Author

Laura Olson

Laura Olson

Laura covers the nation's capital as a senior reporter for States Newsroom, a network of nonprofit outlets that includes Wisconsin Examiner. Her areas of coverage include politics and policy, lobbying, elections, and campaign finance.

Prescription drug price reform on the line in Biden’s big social spending bill

By: - December 30, 2021

WASHINGTON — Among the most potentially transformational changes in the Democrats’ massive social and climate bill pending in the Senate are a set of long-sought changes intended to tamp down the fast-rising cost of prescription drugs. The $2 trillion spending package would ensure Americans don’t pay more than $35 when they pick up a new […]

WASHINGTON, DC: Dr. Robert Califf arrives for testimony during his nomination hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee November 17, 2015 in Washington, DC. Califf is U.S. President Barack Obama's nominee to be the next commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Biden pick to lead FDA fields questions over pharma ties, abortion pill, COVID tests

By: - December 15, 2021

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s pick to lead the Food and Drug Administration drew praise from a top Senate Republican, as well as critical questions from conservatives and others during a Tuesday confirmation hearing. Dr. Robert Califf fielded queries on his ties to the pharmaceutical industry, the pandemic-loosened rules around abortion drugs, and frustrations involving COVID-19 […]

Kansas’ Bob Dole remembered at U.S. Capitol ceremony for public service, sense of humor

By: - December 9, 2021

WASHINGTON — Former U.S. Sen. Robert J. Dole arrived at the U.S. Capitol for the final time on Thursday, for a Rotunda ceremony in which former colleagues and congressional leaders from both parties honored the life and career of the late Kansas political icon. President Joe Biden and others remembered Dole — who died Sunday […]

Person getting vaccine vaccination in arm shot by health care worker

U.S. Senate rejects Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for private employers

By: - December 8, 2021

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate passed a resolution Wednesday night to block President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate on private employers, with every Republican and two Democrats casting votes aimed at preventing that pending requirement. Democratic Sens. Jon Tester of Montana and Joe Manchin III of West Virginia joined with the GOP in backing the […]

Montana Sen. Jon Tester, a Democrat, says he believes that there are some issues a Republican Senate and Democratic White House can agree on, such as infrastructure. (Photo by Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images)

Montana’s Jon Tester to vote with U.S. Senate GOP to undo Biden vaccine rule

By: - December 8, 2021

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Jon Tester of Montana is one of at least two Democrats who are expected to join every Senate Republican in a vote Wednesday night opposing President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate on private employers. In a written statement late Tuesday, Tester said that he’s heard from concerned constituents in his state about […]

At home COVID-19 test box

At-home COVID tests to be covered by insurance—but details still to come

By: - December 6, 2021

WASHINGTON — State health officials on Thursday welcomed the Biden administration’s plan to require private health insurers to reimburse Americans for the cost of rapid, at-home COVID-19 tests—though the officials also raised questions about whether the process will be burdensome. Making those tests more accessible will allow Americans to get results quickly and in the […]

Biden to unveil plan to blunt potential COVID surge this winter

By: - December 2, 2021

WASHINGTON — Reimbursements for at-home rapid COVID-19 tests. Tougher testing requirements for international travelers. More emergency response teams to aid states combating infection spikes. And another big push to get Americans vaccinated. Those are the latest steps to fight COVID-19 that President Joe Biden will be announcing Thursday, according to senior administration officials who briefed […]

Demonstrators outside the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday. Justices are hearing arguments in a Mississippi case that seeks to overturn Roe v. Wade. Photo by Jane Norman/States Newsroom.

U.S. Supreme Court considers new limits on abortions in Mississippi case

By: and - December 2, 2021

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is weighing potentially sweeping changes to the right to an abortion, after two hours of arguments Wednesday morning on a Mississippi law that bans most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The court’s conservatives, who hold a 6-3 majority, appeared through their questions to be sympathetic to Mississippi’s arguments that its […]

Young woman receiving a vaccine shot against a virus

Vaccine mandate for health care workers halted nationwide by Louisiana judge

By: and - December 1, 2021

WASHINGTON—A federal judge in Louisiana on Tuesday issued a ruling blocking nationwide the Biden administration mandate requiring millions of health care workers be vaccinated against COVID-19. A suit challenging the mandate was led on behalf of multiple states by Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, a Republican, and U.S. Judge Terry Doughty granted the states’ request […]

The women of 9 to 5 come to the Capitol to lobby for the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Act, a new bill that would create a pool of employees in Wisconsin to provide paid leave for employees.

Democrats risk losses in 2022 if they give up on paid leave, advocates say

By: - December 1, 2021

WASHINGTON — When paid family leave was briefly dropped from congressional Democrats’ massive social policy and climate bill earlier this fall, the outcry was swift. Women and caregivers suddenly were calling lawmakers and advocates, and they were sharing their own stories on social media in huge numbers, said Dawn Huckelbridge, director of Paid Leave for […]

Photo contains a COVID19 face mask, needs, shots and vials of the vaccine

Federal vaccine mandate for health care workers in 10 states blocked by judge

By: - November 30, 2021

WASHINGTON — Enforcement of the Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for millions of health care workers was blocked in 10 states on Monday, after a ruling by a federal judge in Missouri. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Matthew Schelp affects the states involved in the lawsuit, which include Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, and New Hampshire. The […]

President Joe Biden delivers remarks the East Room of the White House.

New COVID-19 omicron variant ‘not a cause for panic,’ Biden says

By: - November 29, 2021

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden sought to reassure Americans on Monday about the latest COVID-19 variant, describing it as “a cause for concern, not a cause for panic.” Biden did not announce any new travel restrictions or other federal actions during his brief remarks from the White House.  Instead, he urged Americans to get a booster […]