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OMB deputy nominee Young praised for bipartisan work
Shalanda Young went through another confirmation hearing as the nominee for deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), as House leaders and caucuses are pushing the Biden administration to nominate her instead to lead the agency. “This position requires someone with a history of looking beyond partisanship,” Sen. Bill Cassidy (R- Louisiana) […]
Senate confirms Cardona as education secretary
Senate confirms MIguel Cardona as education secretary
Sprawling $1.9T COVID-19 relief bill passed by the U.S. House
WASHINGTON—The U.S. House on a nearly party-line vote passed President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion pandemic aid package early Saturday, in a rush to both boost COVID-19 vaccine funding and get legislation to the president’s desk before unemployment benefits expire in mid-March. The package, dubbed the American Rescue Plan, passed 219-212. It includes a gradual increase […]
U.S. Senate confirms Vilsack for a second stint as Agriculture secretary
WASHINGTON—The Senate on Tuesday in a 92-7 vote confirmed former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack to run the U.S. Department of Agriculture for a second time. Vilsack, 70, also headed the $151 billion agency under the Obama administration, for eight years. But he has garnered criticism from Black and minority farmers for his treatment of them […]
Proposed $15-an-hour minimum wage would boost paychecks
WASHINGTON—A gradual increase in the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour would increase the pay of low-income workers across the U.S. but particularly in much of the South, researchers and experts predict. Florida recently voted to increase its minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2026, but the Sunshine State is an outlier. Georgia, […]
Biden nominees for education and labor posts approved by U.S. Senate panel
WASHINGTON—Miguel Cardona was one step closer to leading the U.S. Department of Education on Thursday after the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee moved his nomination to the full Senate for a vote. The panel voted 17-5. Senators also voted 18-4 to advance the nomination of Boston Mayor Marty Walsh to serve as secretary […]
Outlook for $15-an-hour minimum wage boosted by new government report
WASHINGTON—The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office in a report Monday found a gradual increase to a $15 federal minimum wage by 2025 would reduce poverty, add $54 billion to the deficit over a decade and increase pay for millions of low-income workers. The report could help Democrats make a strong case for including a gradual federal […]
Senate Banking advances Fudge nomination to lead HUD
WASHINGTON—The Senate Banking Committee on Thursday advanced to the full Senate the nomination of U.S. Rep. Marcia Fudge of Ohio as secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The committee’s chair, Sen. Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat, said he’s confident that Fudge will work to address the housing crisis and prevent families from […]
Biden rolls back Trump policy on separation of migrant children from their parents
WASHINGTON—President Joe Biden signed three executive orders on Tuesday evening that will reverse controversial policies from the previous administration, including one that resulted in the separation of migrant children from their parents. Biden made it clear during the signing that he was not creating new immigration policies with the executive orders, but reversing those crafted […]
Education secretary nominee says teachers should be prioritized for vaccines
WASHINGTON—The president’s pick to lead the U.S. Education Department said Wednesday that he wants teachers at the front of the line for vaccinations as local leaders debate reopening schools amid the pandemic. Miguel Cardona, a veteran educator from Connecticut, in his Senate confirmation hearing also faced questions from several Republicans about transgender students’ participation in […]
U.S. Senate Agriculture panel approves Vilsack as Ag secretary in bipartisan vote
U.S. Senate Agriculture panel approves Vilsack as Ag secretary in bipartisan vote
Dems move to strip committee assignments from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House Rules Committee is set to meet on Wednesday to consider a resolution that would strip Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of her two committee assignments. If approved for debate by the panel, the resolution would move to the floor of the Democratic-controlled House for a vote. It is included […]