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Biden urges Hamas to accept new Israeli ceasefire plan intended to end war
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced a ceasefire proposal from Israel on Friday, saying the three-phase plan presented to Hamas represents the best chance to end the war. Biden, speaking from the White House, urged people around the world who have been calling for an end to the war in the Middle East to pressure […]
Forced sterilizations for people with disabilities decried by members of Congress
WASHINGTON — Three members of Congress introduced a resolution Thursday that’s intended to bring attention to the experiences and challenges people with disabilities face when it comes to reproductive rights. Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley announced the resolution during a press conference with advocates just steps from the U.S. Capitol, saying that under a Supreme […]
Crime victims may get fewer services as federal aid drops. States weigh how to help
Groups that assist crime victims across the United States are bracing for significant financial pain after the amount available from a major federal victim services fund plunged $700 million this year. Congress recently lowered spending to $1.2 billion from the fund, which provides grants to nonprofit and local programs across the country. This latest round […]
Wide scope of presidential emergency powers could be reined in by Congress this year
WASHINGTON — Senators from both political parties at a Wednesday hearing appeared to be on the same page about limiting presidential emergency powers, striking a bipartisan agreement that Congress should take steps this year to rework a decades-old law. The National Emergencies Act, approved during the 94th Congress, provides the president with powers they wouldn’t […]
Members of the U.S. Senate face a vote on whether they support contraception access
WASHINGTON — U.S. senators will go on record next month with whether they support legislation from Democrats that would guarantee access to contraception — a right currently upheld by two Supreme Court cases, but one that has been singled out by a conservative justice. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, announced Wednesday […]
Biden to announce 1 million claims granted for VA benefits under toxic exposure law
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is set to announce in New Hampshire on Tuesday that 1 million claims have been granted for benefits under the toxic exposure law that Congress approved less than two years ago, following the military’s use of open air burn pits in Afghanistan and Iraq. The law, approved with broad bipartisan […]
Medicare should include dental coverage, dentists tell U.S. Senate panel
WASHINGTON — Dentists from throughout the country urged Congress to include dental coverage in Medicare during a hearing Thursday, saying that fewer than half of beneficiaries visit a dentist each year. The panel of four dentists told the U.S. Senate Help, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee that other changes are needed as well to reduce […]
U.S. Senate GOP tries to block states from spending some of their COVID relief cash
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate on Wednesday rejected efforts to roll back guidance from the Treasury Department regarding how state and local governments can spend funding approved by Congress during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 46-49 vote on the Congressional Review Act resolution ended an attempt by several GOP senators to block the Biden administration from changing the […]
New list rates the most bipartisan members of Congress — and the least
WASHINGTON — Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins and Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick were the most bipartisan members of Congress last year, according to a newly released analysis from the Lugar Center and the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University. The least bipartisan House lawmaker was Ohio Republican Jim Jordan, while Alabama’s Katie […]
Tariffs to be sharply hiked by Biden administration on Chinese-made products
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is doubling and in some cases tripling tariffs on Chinese-made products, like steel and electric vehicles, in a move aimed at easing economic pain in battleground states, though senior administration officials say it isn’t political. National Economic Advisor Lael Brainard told reporters on a call Monday ahead of the announcement […]
U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene fails in attempt to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson
WASHINGTON — Efforts by a small group of far-right U.S. House Republicans to remove Speaker Mike Johnson from his leadership role failed Wednesday night, ending weeks of infighting about whether the Louisianan should remain the head of that chamber. Republican lawmakers joined by Democrats voted 359-43 to table, or set aside, the so-called motion to vacate that […]
FDA chief says feds are preparing for low probability of bird flu moving to humans
WASHINGTON — The commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said at a congressional hearing Wednesday the agency is preparing for the possibility the strain of avian influenza affecting dairy cattle could jump to humans, though he cautioned the probability is low. Robert Califf told senators on the panel in charge of his agency’s funding that […]