senate committee Wednesday that the United States return to a policy of “maximum pressure” on Iran to halt its use of proxies for terrorist attacks. A Senate Foreign Relations Committee notice of... Read More
WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans voted against a procedural measure on Wednesday that would have advanced a bipartisan border security bill that was part of a larger package that would have sent military aid to Ukraine, Israel and U.S. allies serving... Read More
WASHINGTON — Despite pitched negotiations all this week, the Senate isn’t close enough on a deal to vote on a package providing more aid to Ukraine and bolstering security at the U.S. border with Mexico until early next year. The... Read More
WASHINGTON — The Senate and House Armed Services committees announced Thursday that they’ve reached an agreement on the FY 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, jettisoning some, but not all, of the controversial amendments added by House Republicans last summer. Sens.... Read More
WASHINGTON — Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., announced Tuesday that he would drop his opposition to nearly all military promotions, a blockade he imposed to protest the Pentagon’s decision to ensure abortion access to service members. Tuberville had placed holds on... Read More
WASHINGTON — Perplexing problems of gun violence returned to a Senate hearing Tuesday, this time with a proposal for treating it as a public health crisis rather than purely a law enforcement issue. A near record surge in violence has... Read More
WASHINGTON — The date was Feb. 5, 1858, and as evening arrived in Washington, long-standing hostilities over the issue of slavery were about to boil over in the well of the House of Representatives. It began when Galusha Grow, a... Read More
WASHINGTON — A backlash against the antisemitism that erupted since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel showed itself during a congressional hearing and a demonstration in Washington, D.C., Tuesday. During a House Education and the Workforce subcommittee hearing, lawmakers... Read More
WASHINGTON — Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., announced Thursday that he will not seek reelection in 2024, a decision that was almost instantly seen as handing the Republicans the seat after next year’s election. In a written statement, Manchin said he... Read More
WASHINGTON — A divided House approved a $14.5 billion aid package for Israel on Thursday night, paving the way for a clash with Senate Democrats and the White House by excluding Ukraine funds from consideration and cutting money sought for... Read More
WASHINGTON — Cybersecurity experts urged a congressional panel Thursday to act quickly to keep pace with threats posed by China’s development of artificial intelligence. The alternative is a U.S. military, business community and technology sector that fall far behind China’s... Read More
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate is considering a bill that would force some of the same liabilities faced by brick-and-mortar retailers onto online platforms. The problem is counterfeits. Online retail platforms like eBay and Ali Baba might sell products with... Read More
WASHINGTON — With just over three hours to spare, the Senate last night passed a bipartisan bill to avert a government shutdown, and President Joe Biden signed it just before the midnight deadline. The measure will fund the federal government... Read More
WASHINGTON — After multiple failed attempts, the House on Saturday approved a “clean” stopgap funding bill in a last-ditch bid to avert a government shutdown, sending the measure to the Senate with just hours to spare. In the end, after... Read More
WASHINGTON — Democrats and Republicans in the Senate reached an agreement Tuesday afternoon on a stopgap spending plan that could keep the government funded through mid-November, but some provisions are not likely to fly with hardliners in the House. The... Read More
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers sought answers Wednesday on how the U.S. financial industry could reap potentially huge benefits from artificial intelligence while avoiding devastating risks. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., summed up the balancing act Congress wants to perform by asking financial... Read More
WASHINGTON — As the search for bodies continues in Hawaii after last month’s wildfires, a Senate committee on Wednesday discussed how climate change is likely to interfere with the nation’s transportation systems. So far in 2023, the hottest year in... Read More
WASHINGTON — A Senate committee sought verification Thursday from artificial intelligence experts that a U.S. government policy anticipating a surge in funding and security needs for the technology is headed in the right direction. Artificial intelligence refers to the ability... Read More
WASHINGTON — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has been medically cleared to “continue with his schedule as planned,” a day after he appeared to freeze up while taking questions from reporters in Covington, Kentucky. In a brief letter, Brian... Read More
MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. — From the outset it was clear, Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., was in her element. The featured guest on a panel hosted by the nonprofit Concerned Veterans for America aboard the U.S.S. Yorktown, the decommissioned aircraft carrier... Read More
WASHINGTON — In their final significant vote of the summer, House Republicans on Thursday passed their first government funding bill in the face of bipartisan opposition and the certainty that the spending plan is DOA as it heads over to... Read More
WASHINGTON — Outside the Senate Budget Committee offices Wednesday, temperatures edged toward the century mark during what meteorologists say is the world’s hottest month in recorded history. Inside, senators juggled ideas during a hearing on how to handle the damage... Read More
WASHINGTON — The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee will convene next week to markup a new health care bill that would invest $20 billion over the next five years in community health centers and the recruitment and retention... Read More
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose entered the race for U.S. Senate on Monday, joining two other Republicans in a bid to unseat incumbent Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown. Brown is one of three incumbent Democratic senators up... Read More
WASHINGTON — The House on Friday passed the annual defense policy bill, voting 219-210 after the support of a handful of moderates pushed the legislation through despite opposition from the chamber’s right and left flanks. The National Defense Authorization Act... Read More
WASHINGTON — The Senate on Tuesday voted to confirm Xochitl Torres Small as deputy secretary of the Agriculture Department, a much-anticipated outcome that nevertheless took awhile to come to fruition. As previously reported by The Well News, President Joe Biden... Read More
WASHINGTON — A civil rights leader on technology policy told a Senate panel Tuesday that artificial intelligence is creating risks to privacy and democracy that the U.S. government has not yet brought under control. She and other witnesses on artificial... Read More