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Tribal law enforcement boosted under bill proposed by members of Congress from the West
A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers reintroduced legislation Thursday to provide more resources for tribal law enforcement, an issue they say has become more urgent as Congress begins to consider how to respond to a July Supreme Court case that complicated state-tribal criminal jurisdiction. The bill, introduced in the House by U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego […]
Manchin’s energy permitting plan roils U.S. Senate and House Democrats
WASHINGTON — The energy permitting proposal that centrist Democrat U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin III made a condition of his support for a major Senate Democratic measure would impose timelines on federal agencies responsible for approving energy projects, according to text of the measure released late Wednesday. Congressional Democrats are deeply divided over the Manchin permitting […]
USDA to spend $500 million extending high-speed internet to rural America
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will send more than $500 million in loans and grants to telecommunications providers to bring high-speed internet to rural areas across 20 states, Secretary Tom Vilsack said Wednesday. The department will spend $360 million in grants and $141 million in loans through its ReConnect Program to benefit sparsely populated communities, […]
‘Crisis pregnancy centers’ that oppose abortion questioned by U.S. Senate Democrats
Seven U.S. Senate Democrats questioned a leading Ohio-based antiabortion group Tuesday about its practice of collecting personal information from patients seeking abortions. So-called crisis pregnancy centers — facilities that often mirror abortion provider aesthetics but actually provide services to discourage abortion — collect sensitive data from patients. That presents troubling new complications as states move […]
Confronting history, Congress studies addition of lynching sites to national park system
The U.S. House is considering a bill that would put lynching sites in western Tennessee on track to become part of the National Park Service, part of a trend this year of Congress using the agency to advance discussions of the nation’s troubled and often violent racial history. A bill from U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, […]
A third of U.S. House Democrats oppose Manchin permitting deal in stopgap spending bill
WASHINGTON — The group of U.S. House Democrats asking the chamber’s leaders not to include environmental permitting changes in a stopgap spending deal this month comprises 72 members, including senior leaders of budget and spending committees and factions across the caucus’ ideological spectrum. The 72 signers on a letter sent late last week make up […]
U.S. Justice Department to appeal Trump special master order
The U.S. Justice Department will appeal a Florida federal judge’s ruling this week appointing an independent arbiter to review thousands of sensitive materials the FBI seized from former President Donald Trump’s Palm Beach residence, the department notified the court Thursday. Government prosecutors are also asking U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon not to force them […]
White House requests $47 billion in emergency funding for Ukraine, vaccines and more
The Biden administration is asking Congress for emergency funding to support Ukraine’s military, national COVID-19 and monkeypox responses and to help communities affected by natural disasters. The current fiscal year ends Sept. 30 and Congress has not passed a funding measure for next year, so a short-term bill would be needed to keep the government […]
Republicans in Congress line up behind Trump after he says FBI searched Mar-a-Lago
Republicans in Congress fumed Tuesday in reaction to former President Donald Trump’s Monday evening statement that the FBI executed a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago, his home in Palm Beach, Florida. Democrats had little to say Tuesday about the apparent search, though some defended the execution of justice regardless of a person’s political power. The massive […]
U.S. Senate passes major health, tax and climate bill in boost for Democrats
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate, along party lines, passed a sweeping energy, health care, climate and tax package Sunday afternoon, following an overnight marathon of votes that resulted in just a handful of notable changes to the legislation. The 755-page bill was passed after Vice President Kamala Harris broke a 50-50 tie in the evenly […]
U.S. Senate Democrats’ climate, health and energy bill clears first hurdle to passage
The U.S. Senate voted along party lines Saturday night to advance to debate on Democrats’ sweeping energy, health and taxes bill, clearing a major hurdle to passage. The 51-50 vote, with Vice President Kamala Harris breaking the tie, cleared the chamber to debate and vote on amendments to the measure and indicated that it had […]
U.S. Senate preps big tax, climate and health bill after deal struck with Sinema
U.S. Senate Democrats’ wide-ranging tax, climate and health bill appears set to pass after Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona struck a deal to soften the measure’s corporate tax increase and a second tax hike aimed at wealthy finance-sector workers, Schumer told reporters Friday. The revenue lost to obtain Sinema’s support […]