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Ohio colleges scramble to explain sweeping new DeVos rules on sexual misconduct
WASHINGTON — Ohio colleges welcoming some students to campus this fall despite the pandemic face a second major challenge. They also must put in place major new federal rules on campus sexual assault and misconduct that extend added rights to the accused. Aligning university policies with the new federal regulations — while also overhauling health and safety […]
4 Ohio Republicans join House Dems to pass bill to boost post office funding by $25B
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House convened a rare weekend session Saturday in an attempt to stop the U.S. Postal Service from allegedly disrupting mail service to sabotage the November elections. The Democratic-led chamber passed a bill 257-150 that would infuse $25 billion into the agency as it prepares for a surge in mail-in ballots and bar it from […]
Postmaster general says he’s suspending post office overhaul until after the election
WASHINGTON — Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said Tuesday that he will halt a series of sweeping policy changes to the U.S. Postal Service until after the general elections this fall. DeJoy said he will not change overtime rules, retail hours at local post offices, or the location of mail processing equipment and blue collection boxes, […]
‘Let’s just feed our kids’: Advocates press to extend federal aid for school meals
WASHINGTON — A school nutrition leader in Virginia is calling on the federal government to extend a summer meals program to support hungry kids as schools reopen this fall. “One of our primary needs at this point is to try to maintain the summer food service,” Larry Wade Sr., director of school nutrition services for […]
Acting Homeland Security chief rebuts criticism of use of federal force in Portland
WASHINGTON — The top official at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security last week defended the deployment of federal officers to counter protesters in Portland, Oregon, saying it was comparable to protecting the U.S. Capitol from attack. “That’s all we’re trying to do in Portland — protecting a federal facility, a seat of justice,” said Acting […]
Trump moves to extend unemployment benefits, suspend payroll taxes after talks break down
President Donald Trump on Saturday circumvented Congress and took action into his own hands, after weeks of unsuccessful negotiations over another coronavirus relief package on Capitol Hill. He signed three presidential memoranda and an executive order, at his private golf club in Bedminster, N.J. Trump would provide $300 per week in federal unemployment assistance with another $100 […]
Republican senator presses reluctant GOP leadership for billions in state, local aid in next relief deal
WASHINGTON – GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy is making a strong push to rescue ailing state and local governments in a fifth coronavirus relief bill — but his party’s leaders are resisting as they debate the contours of the next package. The freshman senator is pressing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) for $500 billion in assistance […]
U.S. House passes package to rescue child care industry
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House stepped in Wednesday to try to rescue the nation’s child care system from collapse under the weight of the pandemic. The chamber approved a pair of bills that backers say are needed to fully reopen the economy and shore up the child care industry in the longer term. The bills […]
Get in ‘good trouble’: John Lewis’ words ring out in Capitol one more time
WASHINGTON — The immortal words of the late civil rights leader John Lewis rang out from the U.S. Capitol Monday during a private ceremony in celebration of his life. “You must find a way to get in the way,” he said in a recording of a 2014 commencement speech he gave at Emory University. “You must […]
Senate Republicans pursue benefits pay cut for jobless; adjourn without action
WASHINGTON — Democratic leaders slammed Republicans Friday for leaving in the lurch millions of jobless Americans who are relying on enhanced unemployment benefits to stay financially afloat amid ongoing public health and economic crises. Republicans in Congress and the White House were engaged in heated negotiations this week over the details of their party’s proposal for a fifth […]
House passes bipartisan public lands bill; next stop president’s desk
WASHINGTON — Major environmental legislation sailed through Congress Wednesday while the nation’s political leaders were stuck in intense negotiations over the contours of a fifth coronavirus relief package. The bill would provide $9.5 billion over five years to pay down the National Park Service’s maintenance backlog and provide permanent funding at $900 million per year […]
Portman pans $600 unemployment benefit but not ready to let it expire this month
WASHINGTON — Republican U.S. Sen. Rob Portman is departing from the Trump administration and other members of his party on extending unemployment insurance, a sticking point in ongoing discussions over the shape of the next coronavirus relief package. On Tuesday, he told reporters he wants to extend a federal unemployment insurance benefit Congress authorized in […]