Category: US House

Senate passes massive COVID-19 relief bill, sending changes back to House

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Democratic leaders in the House will need to convince members to back changes

The Senate approved a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package Saturday, sending it back to the House where Democratic leaders will need to convince their members to back changes to unemployment insurance and tax rebate checks.

The 50-49 party-line vote capped off the more than 24 hours of continuous voting, courtesy of the fast-track process Democrats are using to advance the pandemic aid package. Under budget reconciliation, senators could offer as many amendments as they wanted.

Republicans filed nearly 600 amendments to the bill, but only brought up a fraction of those for debate and votes. Democrats were mostly united throughout the process, rejecting 29 Republican amendments. Overall, six amendments were adopted, including two GOP proposals. Continue reading.

House Democrats pass sweeping elections bill as GOP legislatures push to restrict voting

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The House late Wednesday passed expansive legislation to create uniform national voting standards, overhaul campaign finance laws and outlaw partisan redistricting, advancing a centerpiece of the Democratic voting rights agenda amid fierce Republican attacks that threaten to stop it cold in the Senate.

The bill, titled the For the People Act, was given the symbolic designation of H.R. 1 by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ­(D-Calif.), and it largely mirrors a bill passed two years ago in the early weeks of the House Democratic majority.

This year, however, the bill has taken on additional significance because of the new Democratic majority in the Senate and President Biden’s November win, as well as the efforts underway in dozens of Republican-controlled state legislatures to roll back voting access in reaction to former president Donald Trump’s loss and his subsequent campaign to question the election results. Continue reading.

House passes expansive policing overhaul bill named in honor of George Floyd

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The House on Wednesday passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, an expansive policing overhaul measure named for the 46-year-old Black man who died last Memorial Day after a Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee against his neck for over nine minutes.

The bill passed 220 to 212 along mostly party lines, with two Democrats, Reps. Jared Golden (Maine) and Ron Kind (Wis.), voting against it, and one Republican, Rep. Lance Gooden (Tex.), accidentally voting for it.

Soon after the vote, Gooden tweeted that he had pressed the wrong button and had meant to vote “no.” He said he would submit a correction to his vote. Continue reading.

D.C. Guard chief says ‘unusual’ restrictions slowed deployment of backup during Capitol riot

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The commanding general of the D.C. National Guard told lawmakers Wednesday that restrictions the Pentagon placed on him in the run-up to the Capitol riot and lag time in decision-making by his chain of command prevented him from more quickly sending forces to help quell the violence.

Maj. Gen. William J. Walker said his hands were tied by the Pentagon for more than three hours after he received a call from the Capitol Police chief saying a request for backup was imminent, delaying the arrival of military forces at the premises as lawmakers evacuated or barricaded themselves in offices during one of the biggest national security failures since the 9/11 attacks.

Walker described how he had troops ready and waiting to be sent to the Capitol but did not have sign-off from the Pentagon, which in directives ahead of the events had restricted his leeway to respond to contingencies. Continue reading.

Watch GOP Rep. Ronny Jackson flee a reporter asking about a report on his ‘sexual and denigrating’ behavior

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Republican Rep. Ronny Jackson of Texas has been facing a scandal involving his conduct while serving as White House medical adviser — a position he held under President Barack Obama and later, under President Donald Trump. The U.S. Department of Defense Inspector General’s Office, following an investigation, has concluded that Jackson made “sexual and denigrating” commentsabout a female medical subordinate. And when CNN reporter Daniella Diaz asked Jackson about the allegations, the GOP congressman couldn’t get away from her fast enough.

According to CNN reporters Manu Raju, Barbara Starr, Zachary Cohen and Oren Liebermann, “After interviewing 78 witnesses and reviewing a host of White House documents, investigators concluded that Jackson, who achieved the rank of rear admiral (in the U.S. Navy), failed to treat his subordinates with dignity and respect, engaged in inappropriate conduct…. On a presidential trip to Manila from April 22, 2014, to April 29, 2014, four witnesses who traveled with then-President Barack Obama and Jackson said that Jackson became intoxicated and made inappropriate comments about a female medical subordinate.”

