U.S. Senate

WASHINGTON — A bill introduced by Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., on Thursday would tighten the rules for companies seeking pre-market approval for chemicals included in food. The legislation would also direct the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats’ first attempt at responding to the back-to-back mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, failed in the Senate as Republicans blocked a domestic terrorism bill that would have opened debate on difficult questions surrounding hate crimes and gun... Read More

WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is telling colleagues that there won’t be a rush to bring new gun-control legislation to the floor in the wake of mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, in recent... Read More

AUSTIN, Texas – A bipartisan coalition of attorneys asked the Texas State Bar this week to sanction Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, for regularly repeating “demonstrably false and misleading statements to the public” in an effort to keep former President Trump... Read More

WASHINGTON — Members from the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee released a draft of the legislative package to reauthorize user fee agreements for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday, which are set to end on Oct.... Read More

As war, drought and the COVID-19 pandemic increase global food shortages, the United States government is providing funds to ease the blow at home and abroad.  “Before the war began in Ukraine, more than 50 countries … nations like Ethiopia,... Read More

WASHINGTON — The fact that defeat was in the bag didn’t reduce the sting for Senate Democrats who failed to pass legislation Wednesday that would have enshrined abortion rights into federal law and circumvented the Supreme Court’s anticipated overturning of... Read More

WASHINGTON — Financial experts told shocking stories Thursday at a Senate hearing of former college students trying to decide between basic necessities or paying their student debt. In some cases, the experts said the debt interfered with owning their homes,... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Senate will vote next week on legislation to codify a woman’s right to seek an abortion into federal law in order to circumvent a possible Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer,... Read More

WASHINGTON — There’s new proposed legislation to ensure the billions of infrastructure dollars flowing throughout the country to develop broadband internet actually create sustainable infrastructure. Sens. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., introduced the bill Tuesday, legislation that... Read More

ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine (AP) — A long-awaited evacuation of civilians from a besieged steel plant in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol was under way Sunday, as U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi revealed that she visited Ukraine's president to show unflinching American support for... Read More

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Millionaire candidates and billionaire investors are harnessing their considerable personal wealth to try to win competitive Republican primaries for open U.S. Senate seats in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Mike Gibbons, an Ohio investment banker, leads the pack... Read More

WASHINGTON — Members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions wanted to know why the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is requesting nearly double its annual budget while failing to meet many of the goals tied to... Read More

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Orrin G. Hatch, the longest-serving Republican senator in history and a fixture in Utah politics for more than four decades, has died at age 88. The retired senator's death Saturday was announced in a statement... Read More

DES MOINES, Iowa — In a unanimous ruling, the Iowa Supreme Court on Friday restored Senate candidate Abby Finkenauer’s name to the Democratic primary ballot, once again making her the presumptive frontrunner to face longtime Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley. "This... Read More

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A state court judge has ruled that Democrat Abby Finkenauer cannot appear on the June 7 Iowa primary ballot for U.S. Senate because she didn't gather enough petition signatures, potentially knocking off the candidate considered... Read More

WASHINGTON — The bipartisan COVID-19 relief bill introduced this week in the Senate had a fatal flaw beyond a lack of support from Republicans, its “pay-as-you-go” billing was completely illusory, a prominent fiscal watchdog said Friday. The Concord Coalition is... Read More

WASHINGTON — Ketanji Brown Jackson won confirmation in the Senate Thursday to become the first Black woman to be appointed as a Supreme Court justice. The 53-47 vote was made possible by three Republicans who crossed over to vote for... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Senate voted 53-47 to confirm U.S. Circuit Court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, making her the first Black woman ever to serve at the very top of the nation’s courts. Jackson will now replace... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate is expected to confirm Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson on Thursday, securing her place as the first Black woman on the high court and giving President Joe Biden a bipartisan endorsement for his historic pick. Three... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — By announcing they will vote to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first Black woman to the Supreme Court, three Republican senators are marking the historical moment by building legacies of their own. Every senator has a voice, and... Read More

WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans blocked a Democratic attempt Tuesday to begin debate on a $10 billion COVID-19 compromise, hoping to force inclusion of an amendment that would prevent President Joe Biden from lifting Trump-era restrictions on migrants entering the U.S.... Read More

WASHINGTON — Senate negotiators reached an agreement late Monday afternoon on a slimmed-down $10 billion COVID relief package that preserves vaccine and treatment regimes here, but eliminates virtually all funding for similar programs abroad. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.,... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Senate Judiciary Committee deadlocked on Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Supreme Court nomination in a Monday vote, the panel’s first tie on a high court pick since Clarence Thomas' nomination in 1991.  Senators voted 11-11 on sending Jackson’s nomination... Read More

WASHINGTON — Sens. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., on Wednesday unveiled legislation that introduces new income-based repayment plans for all federal student loan borrowers. The bill, entitled the Affordable Loans for Any Student Act of 2022, presents new... Read More

WASHINGTON — High-ranking members of the Senate are calling on the FBI to explain what appear to be a series of blunders in the agency’s recent investigations of political officials and organizations. A newly revealed internal audit from 2019 said... Read More

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs met Tuesday to explore how effective credit bureaus will be in lightening the heavy load of medical debt many Americans are carrying.  “After increasing scrutiny and pressure, the... Read More

WASHINGTON — When the Senate votes on Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination to the Supreme Court next week, she’s assured of having bipartisan support for her confirmation. On Tuesday afternoon, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said after a second meeting with... Read More

WASHINGTON — Some of the U.S. military’s top brass tried to reassure a Senate committee Tuesday their supply lines and infrastructure are prepared to defend the United States and allies. An implied question behind the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing... Read More

WASHINGTON —The Senate voted 68-28 on Monday to advance legislation that would invest in both scientific research and in increasing domestic manufacturing of critical microchips. The Senate passed its version of the bill, the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, in... Read More