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Wildfire responders urge Congress to improve disaster aid process for at-risk communities
WASHINGTON — The federal government should re-examine its emergency response systems to better assist communities at risk from the growing threats of wildfire, state and local wildfire responders told members of Congress Tuesday. Wildfires across the United States have become larger, more intense and longer-lasting this century in part due to changes in the global […]
Offshore wind industry leaders ask Congress to back long-term plans to increase production
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is making a significant push for new offshore wind development to meet ambitious climate goals, but industry leaders say they also need long-term commitments and support from Congress to reach their potential. Leaders of the burgeoning U.S. offshore wind industry called on Congress to invest in renewables at a hearing […]
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 […]
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 […]
Endangered species to get a reprieve under Biden administration plans
WASHINGTON — The lesser prairie-chicken, a rare dancing grouse once abundant on the Great Plains, could benefit again soon from the protection of the U.S. government. So could the rusty patched bumblebee, a black-headed pollinator that at one time ranged from Georgia to Maine and across the Midwest. The Biden administration is rewriting how it protects endangered species—making […]
New funding to curb wildfires pushed in Congress, as another fire season looms
WASHINGTON — As wildfires across the United States grow in size, intensity and duration each summer, members of Congress from the West are pushing for massive new investments in ecosystem management and wildfire mitigation. House lawmakers called for more attention to wildfire management and support for wildland firefighters at a hearing Thursday before a House […]
American Indian tribes ‘very close to reaching a breaking point’ in COVID-19 response
WASHINGTON — Native American tribes are facing a dire situation from the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing some of them to a breaking point, American Indian health leaders told members of Congress Wednesday. In many places, tribal leaders are scrambling to respond to disproportional illness and death in their communities. Confirmed COVID-19 cases among American Indians and Alaska […]
Record number of women running for Congress this year with Kansas leading the way
WASHINGTON — More women from across the nation are running for Congress this year than ever before, and Kansas is leading the way in making history on the ballot. For the first time ever, there will be a female candidate in each of Kansas’ U.S. House and Senate races in November. All of the Democratic […]
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 […]
Coronavirus pandemic has worsened racial disparities in education, lawmakers told
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 […]
Lawmakers: Trump’s environmental rollbacks threaten minority communities
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is suspending key environmental reviews during the pandemic that critics warn could further harm poor and minority neighborhoods around the country. Lawmakers and activists say the administration’s actions — meant to boost the lagging economy — could have disproportionate effects on minority communities that live near pipeline and power projects. […]