Tag: U.S. House

Aid bill for Capitol security, Afghan refugees headed to Biden’s desk

Roll Call Logo

Vote of 416-11 in House came hours after 98-0 Senate vote

Lawmakers voted overwhelmingly Thursday to approve a $2.1 billion spending bill meant to shore up their own safety in the wake of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, reimburse the National Guard for a monthslong activation to secure the complex and relocate Afghans who helped the U.S. government during the war.

The 416-11 House vote Thursday afternoon clears the measure for President Joe Biden’s signature with just days to spare before the Capitol Police and National Guard are expected to face funding shortfalls related to the insurrection by pro-Trump rioters.

House passage came just hours after the Senate’s 98-0 vote. Though lawmakers in that chamber gave the measure a strong bipartisan vote, House members weren’t entirely pleased with the final product or that it took the Senate about two months to approve its version after the House acted on an earlier version. Continue reading.

House passes bill to authorize 8,000 more visas for Afghan allies

Roll Call Logo

Protections also would be extended to Afghan family members of special visa applicants who were killed

The House on Thursday overwhelmingly passed legislation to authorize an additional 8,000 special immigrant visas for Afghan interpreters, contractors and other vulnerable U.S. allies.

The bill would also expand eligibility to family members of SIV applicants who have been killed, as well as Afghans who worked with certain nongovernmental organizations and could face persecution but would not qualify under the program’s current requirements. It passed with a 407-16 vote.

“Some members of this body, including me, may not be here today without the service and self-sacrifice of Afghans who answered the call to serve shoulder to shoulder with us,” said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., an Army veteran who served in Afghanistan. Continue reading.

Pelosi rebuffs McConnell on infrastructure

The Hill logo

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Tuesday amplified her plans to link a bipartisan infrastructure agreement to a second package of Democratic economic priorities, rebuffing an appeal from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to decouple the two bills.

In a closed-door meeting with her caucus in the Capitol, Pelosi said her initial strategy — to withhold a House infrastructure vote until the Senate passes a larger, partisan families plan — remains unchanged, according to lawmakers in attendance.

“What the Speaker has said, and I totally agree with her, is that we’re not going to vote on one until the Senate sends us both,” Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Ky.), chairman of the House Budget Committee, told reporters after the meeting. “That’s not changed.” Continue reading.

Pelosi names Liz Cheney to serve on Jan. 6 select committee

The Hill logo

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has named Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) to serve on the select committee investigating the attack on the Capitol by a mob of pro-Trump supporters.

The House voted to form the panel on Wednesday despite GOP opposition. Cheney voted in favor of forming it.

Cheney was recently dumped by GOP leadership over her criticisms of former President Trump. 

3 House Republicans fined for not wearing mask on floor

Roll Call Logo

Violations came before mandate was lifted for vaccinated people

Three House Republicans each must pay $500 fines imposed by the sergeant-at-arms for being warned and then failing to wear a mask on the House floor.

Reps. Brian Mast of Florida, Beth Van Duyne of Texas and Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa were all fined, according to an announcement released on Friday by the House Ethics Committee. 

The three were among 10 Republicans who defied House rules in May requiring the wearing of masks on the floor at the time. Warnings were issued, with the rules providing for fines in the event of a second offense. Continue reading.

As Democrats spar over advancing Biden’s climate agenda, they move to cut methane

Washington Post logo

Friday’s House vote to restore Obama-era limits is intended to curb the oil and gas industry’s emissions of a potent greenhouse gas

The House voted Friday to restore a rule targeting leaks of methane from oil and gas operations, reinstating Obama-era standards for limiting the potent greenhouse gas that had been dismantled under President Donald Trump.

The 229 to 191 vote marked a rare bipartisan step in the fight against climate change, but it comes amid growing tensions among Democrats over whether broader and more ambitious action is being sacrificed in the push for a bipartisan infrastructure deal. Twelve House Republicans sided with 217 Democrats to push through the measure.

The vote to re-establish more stringent oversight of methane, whose emissions have surged at a startling rate in recent years, focuses on the oil and gas sector, which ranks as the nation’s largest industrial source of methane emissions. Continue reading.

House spending bill boosts Capitol Police, office budgets

Roll Call Logo

Bill would also increase intern pay, allow DACA participants to work on Capitol Hill

House Democratic appropriators on Wednesday released the text of a $4.8 billion fiscal 2022 Legislative Branch appropriations bill, which includes key boosts for offices and agencies stretched thin in the age of the COVID-19 pandemic and Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. The measure, which does not include Senate-only spending, would provide 13.8 percent more than the $4.2 billion in discretionary funds appropriated in fiscal 2021.

The Capitol Police would get $603.9 million, an $88.4 million boost over the previous year. Acting Chief Yogananda Pittman in April requested $619.2 million, over $100 million above the previous year’s budget of $515.5 million. The House draft bill comes in $15.3 million short of what Pittman asked for.

The Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee will hold a markup of the measure at noon Thursday. The committee said its report includes measures to help bring more transparency to the force, which is notoriously nebulous.  Continue reading.

House to take big step on eliminating Trump-era rules

The Hill logo

The House is gearing up for votes this week to undo three Trump-era rules, using a special legislative tool to repeal some of the previous administration’s agency actions.

Democrats will draw on the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to take aim at rules governing methane regulations, lending practices and employment discrimination cases.

The three resolutions, which made it through the Senate on simple majority votes that included Republicans crossing the aisle on two of the measures, all have a good chance of clearing the House. Continue reading.

House votes to repeal 2002 Iraq war powers

The Hill logo

The House on Thursday voted to repeal the 2002 authorization for the Iraq War in what lawmakers are framing as a first step in a broader effort to claw back presidential war powers.

The House voted largely along party lines, 268-161, to scrap the 2002 authorization for the use of military force (AUMF), with supporters of the repeal arguing the nearly 20-year-old law is outdated and no longer necessary.

Only one Democrat, Rep. Elaine Luria (Va.), voted against scrapping the authorization, while 49 GOP lawmakers did vote to repeal it. Continue reading.https://thehill.com/policy/defense/558930-house-votes-to-repeal-2002-iraq-war-powers

House unveils antitrust package to rein in tech giants

The Hill logo

A House antitrust panel on Friday unveiled a bipartisan agenda made up of five bills that would give regulators greater authority to rein in the power of tech giants.

The bills put forward by leaders of the House Judiciary antitrust subcommittee follow a blockbuster report released by the Judiciary panel last year alleging ways that Alphabet, Amazon, Apple and Facebook abuse their market power. The report was approved on a party-line vote earlier this year. 

Each of the five bills unveiled on Friday includes a Republican co-sponsor. Continue reading.