Tag: bill

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Thursday passed legislation supported by President Donald Trump that would suspend limits on U.S. borrowing authority for two years and set government spending at higher levels through September 2021. By a vote of 67-28, the Senate fought off opposition from some conservative Republicans and passed the legislation, which was approved by the House of Representatives last week. Source

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former President Barack Obama was not on the Democratic presidential candidate debate stage on Wednesday night, but he was omnipresent as 2020 hopefuls struggled with attacking the legacy of their party’s most popular member. Coming under heavy attack from more liberal, lower-polling candidates, front-runner Joe Biden frequently invoked Obama in his defense, the first black president, for whom he served as No. 2 for eight years. Obama enjoys vast popularity not just in his party, but...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Thursday passed and sent to President Donald Trump a two-year budget deal that would increase federal spending on defense and an array of other domestic programs, significantly adding to rapidly escalating government debt. By a vote of 67-28, the Senate ignored late-hour appeals from some conservative Republicans who support bigger military expenditures and tax cuts that constrain revenues but were angered over more spending for non-defense domestic programs. Last week the Democratic-controlled...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Senate committee passed a bill on Wednesday to slap sanctions on companies and individuals involved in building the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany that the Trump administration says would strengthen Moscow’s economic grip on Europe. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed the “Protecting Europe’s Energy Security Act,” by a vote of 20 to 2. The bill, which reflects some lawmakers’ concerns over Russian influence in Europe, would still need to...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California’s Democratic governor signed a law on Tuesday requiring U.S. presidential candidates to release five years of tax returns before they can appear on the state’s ballot, a move aimed squarely at President Donald Trump. The law, which passed both houses of the Democrat-controlled state legislature earlier this month, marks the latest effort by Democrats to expose still-murky details of Trump’s financial empire. “These are extraordinary times and states have a legal and moral duty...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California’s Democratic governor signed a law on Tuesday requiring U.S. presidential candidates to release five years of tax returns before they can appear on the state’s ballot, a move aimed squarely at Republican President Donald Trump. The law, which passed both houses of the Democrat-controlled state legislature earlier this month, marks the latest effort by Democrats to expose still-murky details of Trump’s financial empire. “These are extraordinary times and states have a legal and moral...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Kamala Harris on Monday released a Medicare-for-all proposal ahead of the second Democratic presidential debate, when candidates’ differing approaches to giving Americans greater access to affordable health insurance is expected to feature prominently. Harris’ plan would allow Americans to buy into the Medicare government health insurance program, establishing a 10-year phase-in period during which newly born children would be automatically enrolled and healthcare providers can transition. The plan would allow private health insurers to...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Kamala Harris on Monday released a “Medicare for All” proposal ahead of a second debate for Democratic presidential candidates, when their differing approaches to healthcare insurance policy are expected to feature prominently. Harris’ plan would allow Americans to buy into the Medicare government health insurance program, establishing a 10-year phase-in period during which newly born children would be automatically enrolled and healthcare providers can transition. The plan would allow private health insurers to offer...

Tennessee state Rep. Bill Sanderson — a “family values” Republican — abruptly resigned on Tuesday night after a state political blog accused him of “openly soliciting sex” and sending “sexually explicit messages and pictures to men almost 40 years his junior.” “The Dog and Pony Show,” a local political site by Cari Wade Gervin, claimed to have caught anti-LGBTQ lawmaker on the gay dating and hookup app Grindr. According to Gervin’s newsletter: Since he took office in 2011, Tennessee state Rep....

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Monday introduced a bill that would ensure any climate change legislation considered by Congress prioritizes low-income and vulnerable communities. The Climate Equity Act would ensure that Congress and the White House are held accountable for putting low-income and indigenous communities and minority groups that are on the “front lines” of climate change at the core of climate proposals, such as the Green...

Pitkin County, Colorado, Sheriff Joe DiSalvo said it’s “somewhat disappointing” that no one has paid for the $24,000 security bill racked up during Vice President Pence’s trip to Aspen for a fundraiser earlier this week. Earlier this week, The Caribou Club, a gay-owned private club in Aspen, Colorado, hosted a $35,000-per-couple VIP fundraising event for Pence Monday evening. DiSalvo told the Aspen Daily that he is having trouble locating the organizer behind the Republican fundraiser to bill them for the...

Representative Lynn Afendoulis has announced her intentions to introduce a bill that would mean only the American and the state flag can be flown outside governmental buildings in Michigan. Her bill is coming after the state’s governor, Gretchen Whitmer, flew the rainbow flag outside of the Romney Office Building for a day during Pride Month. Afendoulis said it was “inappropriate to promote social policy, even in the form of a flag, on state office buildings. “We shouldn’t be playing identity politics with...

Tennessee state Rep. Bill Sanderson — a “family values” Republican — abruptly resigned on Tuesday night after a state political blog accused him of “openly soliciting sex” and sending “sexually explicit messages and pictures to men almost 40 years his junior.” “The Dog and Pony Show,” a local political site by Cari Wade Gervin, claimed to have caught anti-LGBTQ lawmaker on the gay dating and hookup app Grindr. According to Gervin’s newsletter: Since he took office in 2011, Tennessee state Rep. Bill...

DETROIT (Reuters) - Democratic presidential front-runner Joe Biden defended his civil rights record on Wednesday, reminding a crowd of black leaders of his close relationship with Barack Obama while backing away from his work on the 1994 crime bill. Biden has been under fire in recent weeks from black rivals Kamala Harris and Cory Booker on racial issues. He said Obama, the first black U.S. president, would not have chosen him to be his vice president if he was...