Congress

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Limbo on COVID Relief Starts Hitting Home Saturday

Unemployment benefits for millions begin expiring

(Newser) - The impasse in DC on a COVID relief package begins to get very real on Saturday for millions of Americans. Two programs set up during the pandemic to provide benefits for the unemployed expire, reports CNBC . One helps self-employed and gig workers and the other provides $300 a week to...

'Several People Broke Down Crying in Phone Interviews'

'Washington Post' interviews those on brink of losing jobless aid or their businesses

(Newser) - It's a rough read for Christmas Day. But the Washington Post interviews 10 people pushed to the financial brink because of the pandemic who can't understand why Congress and the White House haven't been able to agree on a relief package. "Several people broke down crying...

Attempt to Increase COVID Relief Checks Fails in House

House Democrats side with Trump on bigger amount, but Republicans block measure

(Newser) - So how much will Americans get in COVID relief payments, and when will they get it? Check back Monday. House Democrats and Republicans engaged in a quick battle of legislative maneuvers on Thursday that effectively punted the issue into next week. The recap: Earlier this week, Congress passed legislation that...

Top Congressional Leaders Reach COVID Relief Deal

Sen. Mitch McConnell says 'More help is on the way'

(Newser) - Congressional leaders announced Sunday that a COVID relief bill is in the bag, the New York Times reports. "We can finally report what our nation has needed to hear for a very long time: More help is on the way," said Sen. Mitch McConnell. With just hours left...

Lawmakers 'Won't Leave' Without COVID Aid Deal

'I think there's progress,' says top House Republican

(Newser) - Top negotiators reported progress on a long-delayed COVID-19 aid package Tuesday after a rare meeting of Capitol Hill's four most senior lawmakers. The quartet, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell, said they would reconvene Tuesday night in hopes of sealing an agreement soon, the...

House Passes Bill to Avert Government Shutdown

Move buys more time for COVID relief talks

(Newser) - Still spinning their wheels on COVID-19 relief, lawmakers grabbed a one-week government funding extension on Wednesday that buys time for more talks—though there is considerable disagreement over who is supposed to be taking the lead from there. Amid the uncertainty, the House easily passed a one-week government-wide funding bill...

House Makes Landmark Move on Marijuana

Votes for first time to decriminalize, though it's not going anywhere in the Senate

(Newser) - Reflecting changing attitudes among Americans, the House voted Friday to decriminalize marijuana. The measure, approved with support from both parties on a 228-164 vote, also would expunge nonviolent convictions related to marijuana offenses, the New York Times reports. And the drug would no longer be covered by the Controlled Substances...

New Member of Congress Might Carry a Glock

Lauren Boebert often carries a pistol in Colorado

(Newser) - Lauren Boebert is not installed in the Capitol yet as a member of Congress, but she's already asked if she can bring her gun. The Colorado Republican, who was elected this month, often wears a Glock pistol on her hip. Boebert made the inquiry during freshman orientation, the AP...

Dec. 26 Could Be a Rough Day for 12M People
Dec. 26 Could
Be a Rough Day
for 12M People
in case you missed it

Dec. 26 Could Be a Rough Day for 12M People

Jobless aid programs will expire unless Congress moves fast: study

(Newser) - When Todd Anderson lost his job doing landscape design for resorts in the spring, the single dad of four from Mackinaw City, Mich., began selling off his belongings. He squeaks by on the $362 he receives each week in unemployment benefits, reports NPR . But he’s about to lose that,...

Nation's Congress Building Is Set Ablaze

Protesters oppose budget cuts in Guatemala

(Newser) - Hundreds of protesters broke into Guatemala's Congress and burned part of the building Saturday amid growing demonstrations against President Alejandro Giammattei and the legislature for approving a budget that cut educational and health spending, the AP reports. The protest came as about 7,000 people were demonstrating in front...

Biden Assesses Cost of Trump's Stonewalling

'More people may die' if the two teams don't coordinate on pandemic, president-elect says

(Newser) - The Trump administration still isn't cooperating on the transition with President-elect Joe Biden's team, and Biden said Monday that could turn out to be a costly decision. Vaccinating more than 300 million Americans is "a huge, huge, huge undertaking," he said in Delaware, per the the...

Few Are Tapping Their 401(k)s Under COVID Exception

Americans given chance to raid funds without penalty, but not many have opted for it

(Newser) - Earlier this year, Congress gave Americans the chance to raid their own 401(k) funds without penalty amid the pandemic. But the Wall Street Journal reports that few people have actually done so. The nation's biggest 401(k) provider, Fidelity Investments, says 4.6% of people have taken advantage of the...

Trump: 25th Amendment Ploy Is About Biden, Not Me

President accuses Pelosi of plotting to replace Biden with Kamala Harris

(Newser) - House Democrats followed through on their promise to raise the profile of the 25th Amendment on Friday, introducing legislation that would create a 17-member panel to judge a president's fitness for the job. Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, a former professor of constitutional law, reintroduced a version of the...

Mass Layoffs at Airlines: 'It Didn't Have to Be This Way'

Tens of thousands of furloughs at American, United after deadline for Congress deal passes

(Newser) - Nineteen thousand workers at American Airlines and 13,000 at United are getting bad news this week, and they may not be the only ones. The Wall Street Journal reports the two airlines are laying off tens of thousands of employees after Congress was unable to OK a coronavirus relief...

Congresswoman Sues Over Change in Election Day

Rep. Angie Craig doesn't want voting in her race postponed from November to February

(Newser) - Democratic Rep. Angie Craig is seeking a court order requiring that the November election in her Minnesota congressional race be held as scheduled instead of being delayed until February because a third-party candidate died, per the AP . Craig, who is seeking a second term in a competitive suburban and rural...

Report on 737 Max: 'Horrific Culmination' of Missteps

'Grossly insufficient oversight' by FAA and 'lack of transparency' by Boeing cited by House committee

(Newser) - As regulators get closer to OKing recertification for Boeing's beleaguered 737 Max planes, what CNBC calls a "damning" report from a Congressional committee that took a year and a half to complete was released Wednesday, pointing to a series of fails during the development of the aircraft. The...

Pelosi: New Intel Policy on Elections Is 'a Betrayal'

Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe sends a letter to lawmakers

(Newser) - Looks like America's top intelligence officer won't be sending anyone to brief Congress about election security anymore—and Nancy Pelosi is less than pleased, CNN reports. Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe notified lawmakers Friday that his office will no longer brief congressional intelligence committees on the hot-button...

Trump Threatens Executive Action on COVID Relief

Move would likely trigger another court battle; negotiations continue

(Newser) - With a coronavirus relief deal still elusive , President Trump is considering executive orders—he detailed three of them on Wednesday—unless a deal is reached by Friday. "My administration is exploring executive actions to provide protections against eviction" as well as "looking at a term-limited suspension of the...

'Emperors of the New Economy' Grilled at Antitrust Hearing

'Simply put, they have too much power'

(Newser) - The CEOs of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google were sworn in remotely Wednesday for a historic antitrust hearing before House lawmakers. Rep. David Cicilline, chairman of the House Judiciary antitrust subcommittee, used his opening statement to accuse the tech giants of damaging the economy through excessive dominance, the New York ...

Big Tech CEOs Head to Congress for Historic Hearing

Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Google on the defense over rising power

(Newser) - Chief executives of Facebook, Google, Apple, and Amazon are set to testify remotely before Congress on Wednesday as part of a hearing focusing on the size and power of the world's leading tech companies, following a yearlong investigation by the House judiciary’s antitrust subcommittee. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg...

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