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U.S. Senate Republicans again block debate on voting rights legislation
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Republicans blocked the advance of voting rights legislation Wednesday, the second time this year—thwarting again Democrats’ attempts to pass federal protections for voters amid a slew of new state elections laws. “When we are faced with a coordinated effort across our country to limit the freedom to vote, we must stand […]
Democrats seek support services for survivors of Native American boarding schools
WASHINGTON — Democratic lawmakers are pushing federal agencies to provide support for survivors of and communities affected by American Indian boarding school policies, the decades-long practice of forcibly sending Native American children to faraway boarding schools that rejected their tribal cultures. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Sharice Davids (D-Kansas) sent a request this month […]
A federal investigation seeks to uncover the painful history of Native American boarding schools
WASHINGTON —The Native American children travelled on trains, thousands of miles from their homes, to Pennsylvania’s Carlisle Indian Industrial School in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Many had been forcibly taken from their parents and communities. Once there, they had to hand over their belongings, put on uniforms, cut off their braids, adopt new […]
House Agriculture panel to key in on climate change and farming
WASHINGTON — Democrats are eyeing proposals that would support programs for U.S. farmers — who have suffered catastrophic losses from severe weather events in recent years — to reduce carbon emissions on their land. In his first major policy hearing as House Agriculture Committee chairman, Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.) said Thursday that the issue of […]
Top Homeland Security official vows federal agents ‘will not back away’ from violent protests
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration’s number two at the Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday defended federal law enforcement officers’ intervention in protests in Portland, Oregon, and other cities this summer. Characterizing some of the protests as “mob rule,” Acting Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Ken Cuccinelli told lawmakers that federal agents could exert force in […]
Vaccine makers deny political pressure in race for safe, effective shot
Leaders of the companies working on some of the top candidates for COVID-19 vaccines predict they should have shots available by early 2021, but said they will rely on the federal government to determine how to distribute them. The heads of five biopharmaceutical companies with promising vaccine candidates told members of Congress Tuesday that they […]
Border officials did not follow guidelines on migrant children’s health care, government investigators find
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has not consistently followed new guidelines for medical care of migrant children and spent some of the agency’s money designated for “medical care” on unrelated items like printers, speakers and its canine program, according to a new federal investigation. The U.S. Government Accountability Office, an independent congressional watchdog, found gaps […]
Sen. Baldwin asks feds for emergency safety orders
WASHINGTON — Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, warned lawmakers the United States is headed in the “wrong direction” with COVID-19 and could soon reach 100,000 new cases per day if the country does not get a handle on the pandemic. Speaking before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on […]
Kids may lose seven months of learning to the pandemic, 10 for Black students
WASHINGTON — The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated racial inequities in education, a disparity that Congress needs to help rectify, the former education chief under President Barack Obama told lawmakers Monday. “Our education system is fraught with inequities that existed before COVID-19,” John King Jr., who served as Secretary of Education in 2016-2017, told lawmakers on […]
Baldwin: Should White House testing standards apply to other workers?
WASHINGTON — Sen. Tammy Baldwin pressed a top Trump administration health official Tuesday on whether other “essential” workplaces should have the same testing protocols that are being used in the White House. At a U.S. Senate hearing, the Wisconsin Democratic lawmaker asked Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, if […]
Universities get aid they can’t share with DACA students
WASHINGTON — Colleges and universities across the country are getting emergency federal aid for COVID-19, but some of the most vulnerable students won’t be eligible for assistance. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has said the emergency grants — part of the $2 trillion coronavirus relief act that Congress approved last month — can’t go to undocumented […]
Dems battle Education Secretary Betsy DeVos over student loan forgiveness
WASHINGTON — A long-simmering feud between U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and congressional Democrats over student loan forgiveness is heating up as hundreds of thousands of borrowers continue to wait for help on loans they claim were fraudulent. DeVos narrowly avoided a congressional subpoena earlier this month after a lengthy fight against the U.S. House […]