Tag: Congress

Pelosi, McConnell clash over next coronavirus bill

The Hill logoSpeaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell(R-Ky.) are publicly at odds over a potential fourth coronavirus package.

The two leaders, whose public relationship has been tense in recent weeks, are taking different tactics on follow-up legislation and sparring through the media on next steps to address the devastating economic and health effects of the pandemic.

The mixed messaging, which comes as lawmakers are out of town until at least April 20, underscores the looming challenge of keeping the congressional response to the coronavirus bipartisan. The first three bills passed with overwhelming support on both sides of the aisle. Continue reading.

Lawmakers already planning more coronavirus stimulus after $2T package

The Hill logoLawmakers are already planning another round of legislation aimed at keeping companies flush with capital and millions of workers on payrolls amid the coronavirus pandemic, even after passing a $2 trillion relief bill this past week, the largest stimulus of its kind in U.S. history.

The Senate plans to be on recess until April 20, and the House will take an extended break as well, though members say they could return sooner depending on how the economy reacts in the next few weeks.

Businesses, trade associations and state governments are already jockeying for more federal relief, calling the package that President Trump signed Friday a good “first step” but not enough to keep the economy on track if the coronavirus crisis extends beyond the end of April. Continue reading.

Road ahead: Surveillance powers deadline approaches amid coronavirus concerns

Legislative agenda could be sidelined if virus fears prompt changes

Congress is staring down a deadline to reauthorize three surveillance powers before they expire on March 15, but members will be negotiating that as the Capitol begins grappling with rapidly evolving coronavirus concerns.

Congress already cleared emergency funding to fight the coronavirus, but the illness will still be front of mind at the Capitol this week as confirmed cases of COVID-19 have emerged in Washington, D.C., and the surrounding area and two lawmakers announced they’ll be staying home because they interacted with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.

Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said in separate statements Sunday evening they will take precautionary measures because they interacted at the Conservative Political Action Conference, known as CPAC, with a person who later tested positive for the virus. Continue reading.

Trump unveils $4.8 trillion budget that backtracks on deal with Congress

The Hill logoPresident Trump on Monday unveiled a $4.8 trillion budget proposal that includes spending cuts that would nullify a two-year deal negotiated with Congress last summer.

The new budget for the 2021 fiscal year beginning in October includes $590 billion in non-defense spending and $740.5 billion in defense spending. The total $4.8 trillion figure also anticipates about $3.5 trillion in spending on Social Security, Medicare and other entitlements.

The August deal hammered out by Trump in talks with the House and Senate raised spending for both defense and domestic spending. Continue reading.

Trump’s defiance of oversight presents new challenge to Congress’s ability to rein in the executive branch

Washington Post logoFor the first time since Democrats took control of the House last year, President Trump’s efforts to stonewall congressional efforts at oversight have begun to show some cracks.

On Thursday, a former State Department official set off a firestorm when he defied the White House’s no-cooperation strategy and provided Congress with text messages detailing the administration’s effort to leverage a potential meeting with Trump to pressure his Ukrainian counterpart to launch investigations into Trump’s political rivals.

And House Democrats are expected to interview other critical witnesses this week as they try to build a case for impeaching Trump over his alleged willingness to seek the help of a foreign leader for his own political gain.

View the complete October 7 article by Seung Min Kim and Rachael Bade on The Washington Post website here.

Scoop: Mark Zuckerberg met Trump during visit to D.C.

Axios logoFacebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg held an unannounced meeting with President Trump during his visit to Washington on Thursday, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: With Facebook under pressure from regulators and lawmakers on privacy and other issues, Zuckerberg turned to personal diplomacy with the president on his first visit to D.C. since he testified before Congress last April. Zuckerberg also ate dinner with a group of senators on Wednesday and held a number of meetings on Capitol Hill.

View the complete September 19 article by Mike Allen on the Axios website here.

Democrats eye action on threat of white nationalism

The Hill logoDemocrats on Capitol Hill are pressing hard to adopt tougher gun laws following a pair of mass shootings this month that horrified the country and rekindled the on-again, off-again push to install higher barriers to owning firearms.

But as Congress prepares to return to Washington next month from the long summer recess, Democrats also want to go a step further to tackle another scourge they consider to be related: the threat of violent white nationalism that, according to federal law enforcers, is on the rise.

The lawmakers’ ultimate goal is to strengthen the nation’s hate crime laws and weed out race-based incidents of domestic terrorism. As a first step, they’re pushing legislation designed to log the frequency of such cases around the country — data they say has gone neglected as the Trump administration has focused more squarely on foreign-based threats to homeland security.

View the complete August 28 article by Mike Lillis on The Hill website here.

Congress pumps brakes on Interior push to relocate Bureau of Land Management

The Hill logoThe Interior Department says it is moving ahead with plans to relocate a Washington-based agency to Colorado after getting the green light from Congress, but lawmakers say no such approval has been granted.

The Department of the Interior is preparing to move 27 top officials at the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to new headquarters in Grand Junction, Colo., while scattering other D.C.-based employees to existing offices out West.

The House Appropriations Committee was given 30 days to submit questions to Interior about the move and the reallocation of $5 million to cover related costs.

View the complete August 22 article by Rebecca Beitsch on The Hill website here.

Assault weapons ban picks up steam in Congress

The Hill logoAn assault weapons ban is picking up steam in the House and on the 2020 campaign trail as Democrats search for a way to respond to two recent mass shootings while putting greater political pressure on recalcitrant Republican leaders.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, the front-runner in the Democratic presidential primary race, this week vowed to reinstate and strengthen the 1994 ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines if he’s elected president, declaring in a New York Times op-ed: “We have to get these weapons of war off our streets.”

And nearly 200 House Democrats have now signed on to legislation — authored by Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), the head of Democrats’ messaging operation — banning semi-automatic firearms and large-capacity magazines. With 198 co-sponsors, the bill is just 20 votes shy of the number needed to push it through the lower chamber.

View the complete August 14 article by Scott Wong on The Hill website here.

Scoop: Bipartisan senators want Big Tech to put a price on your data

Axios logoSenators Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) will introduce legislation on Monday to require Facebook, Google, Amazon and other major platforms to disclose the value of their users’ data, as first reported Sunday evening on “Axios on HBO.”

Why it matters: Our personal data is arguably our most valuable asset in the digital age, but internet users don’t have any way of knowing how much their data is actually worth.

The big picture: Two decades ago, consumers made a bargain — we traded our data in exchange for using “free” sites like Facebook, Instagram, Google, YouTube and Twitter. Warner says he wants consumers to be more informed about the real value of what they give up in the form of, for example, location data, relationship status, data about the apps we use, our age, gender and lifestyle.

View the complete June 23 article by Kim Hart on the Axios website here.