Tag: U.S. House

House overwhelmingly passes bipartisan spending deal to avert government shutdown

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Legislation would extend government funding through Dec. 11; Senate must act next to send bill to Trump

The House overwhelmingly approved a bipartisan bill late Tuesday to keep the government funded through early December and avoid a shutdown just before the November election.

The 359-to-57 vote sends the legislation to the Senate, which could take it up later this week and send it to President Trump. White House officials say they don’t want a shutdown, and Trump is expected to sign the bill, though he’s wavered at the last minute in such scenarios in the past.

The deal was negotiated by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in a chaotic series of events over the past several days. Talks abruptly collapsed late Friday just as a deal appeared within reach, and Pelosi released a partisan bill on Monday that was swiftly rejected by Republicans. But on Tuesday morning, Pelosi and Mnuchin resumed negotiations, and Pelosi announced late Tuesday that they had reached a deal. Continue reading.

Shutdown clash looms after Democrats unveil spending bill

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Legislation introduced Monday by House Democrats to keep the federal government funded through Dec. 11 quickly ran into opposition from Senate Republicans, raising the odds of a shutdown at the end of the month, just weeks before the election.

Government funding is slated to run out on Sept. 30, leaving just nine days for both parties to avoid a damaging shutdown at a time when tensions are already spiking over Senate GOP plans to quickly fill the Supreme Court vacancy left by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and stalled negotiations over a coronavirus relief bill.

Democrats on Monday unveiled a stopgap measure, known as a continuing resolution (CR), that does not contain a provision requested by the White House to provide aid for farmers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Continue reading.

Bipartisan House group unveils $1.5 trillion coronavirus relief plan

Problem Solvers Caucus offers compromise on unemployment, state and local aid sticking points, but leaders may not embrace

The 50-member, bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus on Tuesday released a $1.5 trillion COVID-19 aid package that they hope will help push congressional leaders and the White House toward a similar compromise.

The measure also gives the caucus members, many of whom are considered vulnerable for reelection this cycle, an opportunity to tell voters they offered a compromise and deflect blame for potential inaction on a new aid bill before the elections.

In arriving at $1.5 trillion, the Problem Solvers plan is almost exactly halfway between the $3.4 trillion bill the House passed in May and a $300 billion proposal Senate Republicans offered on the floor last week. Their proposal, however, includes automatic triggers based on hospitalization rates and progress towards vaccine development that could increase the cost by as much as $400 billion or reduce it by up to $200 billion. Continue reading.

Pelosi: House will stay in session until agreement is reached on coronavirus relief

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Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Tuesday announced that the House will remain in session until the parties have an agreement on another round of emergency coronavirus relief. 

In a conference call with the House Democratic Caucus — the first since the chamber returned from a long summer recess — Pelosi indicated she isn’t willing to accept a “skinny” legislative package, but told her troops the chamber’s calendar will be extended until an agreement is sealed, according to sources on the call. 

“We have to stay here until we have a bill,” Pelosi told lawmakers. Continue reading.

House subpoenas embattled Postal Service leader over delays

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The House Oversight Committee on Wednesday subpoenaed Postmaster General Louis DeJoy for records about the widespread mail delivery delays that have pulled the Postal Service into the political spotlight as it prepares to handle an onslaught of ballots in the November election.

The subpoena, which seeks documents related to operational changes that have slowed mail and the agency’s plans for the presidential election, comes after committee chair Rep. Carolyn Maloney said DeJoy has not sufficiently answered the panel’s requests for more information. 

“It is clear that a subpoena has become necessary to further the Committee’s investigation and help inform potential legislative actions,” Maloney, D-N.Y., said this week. Continue reading.

Appeals court deals blow to Democrats’ pursuit of McGahn testimony

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A federal appeals court in Washington on Monday dismissed a Democratic-led House committee lawsuit for the testimony of former White House counsel Don McGahn, finding the lawmakers lack legal grounds to enforce their subpoena in court.

The 2-1 ruling by a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals was the latest setback for Democrats in their yearlong court battle over a subpoena issued to McGahn in April of last year.

The full D.C. Circuit ruled just three weeks ago in the case that the House has standing to sue to enforce its subpoena. But the panel ruled Monday that the lawmakers still lack a valid legal claim to make in court since Congress never authorized the House to bring such lawsuits. Continue reading.

House passes $25B bill to boost Postal Service

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The House on Saturday passed legislation that would prevent the U.S. Postal Service from making any changes to its operations that could slow delivery of mailed-in ballots for this fall’s elections.

The bill passed largely along party lines, 257-150, with 26 Republicans bucking party leaders to support it.

The rare Saturday vote came after Postmaster General Louis DeJoyannounced earlier this week that he would suspend cost-cutting measuresuntil after the November elections.  Continue reading.

Postmaster general agrees to testify before House panel

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Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has agreed to testify before the House Oversight and Reform Committee about recently implemented cost-cutting measures at the U.S. Postal Service that have sparked fears that some ballots might not be delivered in time for Election Day.

House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) said in a statement Monday that DeJoy and Robert Duncan, the chairman of the Postal Service Board of Governors, had agreed to testify next Monday in response to her request.

“The American people want their mail, medicines, and mail-in ballots delivered in a timely way, and they certainly do not want drastic changes and delays in the midst of a global pandemic just months before the election,” Maloney said. Continue reading.

House Dems seek to hold suburbs as Trump’s slide worries GOP

WASHINGTON — In a suburban Houston congressional district that backed President Donald Trump in 2016, a twice-elected Republican sheriff is battling a Democrat who’s the son of an immigrant from India. To Democrats, that smells like an opportunity.

Things are flipped in central New York, where freshman Democratic Rep. Anthony Brindisi faces the Republican he ousted two years ago from a district near Syracuse that includes smaller cities like Binghamton and Utica. Trump won there easily, and Republicans say his place atop the ticket will help propel Claudia Tenney back to Congress.

The tale of two districts 1,600 miles apart spotlights that many pivotal House races hinge on suburban voters. While some like Brindisi’s have a more rural, blue collar feel than the diverse, better educated one outside Houston, an overriding factor will be how Trump is viewed in the district.

And that’s a problem for the GOP. Continue reading.

Five takeaways from Fauci’s testimony

The Hill logoWhen Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious diseases doctor, testified before Congress a month ago, the U.S. had just set a record with 48,000 new coronavirus cases in a single day.

Now, the country is averaging nearly 65,000 new cases a day. Outbreaks in the South appear to be leveling off, but worrying trends are emerging in the Midwest. And the nationwide death toll recently topped 150,000, a once-unthinkable number that is only going to increase as the pandemic rages on.

But when Fauci and other top health officials testified before Congress on Friday, they struck a hopeful tone on the prospects for a COVID-19 vaccine, faster testing and getting the virus under control, so long as Americans are vigilant about wearing masks and avoiding crowds. Continue reading.