Jimmy Williams With Donald Trump securing a second term and Republicans taking control of both the Senate and the House, the GOP is poised to enact a strong agenda. However, eight House seats and one Senate seat remain uncalled, which could influence the exact Republican margins in Congress. Here’s a …
Read More »House Republicans Depart for Summer Recess Amid Intraparty Disputes and Legislative Stagnation
Jimmy Williams House Republican leaders have decided to cancel next week’s work session, sending lawmakers home for a six-week summer recess. This decision leaves them with little to show for their efforts as they approach the final months before the upcoming election. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and his leadership team …
Read More »House GOP Spending Bills Take Aim At Federal LGBTQ, Racial Equity Policies
Jacob Fischler, West Virginia Watch U.S. House Republicans are continuing to use government spending bills to engage in culture war battles, with legislation debated during the past week that would ban pride flags on some federal buildings, strip funding from a new museum for Latino history and target certain LGBTQ …
Read More »House Pushes Through Israel-Only Aid Bill With Dim Future In Senate
Jennifer Shutt, Pennsylvania Capital-Star The U.S. House on Thursday approved a $14.3 billion spending bill to aid Israel in its war against Hamas, but the measure stands no chance of passing the Senate and has elicited a veto threat from the White House. The 14-page bill, one of the first …
Read More »What Congress Still Has To Do To Fund The Government
Amanda Becker Originally published by The 19th When the U.S. House of Representatives joins the Senate back in Washington this week, both chambers will be racing to complete the annual government-funding process and avoid a shutdown at the end of September. Among the major sticking points are proposals offered by …
Read More »House Approves $1.7 Trillion Funding Package And Sends It To Biden
Jennifer Shutt, Georgia Recorder The U.S. House voted Friday to approve a sweeping $1.7 trillion government spending package that carries along with it dozens of new initiatives, including an update to how Congress certifies electoral votes for president and new protections for pregnant workers. The 225-201 bipartisan vote, with one member voting present, sends …
Read More »New Petition Pressures US House Members Not to Seat GOP Insurrectionists in 2023
A pair of progressive advocacy groups launched a petition on Friday to pressure the U.S. House of Representatives not to seat returning members who supported the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol. The petition, led by Free Speech for People and MoveOn, takes aim at three Republican members of …
Read More »Senate Averts Freight Rail Strike, But Bid To Include Worker Sick Leave Fails
Ariana Figueroa, Nebraska Examiner The U.S. Senate on Thursday voted to codify an agreement the White House brokered between rail unions and freight companies in order to avoid a catastrophic rail strike, but fell short of enough votes to include paid sick leave for workers. The Senate backed the rail …
Read More »House Democrats Make History Electing First Black Party Leader In Congress
The three U.S. House Democrats who have led their party through four presidencies and thousands of floor votes formally passed the torch to the next generation Wednesday, when the party gathered behind closed doors to elect its top leaders for the 118th Congress. House Democrats named Hakeem Jeffries, of New York, …
Read More »Congress Heads Back To D.C. For A Hectic Lame-Duck Session
Jennifer Shutt, Georgia Recorder Congress returns to Capitol Hill and a lengthy to-do list next week, following a six-week midterm elections break that saw Democrats outperform expectations and Republicans barely inch toward the U.S. House majority. On the agenda are same-sex marriage legislation, a huge defense bill, changes in how …
Read More »Which Party Controls Congress? It Could Be Days Or Weeks Before We Know
President Joe Biden and Democrats exulted Wednesday in outperforming expectations in the midterm elections, even as vote-counting was still in progress and control of both chambers of Congress remained unknown. The U.S. Senate will go to the winner of two of the last three races where party control is still …
Read More »Critics Warn GOP Midterm Victory Would Be Disaster for Working Class, Democracy, and Planet
Jon Queally, Common Dreams Progressive leaders and Democratic Party supporters are raising last-minute alarms over the unparalleled catastrophe that would result if the Republican Party—an organization many see as a creeping fascist force in the United States and on the world stage—manages to win control of one or both chambers …
Read More »What Does the 2022 Election Mean for You?
by Karim Doumar and Cynthia Gordy Giwa This story was originally published by ProPublica. Series: A User’s Guide to Democracy Want a personalized voting guide for the 2022 midterms? Sign up for the User’s Guide to Democracy email series to see detailed information about voting in your congressional district. Who …
Read More »House Passes Bill That Would Thwart Trump Plot to Purge Federal Workers
House Democrats and a handful of Republicans on Thursday rejected former President Donald Trump’s plot to oust civil servants by passing the Preventing a Patronage System Act. “The civil servants who make up our federal workforce are the engine that keeps our federal government running,” said Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), …
Read More »‘Game-Changer and Reason for Hope’: House Passes Inflation Reduction Act
Without the support of a single Republican, Democrats in the U.S. House on Friday gave final passage to a $740 billion piece of legislation that includes historic investments in renewable energy development, a minimum tax on large corporations, and a landmark requirement for Medicare to directly negotiate the prices of …
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