Author

Samantha Dietel

Samantha Dietel

Samantha Dietel is a reporter intern in Washington, D.C. She is pursuing a degree in journalism at the University of Missouri-Columbia. She has previously covered the Missouri legislature in Jefferson City as a reporter for the Columbia Missourian.

A farmer harvests hay in a Carroll County, Maryland field on May 12, 2020. (USDA/FBAC video by Preston Keres)

Rural America a focus for bipartisan health caucus formed in U.S. House

By: - October 3, 2023

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan congressional caucus aims to improve accessibility to quality health care and services in rural U.S. communities. The Bipartisan Rural Health Caucus had its first meeting Sept. 20 and serves as a forum for U.S. representatives to promote legislation and policy actions regarding rural health. Members came together to discuss the issues […]

Kevin Kirby operates a tractor to begin the sweet potato harvest process by plowing them up from the field on Kirby Farms in Mechanicsville, Virginia, on Sep. 20, 2013. Kirby is a fourth-generation farmer. A U.S. Senate hearing on Sept. 27, 2023 examined foreign ownership of U.S. farmland. (USDA photo by Lance Cheung.)

Foreign ownership of U.S. farmland probed at U.S. Senate hearing

By: - September 28, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. senators said during a Wednesday hearing that foreign ownership of U.S. farmland is a national security threat that should be further examined. The U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry discussed foreign ownership of the nation’s agricultural lands, with testimony from experts and Senate colleagues who have been taking the lead […]

Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., speaks during a press conference at Hudson County Community College’s North Hudson Campus on Sept. 25, 2023 in Union City, New Jersey. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Menendez urged to step down by a growing number of U.S. Senate Democrats

By: and - September 27, 2023

WASHINGTON — More than two dozen U.S. Senate Democrats including Ohio U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown are calling on New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez to resign following his indictment on corruption charges for the second time. Among the 29 senators on the record as of Wednesday was New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker, who said in […]

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, left, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, right, walk with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 21, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

‘If we don’t get the aid, we will lose the war’: Zelenskyy asks Congress to help Ukraine

By: and - September 25, 2023

WASHINGTON — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday traveled to Capitol Hill to meet with lawmakers to reiterate the need for continued aid to support his country’s fight against the Russian invasion, even as the U.S. faces a partial government shutdown as soon as the end of the month. “If we don’t get the aid, […]

Michigan congresswoman pushes ‘Restaurant Workers Bill of Rights’

By: - September 21, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a Michigan Democrat, re-introduced legislation Tuesday aimed at improving the lives of U.S. restaurant workers. The “Restaurant Workers Bill of Rights” would raise wages and improve work conditions for restaurant staff. Tlaib, who also pushed this legislation last year, held a press conference Tuesday alongside U.S. House colleagues and […]

U.S. Sen. Patty Murray of Washington speaks at a press conference on child care funding outside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023. (Photo by Samantha Dietel/States Newsroom)

Democrats push to extend child care grant program

By: - September 15, 2023

WASHINGTON — Congressional Democrats introduced a bill Wednesday to extend funding for five years for a pandemic-era child care subsidy program set to expire at the end of the month. The legislation would extend the child care stabilization grant program, which Congress established in 2021 to help child care providers meet additional costs during the […]

U.S. Senate hearing on book bans probes censorship attempts in local libraries

By: - September 14, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. senators at a committee hearing Tuesday discussed the consequences of book bans and parents’ desire to control what their kids read — though they also acknowledged it’s not an issue for Congress to settle. The Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony about book bans, focusing on how censorship limits liberty and literature. The […]

First Lady Jill Biden, seen here at a state dinner at the White House in June, has tested positive for COVID-19. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Jill Biden tests positive for COVID-19; President, testing negative, maintains schedule

By: - September 6, 2023

WASHINGTON — First Lady Jill Biden tested positive for COVID-19 Monday night, the White House said in a statement. Biden has mild symptoms and will spend the week at home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, the White House said. President Joe Biden tested negative Monday night and Tuesday. He will continue to be tested “at a […]

Gun law raises funding concerns for school hunting programs

By: - September 5, 2023

WASHINGTON — Republican lawmakers are concerned that the Biden administration is interpreting last year’s bipartisan gun safety law to cut funding for school archery and hunting programs, though programs themselves say they haven’t been affected. A provision in the law – a bipartisan effort to curb gun violence that established new criminal offenses, and expanded background […]

Republican presidential candidates (L-R), former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and North Dakota governor Doug Burgum participate in the first debate of the GOP primary season hosted by FOX News at the Fiserv Forum on August 23, 2023 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Trump absent but still dominates as GOP presidential rivals clash at first debate

By: , and - August 24, 2023

Eight Republican presidential candidates gathered onstage Wednesday night in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for a heated first primary debate heavily influenced by former President Donald Trump, though the party’s front runner refused to attend the two-hour event. Trump instead recorded a competing 46-minute interview with former Fox News personality Tucker Carlson that aired on X, formerly known […]