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Biden proposes new student debt relief plan for millions of borrowers
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Monday will announce the rollout of a student debt forgiveness proposal that the White House believes is narrowly targeted enough to survive legal challenges. The plan, if finalized, would include a one-time cancellation of all accrued interest for 23 million borrowers. It would also cancel the full amount of […]
U.S. House Speaker Johnson sets date to deliver Mayorkas impeachment articles to Senate
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson announced Thursday that two articles of impeachment against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas will be sent to the U.S. Senate in early April when senators return from recess. “We call upon you to fulfill your constitutional obligation to hold this trial,” Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, wrote […]
U.S. House panel debates boost for WIC in agriculture funding bill
WASHINGTON — A U.S. House appropriations panel reviewed the Biden administration’s request to increase the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s budget for fiscal 2025 Thursday, with Republicans asking pointed questions about a proposal to boost a popular low-income nutrition program. The hearing came less than two weeks after Congress passed a months-delayed appropriations bill for the USDA for […]
Massive $1.2 trillion spending package that would avert a shutdown released by Congress
WASHINGTON — Congress released the final six government funding bills early Thursday, starting off a sprint toward the Friday midnight deadline to wrap up work that was supposed to be finished nearly six months ago. The bipartisan agreement on the $1.2 trillion spending package, which emerged just before 3 a.m., came less than two weeks […]
AI disinformation, threats to poll workers top U.S. Senate panel list of election worries
WASHINGTON — Senators on the U.S. Senate Rules Committee expressed concerns Tuesday that poll workers may need protection and that artificial intelligence could interfere in the fall elections. Leading members of the committee said AI has already been used to promote disinformation that has interfered with elections, while elections workers have for years experienced intimidation. […]
HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge to resign at the end of March
WASHINGTON — U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge announced Monday she is stepping down from the agency. In an exclusive interview with USA Today, Fudge said she would leave March 22 to retire after nearly 50 years of public service. Fudge, 71, was the second Black woman to run the agency. […]
Biden to push for return of expanded child tax credit in State of the Union speech
WASHINGTON — Top White House economic officials said Tuesday that President Joe Biden will announce how his administration is tackling economic issues — from the housing crisis to restoring the expansion of the child tax credit — during this week’s State of the Union address to Congress and the nation. “Providing more breathing room to […]
Five months late, Congress is poised to pass a huge chunk of federal spending
WASHINGTON — Congress is on track to approve a staggering $468 billion in government spending this week, finishing part of the work it was supposed to complete by Oct. 1 — including a big boost intended to shore up the federal WIC nutrition program for women, infants and children. Other agencies will see cuts, including […]
Presidential campaign moves to the border, as Biden urges Trump to back immigration deal
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump on Thursday afternoon paid competing visits to the nation’s southern border, where Biden called on Congress to reconsider a bipartisan border security deal that Republicans tanked at Trump’s direction. Biden traveled to Brownsville, Texas, while Trump journeyed to Eagle Pass, highlighting how immigration policy has […]
A day ahead of shutdown, Congress works on advancing stopgap spending bills
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House on a bipartisan vote passed a short-term funding extension Thursday intended to give lawmakers a bit more time to wrap up work on the annual spending bills — trying to dodge a shutdown despite election year politics and narrow margins. The stopgap spending bill, sometimes called a continuing resolution, or […]
U.S. Senate Republican blocks legislation protecting in vitro fertilization
WASHINGTON — U.S. Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi blocked a bill from passing Wednesday that would have preserved access to in vitro fertilization nationwide, stalling a push by Democrats following a landmark Alabama state Supreme Court decision. The court ruled earlier this month that frozen embryos counted as children under state law and parents could collect […]
McConnell to step down as U.S. Senate GOP leader
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky will step down as the Senate Republican leader in November, he said on the Senate floor Wednesday, announcing the end of a run as party leader that broke records for its length and shaped American politics over nearly two decades. “One of life’s most underappreciated talents is […]