Kamala Harris
U.S. Senate passes major health, tax and climate bill in boost for Democrats
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate, along party lines, passed a sweeping energy, health care, climate and tax package Sunday afternoon, following an overnight marathon of votes that resulted in just a handful of notable changes to the legislation. The 755-page bill was passed after Vice President Kamala Harris broke a 50-50 tie in the evenly divided Senate. […]
Vice president discusses abortion access with Democratic legislative leaders
WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris met Friday with Democratic state legislators from Indiana, Florida, South Dakota, Nebraska and Montana to discuss ways to protect reproductive rights. “The U.S. Supreme Court took away a constitutional right,” Harris said, adding that the overturning of Roe v. Wade was one of the most pressing issues facing the country. […]
Biden extends student loan repayment pause three more months
President Joe Biden will continue a pandemic-spurred pause on student loan repayments until May 1, he said Wednesday. Loan repayments were set to restart Jan. 31, following months of the U.S. Education Department not requiring payments during the pandemic. Biden told the department to extend the moratorium initially placed by President Donald Trump’s administration. It […]
Arizona Sen. Sinema opposes filibuster carveout to advance voting rights legislation
Arizona’s enigmatic U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema remains opposed to weakening the Senate’s 60-vote threshold for moving ahead on legislation, even as other Democrats are floating the idea of making an exception to the chamber’s rules to pass major voting rights measures. In a statement to States Newsroom, a Sinema spokeswoman said the senator supports the […]
VP Harris takes infrastructure victory lap in Columbus
Vice President Kamala Harris braved the November chill to tout the bipartisan infrastructure bill in Columbus Friday. The measure, signed into law earlier this week, sends more than $10 billion to Ohio over the next five years, funding investments in roadways, broadband, the energy grid and water lines. Dignitaries and guests packed rows of red […]
Biden signs $1.2T infrastructure bill: ‘America is moving again’
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Monday signed into law his $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill during a ceremony at the White House packed with some 800 supporters, heralding what he said was a “truly consequential” spending bill that will improve Americans’ day-to-day lives. But Democrats also emphasized that there is more to come — a […]
U.S. Senate to vote on Montana’s Tracy Stone-Manning as public lands chief
The U.S. Senate is set to vote as soon as Thursday on the nomination of Tracy Stone-Manning, a conservation advocate and former top aide to Montana Democrats, to lead the Bureau of Land Management, putting the end to her contentious confirmation process in sight. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer filed cloture on Stone-Manning’s nomination, setting […]
VP Harris says DNC will pour $25M into voting rights protection
WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris announced Thursday that the Democratic National Committee will spend $25 million to protect voting rights, in response to a wave of laws pushed by Republican lawmakers in state legislatures that would restrict voting access. The move comes after Democrats have been stymied in their attempts to enact a national […]
Black churches can lead the way on voting rights
By Rev. Susan K. Smith and Rev. Levon C. Manzie We suspected it for years, and now we know it: Jim Crow was never dead. You might even say he was too mean to die. We know this because in too many places, the forces of racism are raging as laws aimed squarely at suppressing […]
VP Harris in Wisconsin visit touts administration’s $2T jobs plan
Vice President Kamala Harris visited Milwaukee Tuesday, where she promoted the president’s $2 trillion infrastructure proposal and toured two university research centers. Harris highlighted the federal funding the Biden administration plan would allocate for research and development programs aimed at clean energy and climate change solutions, as well as $100 billion that would be spent […]
President Biden urges a divided nation to ‘end this uncivil war’ in inaugural address
WASHINGTON — Calling on Americans to bridge the widening divisions in the country, Joe Biden became the 46th president of the United States on Wednesday, completing the peaceful transition of presidential power on the same stage where a violent mob just two weeks ago sought to prevent him from taking office. Standing before an unusually […]
Biden takes the oath of office with troops on guard and towering challenges ahead
WASHINGTON — Joe Biden became the 46th president of the United States Wednesday morning, when he took the oath of office while standing on the same platform where insurrectionists swarmed just two weeks ago as they sought to prevent Congress from certifying Biden’s victory. That violent mob of rioters damaged the U.S. Capitol, attacked police […]