When Diaz saw Jackson, she introduced herself and told him, “I’m wondering if we could get your reaction to the report we broke last night” — and he abruptly responded, “I’ve already submitted a segment.” Continue reading.

Retired Lt. Gen. Karen Gibson tapped as Senate sergeant-at-arms in wake of Capitol attack

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Women also named to deputy and chief of staff posts

Retired Army Lt. Gen. Karen Gibson will be the new Senate sergeant-at-arms, following three decades of active-duty military service, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer announced Wednesday.

Gibson will take over the Senate’s SAA operation at a pivotal moment, as lawmakers are calling for an overhaul of Capitol security and the Capitol Police Board in the wake of the violent insurrection on Jan. 6 that left many questions about preparedness and coordination of response.

Former Sergeant-at-Arms Michael C. Stenger resigned after the attack on the Capitol, as did his House counterpart, Paul D. Irving, and Capitol Police Chief Steven A. Sund. Continue reading.

Dems tighten relief benefits, firm up support for virus bill

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WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and Democrats agreed to tighten eligibility limits for stimulus checks Wednesday, bowing to party moderates as leaders prepared to move their $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill through the Senate.

At the same time, the White House and top Democrats stood by progressives and agreed that the Senate package would retain the $400 weekly emergency unemployment benefits included in the House-passed pandemic legislation. Moderates have wanted to trim those payments to $300 after Republicans have called the bill so heedlessly generous that it would prompt some people to not return to work.

The deal-making underscored the balancing act Democrats face as they try squeezing the massive relief measure through the evenly divided, 50-50 Senate. The package, Biden’s signature legislative priority, is his attempt to stomp out the year-old pandemic, revive an economy that’s shed 10 million jobs and bring some semblance of normality to countless upended lives. Continue reading.

GOP’s Boebert freaks out that Equality Act will establish ‘supremacy of gays, lesbians and transvestites’

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Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) on Wednesday unleashed an angry tirade against the Equality Act that would make it illegal to discriminate against Americans on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

While appearing on former Trump White House political strategist Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast, Boebert insisted that the Equality Act would actually put non-LGBT Americans at a disadvantage compared to their gay and transgender peers.

“There is nothing about equality in that act!” Boebert said, even though the act itself is titled the Equality Act. “If anything, it’s, the, uh, it’s supremacy of gays, lesbians and transvestites. This is what this is about, it’s about putting them higher than anyone else!” Continue reading.

D.C. Guard chief says ‘unusual’ restrictions slowed deployment of backup during Capitol riot

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The commanding general of the D.C. National Guard told lawmakers Wednesday that restrictions the Pentagon placed on him in the run-up to the Capitol riot and lag time in decision-making by his chain of command prevented him from more quickly sending forces to help quell the violence.

Maj. Gen. William J. Walker said his hands were tied by the Pentagon for more than three hours after he received a call from the Capitol Police chief saying a request for backup was imminent, delaying the arrival of military forces at the premises as lawmakers evacuated or barricaded themselves in offices during one of the biggest national security failures since the 9/11 attacks.

Walker described how he had troops ready and waiting to be sent to the Capitol but did not have sign-off from the Pentagon, which in directives ahead of the events had restricted his leeway to respond to contingencies. Continue reading.

Former White House physician Ronny Jackson, now a congressman, bullied staff, made sexual remarks, inspector general finds

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Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Tex.), a former White House physician to two presidents, bullied his staff, made inappropriate sexual comments about a female subordinate and exhibited an array of other concerning behavior, according to a Defense Department inspector general report released Wednesday.

Jackson’s former colleagues greatly disapproved of his conduct and leadership within the White House Medical Unit, including incidents where he screamed, belittled staff and erupted into fits of rage, which demoralized nurses and doctors, the report found.

Out of 60 people interviewed about Jackson’s command climate, only 13 had positive experiences to share, investigators said in the report, which was first reported by CNN. Continue reading.