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More federal dollars coming from climate law for Western wildfire management
By: Jacob Fischler - January 19, 2023
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will spend nearly $500 million on projects to reduce wildfire risk in 11 areas in Western states, including Arizona, the department said Thursday. The new funding, $490 million, comes from Democrats’ budget, climate and taxes law that passed last year, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said on a call with reporters. […]
U.S. House GOP would make it easier for feds to give public lands away to states
By: Jacob Fischler - January 17, 2023
U.S. House Republicans included in the new rules for the chamber they passed this month a provision meant to make it easier for Congress to give away public lands. The provision is a fairly technical piece of the 55-page rules package. It affects internal House accounting and requires that anytime Congress were to give any […]
U.S. attorney general names special counsel for classified docs found in Biden’s garage
By: Jennifer Shutt and Jacob Fischler - January 12, 2023
WASHINGTON — The White House revealed Thursday morning that more classified documents from President Joe Biden’s time as vice president were discovered outside of secure government facilities, this time in the garage at his Wilmington, Delaware home. The files have since been turned over to the U.S. Justice Department, which opened a special counsel investigation […]
Democrats praise U.S. Capitol police and pledge to seek accountability on Jan. 6 anniversary
By: Jacob Fischler - January 6, 2023
Two years after a mob of Donald Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to undo Trump’s loss in the 2020 presidential election, Democrats in Congress on Friday vowed to remember the Capitol police officers who died, hold Trump accountable and prevent similar attacks in the future. Democrats applauded the work of the […]
Biden administration to rapidly expel more migrants at the border, add legal pathways
By: Jacob Fischler and Ariana Figueroa - January 5, 2023
WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden on Thursday announced dual immigration strategies that would increase expulsions of migrants who attempt to cross the Southern border, while also expanding opportunities for migrants from several countries to legally enter the United States. But the sweeping new immigration plan brought condemnation from advocates who said he should not broaden […]
U.S. House Jan. 6 panel report finds Trump incited insurrection, demands accountability
By: Jacob Fischler and Ashley Murray - December 23, 2022
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House Jan. 6 committee late Thursday published its findings in a nearly 850-page report that accused former President Donald Trump of inciting an insurrection and recommended Congress consider how to determine whether those found to be insurrectionists should be barred from holding office ever again. The report caps 18 months of […]
U.S. House Jan. 6 panel refers Trump for criminal charges, including inciting insurrection
By: Jacob Fischler - December 20, 2022
The U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol in a historic vote agreed unanimously Monday to refer former President Donald Trump and others to the Justice Department for potential criminal charges, including inciting or aiding an insurrection. Trump associates, including attorneys John Eastman and Kenneth Chesebro and White House Chief […]
FTX failure divides lawmakers on how tough to get with crypto regulation
By: Jacob Fischler - December 14, 2022
Members of a U.S. House committee disagreed at a Tuesday hearing about whether more aggressive federal regulation would have protected customers from the collapse of cryptocurrency firm FTX and the alleged fraud of its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried. Lawmakers at the four-hour House Financial Services Committee hearing appeared to view the unfolding scandal around Bankman-Fried, arrested […]
Despite FTX fallout, some U.S. House members still skeptical about crypto regulation
By: Jacob Fischler - December 5, 2022
Nearly nine months after a bipartisan group of U.S. House members sent a letter questioning the Securities and Exchange Commission’s investigation into cryptocurrencies, including the failed FTX exchange, the lawmakers are maintaining their position that the agency’s approach to regulating crypto is deeply flawed. In public comments since FTX’s collapse last month, the congressmen, led […]
Little appetite for Manchin permitting bill in congressional lame-duck session
By: Jacob Fischler - November 24, 2022
Among the items on Congress’ lengthy to-do list by the end of the year is U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin’s proposal to speed up the federal government’s permitting process that certifies energy projects do not harm the environment. But the bill, which was a condition of the centrist West Virginia Democrat’s support for his party’s larger […]
U.S. Supreme Court denies attempt by Arizona GOP chair Kelli Ward to block Jan. 6 panel subpoena
By: Jacob Fischler - November 14, 2022
The U.S. Supreme Court sided Monday with the U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, denying a request from Arizona Republican Chairwoman Kelli Ward and her husband to block the panel from obtaining their cellphone records. The court’s two-paragraph order ends Kelli and Michael Ward’s federal suit to block the […]
Democrats projected to retain U.S. Senate control after winning Nevada seat
By: Jacob Fischler - November 12, 2022
Democratic U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada will win reelection, according to Associated Press projections late Saturday, ensuring Democrats will remain in the majority next year no matter what happens in a runoff election in Georgia next month. After days of vote counting, U.S. Sens. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Cortez Masto were both […]