A groundbreaking measure to end the creation of anonymous shell companies in the United States cleared Congress on Friday as the Senate joined the House in passing a defense-spending bill with a veto-proof margin.
COVID-19 relief talks remain stalled but there is universal agreement that Congress won’t adjourn for the year without passing a long-delayed round of pandemic relief.
An emerging $900 billion COVID-19 aid package from a bipartisan group of lawmakers all but collapsed Thursday after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Republican senators won’t support $160 billion in state and local funds as part of a potential trade-off in the deal.
The deficit—the shortfall between what the government collects in taxes and what it spends—reflected an 8.9% jump in outlays, to $886.6 billion, and a 2.9% decline in tax revenues, to $457.3 billion.
Amid the uncertainty, the House easily passed a one-week government-wide funding bill Wednesday that sets a new Dec. 18 deadline for Congress to wrap up both the COVID-19 relief measure and a $1.4 trillion catch-all spending bill that is also overdue.
The $916 billion offer, the separate ongoing talks among key rank-and-file senators, and the shifting demands by the White House all add up to muddled, confusing prospects for a long-delayed COVID-19 aid package.
The case could mean undoing an agreement between the mortgage giants and the government that has sent about $246 billion in their profits to the Treasury. That was compensation for the taxpayer bailout they received after the 2007 housing market crash.
Lawmakers are struggling to figure out how to deliver long-delayed pandemic relief, including additional help for hard-hit businesses, further unemployment benefits, funding to distribute COVID-19 vaccines and funding demanded by Democrats for state and local governments.
The funding is part of the Community Crossings grant program, which provides matching state dollars for local road and bridge construction projects. Interstate or state highway projects are not eligible for funding.
The Trump administration has alleged that TikTok is a security threat because the Chinese government could spy on app users’ personal data.
Disagreements flared Monday over one key provision of a federal pandemic relief package—a proposed liability shield from COVID-19-related lawsuits for businesses, schools and organizations that reopen.
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai called the awards the “single largest step ever taken to bridge the digital divide.”
The $908 billion aid package to be released Monday would be attached to a larger year-end spending bill needed to avert a government shutdown this coming weekend.
The Democratic-controlled House on Friday approved a bill to decriminalize and tax marijuana at the federal level, reversing what supporters call a failed policy of criminalizing pot use and taking steps to address racial disparities in enforcement of federal drug laws.
Less-strict Trump fuel-economy regulations were supported by most auto makers, many of which were having trouble meeting escalating efficiency standards set when Barack Obama was president. Now, they recognize that change is coming.
With COVID-19 caseloads spiraling and the daily death toll equaling records, the momentum for finally passing a second major relief bill is undeniably building.
The willingness to accept a potential bill totaling less than $1 trillion represents a significant step down for the top Democrats, who had pushed for more than $3 trillion in new aid earlier this year.
Ron Klain—a 1979 graduate of North Central High School—is preparing to serve as President-elect Joe Biden’s chief of staff, a job often referred to as the nation’s chief operating officer.
On Tuesday, a bipartisan group of senators introduced a aid bill totaling around $908 billion, raising hopes that the legislative impasse might be broken.
A federal judge on Tuesday struck down two Trump administration rules designed to drastically curtail the number of H-1B visas issued each year to skilled foreign workers.
