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U.S. House Democrats send sweeping climate, health and tax legislation to Biden
WASHINGTON – The U.S. House on Friday cleared Democrats’ long-sought climate, health care, and tax package, sending it to President Joe Biden for his signature. The roughly $750 billion measure is much smaller than the $2 trillion reconciliation package the House originally sent to the Senate in November. The final product left out dozens of […]
Search warrant shows Trump under investigation for possible Espionage Act violations
WASHINGTON – A federal judge on Friday unsealed the warrant that allowed the Federal Bureau of Investigation to search former President Donald Trump’s property at Mar-a-Lago in Florida earlier this week, revealing he’s under investigation for possibly violating the Espionage Act and obstruction of justice. The seven-page document, which includes a brief description of everything […]
Biden signs landmark bill aiding veterans exposed to burn pits overseas
WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden signed legislation into law Wednesday that will provide health care and benefits to veterans exposed to burn pits in Afghanistan and Iraq, achieving a long-term, personal goal. “I was in and out of Iraq over 20 times,” Biden said of prior trips to the war zone he took as both […]
U.S. Senate in turnaround backs aid for veterans exposed to burn pits
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate on Tuesday passed bipartisan legislation that would provide health care and benefits to millions of veterans exposed to toxic substances while deployed overseas, after many Republicans switched their votes and decided to once again back the legislation. The shift came after days of protest and vigils outside the U.S. Capitol, […]
Stalled U.S. Senate bill on veterans’ burn pit exposure could be revived this week
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate could be on track to advance a bill as soon as Tuesday that would provide veterans exposed to toxic substances overseas with health care and benefits, after a weekend in which outraged veterans camped out on the steps of the Capitol to protest a delay in the legislation. A Senate […]
Congress mostly silent as states struggle to contain monkeypox
WASHINGTON – Two months after doctors diagnosed the first case of monkeypox in the United States, Congress has yet to hold a hearing, or give any significant attention to the painful and debilitating virus that’s spread to more than 4,600 people. Public health officials in the Biden administration have held several briefings, expanded testing capacity […]
Manchin and U.S. Senate Democrats strike a deal on major health, climate, tax package
WASHINGTON — West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin III and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer struck an agreement Wednesday for a Democrats-only reconciliation package that would allow negotiations on some Medicare prescription drugs, end corporate tax loopholes, and address climate change as well as invest in energy projects. President Joe Biden in a statement on […]
Bill guaranteeing right to birth control blocked in U.S. Senate by Republican
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Democrats tried to pass legislation Wednesday that would guarantee women can continue using contraception if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the long-standing precedent, the way it did with abortion. But Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst blocked their efforts by objecting to Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Ed Markey’s request for unanimous consent to […]
GOP support for same-sex marriage protections builds in U.S. Senate
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate appears on track to send President Joe Biden a bill in the coming weeks that would guarantee same-sex and interracial couples can marry, even if the Supreme Court overturns the landmark cases that enshrined those rights. “I think we’re very close,” Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins said Tuesday of efforts […]
U.S. House on bipartisan vote passes bill protecting right to same-sex marriage
WASHINGTON — Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. House voted Tuesday to enshrine the right to same-sex and interracial marriages in federal law, though the bill’s path forward in the Senate is unclear. Supporting Democrats included Reps. Chris Pappas and Annie Kuster. The 267-157 bipartisan vote stemmed from concerns that the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last […]
Same-sex marriage and contraception at risk after abortion ruling, U.S. House panel told
WASHINGTON — Advocates told Congress on Thursday that a U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning a landmark abortion rights case is likely only the beginning, and could be followed by similar action by the high court on same-sex marriage, contraception, and more. Witnesses at a U.S. House Judiciary Committee hearing advised that to prevent that from […]
U.S. Senate panel wrestles with questions about abortions needed to save a patient’s life
WASHINGTON — Democrats and Republicans on the U.S. Senate panel that oversees health care sharply disagreed Wednesday over how Congress should respond to confusion among doctors about compliance with state abortion bans. State abortion restrictions, some of which were written long ago and don’t account for complicated medical situations, don’t make it clear when a […]