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Democrats in Congress renew push to protect access to birth control
WASHINGTON — Democrats in Congress reintroduced a bill Wednesday that would guarantee access to birth control regardless of any future Supreme Court rulings. The measure would ensure people have the right to use contraception and that health care providers have a right to share information about contraception as well as provide it. The legislation would […]
D.C. spending standoff ahead as U.S. House Republicans demand $130 billion in cuts?
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans outlined Wednesday how they would cut $130 billion from the dozen annual government funding bills — a total significantly lower than the level both parties agreed to in the debt limit deal just two weeks ago. The spending levels likely set up a stalemate later this year between the GOP […]
Funding for 33 rural broadband projects unveiled by USDA
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Monday announced it will send $714 million to help rural areas in 19 states connect to the internet. “The president honestly believes that in order to have the fullest opportunity available to bring manufacturing back, to bring precision agriculture, to reconnect young people to economic opportunity in rural places, […]
Social media, trauma, hate speech add to youth mental health crisis, U.S. Senate panel told
WASHINGTON — U.S. senators agreed during a June 8 hearing the country’s children are going through a youth mental health crisis, though some of the committee’s members disagreed about what role Congress has to play. Senators detailed a complicated patchwork of issues that contribute to youth mental health challenges, including violence and trauma within schools […]
Effects of climate change on farming, federal spending explored by U.S. Senate panel
WASHINGTON — U.S. senators on the Budget Committee dug into the impacts of climate change on farming during a Wednesday hearing, raising concerns about what the next few decades hold for food production and the way of life. But Republicans and representatives of farm groups pushed back against increased government regulation. Brent Johnson, president of […]
U.S. Senate sends Biden debt limit legislation ahead of Monday default deadline
WASHINGTON — The bipartisan debt limit bill is on its way to President Joe Biden after the U.S. Senate voted Thursday to clear the measure for his signature. The 63-36 vote followed several amendment votes, all of which were rejected. Biden is expected to quickly sign the package, preventing a default on the debt that […]
U.S. House approves debt limit package, sending it to Senate days before default deadline
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House took a broadly bipartisan vote Wednesday night on the debt limit package, sending it to the U.S. Senate where lawmakers are expected to vote quickly to clear the measure. The bill would suspend the nation’s borrowing limit through Jan. 1, 2025 and set caps on discretionary spending for two years. […]
Debt limit deal hits turbulence in Congress as leaders prep for vote
WASHINGTON — Congress began moving the bipartisan debt limit package forward Tuesday, though frustrations with provisions in the bill could make for narrow passage in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate. Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie cast the deciding vote in the House Rules Committee advancing the bill to the full House for debate on […]
Biden, McCarthy say they have brokered a debt limit deal to avert U.S. default
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced a deal in principle Saturday night that would stave off a first-ever default on the nation’s debt as long as it can clear both chambers of Congress before June 5. The agreement would address the nation’s debt limit and include a “historic” reduction in spending, McCarthy said, though […]
Treasury secretary pinpoints June 5 as earliest date for U.S. debt default
WASHINGTON — Republicans in Congress and the Biden administration have until at least June 5 to broker and enact a debt limit bill under new estimates from the Treasury Department, giving negotiators a few more days before the country would default. “Based on the most recent available data, we now estimate that Treasury will have […]
With debt default as soon as a week away, U.S. House jets off for holiday break
WASHINGTON — U.S. House members walked down the steps of the Capitol building Thursday morning to head back to their districts for a Memorial Day recess that began exactly one week before the country could default on the debt. House Democrats took to the floor after the final vote of the week to give a […]
After years of bipartisan spending boosts, U.S. House GOP won’t lift debt ceiling without cuts
WASHINGTON — Republicans and Democrats in Congress together brokered dozens of debt limit agreements, including several during the past decade, marked by a desire in both political parties to increase federal spending. But U.S. House Republicans now are pushing for the federal government to spend less next year than it will this year in order […]