Biden Says Bypassing Filibuster ‘Real Possibility’ to Raise Debt Limit

On

U.S. President Joe Biden indicated Tuesday senators from his Democratic Party could bypass a supermajority voting rule in order to increase the nation’s debt limit without Republican votes.  “It’s a real possibility,” Biden told reporters outside the White House.  Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said the government will likely reach its borrowing limit by October 18 unless Congress acts.  Coming too close to the borrowing limit has its perils. A debt ceiling dispute in 2011 that Congress resolved two days before the borrowing limit was reached caused stock prices to fall and the first-ever credit downgrade for U.S. debt.  Under Senate rules, 60 votes are needed to advance the legislation instead ofmore

Leave a comment

Biden Advocates Spending Plans Amid Uncertainty

On

President Joe Biden traveled to Michigan on Tuesday to promote his legislative priorities on infrastructure and social spending. The two bills face a stalemate in Congress as members of Biden’s own Democratic Party wrangle over the size and scope of the package.   Investing in infrastructure and expanding social welfare programs are two key issues Biden campaigned on.   With his legislative agenda stalled in Congress, he visited a worker training facility Tuesday in Howell, Michigan, to promote his plans.    “It isn’t enough just to invest in our physical infrastructure,” Biden said. “If we’re going to lead the worldmore

Leave a comment

Colleagues’ Stock Trading Scandals Slow Fed Chief Powell’s March to Renomination

On

With time ticking down on his term as chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board, Jerome Powell’s reappointment to the post looks less certain than it did just a few weeks ago, as left-leaning Democrats hammer away at a series of scandals involving senior Fed personnel.  On Monday, Powell’s chief antagonist in Congress, Senator Elizabeth Warren, released a letter to the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission asking the agency to investigate “ethically questionable” securities transactions by the presidents of two of the Federal Reserve’s district banks, and the Fed Board’s vice chairman.  The letter came less than amore

Leave a comment

Biden Assails Republicans for Impasse over Increasing US Debt Limit

On

U.S. President Joe Biden assailed opposition Republican lawmakers Monday for obstructing Democrats from increasing the country’s borrowing authority to avert a potentially catastrophic default on October 18, when the U.S. government expects to run out of cash to pay its bills.  Biden said he could not guarantee the United States would not default for the first time, contending it is up to Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell to allow Senate Democrats on their own to increase the debt limit past its current $28.4 trillion level without the threat of a Republican filibuster to block quick action.  The U.S. leader saidmore

Leave a comment

US Democrats Remain Split on Key Legislation

On

Key U.S. Democratic lawmakers remained at odds Sunday on how to approve both infrastructure improvements in the country and the biggest social safety net expansion in five decades, but the leading progressive signaled there was room for compromise.  Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont has for months pushed for a $3.5 trillion plan calling for climate control measures, universal pre-kindergarten classes, expanded health care for older Americans and more. Sanders is an Independent who caucuses with Democrats.  He told ABC’s “This Week” show, “I accept that there’s going to have to be give and take.”  He declined to put a pricemore

Leave a comment

Blinken Heads to France to Revitalize Transatlantic Alliance

On

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is heading to Paris, his first trip to France following an enhanced trilateral security partnership known as AUKUS (Australia, U.K., and the U.S.) that heightened tensions between the transatlantic allies. Experts said they expect Blinken, who has strong personal ties to France, to use the upcoming trip to try to improve U.S.-France relations. The top U.S. diplomat will chair the Ministerial Council Meeting of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development that is scheduled to take place Oct. 5-6, and commemorate the organization’s 60th anniversary. Blinken will have a bilateral meeting with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Lemore

Leave a comment

Abortion, Guns, Religion Top Big US Supreme Court Term

On

The future of abortion rights is in the hands of a conservative Supreme Court that is beginning a new term Monday that also includes major cases on gun rights and religion.  The court’s credibility with the public also could be on the line, especially if a divided court were to overrule the landmark Roe v. Wade decision from 1973 that established a woman’s right to an abortion nationwide.  The justices are returning to the courtroom after an 18-month absence caused by the coronavirus pandemic, and the possible retirement of liberal Justice Stephen Breyer, 83, also looms.  It’s the first fullmore

Leave a comment

Agenda in Peril, Biden Heads to US Capitol to Meet With Democrats

On

President Joe Biden was scheduled to meet Friday with his fellow Democrats in Congress, progressives and moderates in his party remained divided over two massive spending bills that account for much of his domestic agenda.  Democrats have struggled to coalesce around those two bills. Progressives have vowed to block a $1 trillion infrastructure bill without an agreement to advance a larger social spending and climate change bill. Moderates say that bill’s current $3.5 trillion price tag is too high.  After a two-hour party meeting, Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives did not appear to have a clear plan. Representativemore

Leave a comment

America’s Investment in Infrastructure Doesn’t Always Pay Off

On

About two centuries ago, American local, state and federal governments poured millions of dollars into building canals to move the nation’s people and goods. By 1840, there were 3,000 miles of canals in the United States. But, within 20 years, the rise of the railroads would make canals practically obsolete. In the 1840s, several U.S. states ended up defaulting on the loans they took to build canals and railroads. The defaults are an example of what can happen when governments spend on infrastructure — because trying to guess the future can be like shooting at a moving target.  “You try tomore

Leave a comment

Democrats Delay Vote on Infrastructure Plan, Bowing to Progressives

On

Democratic leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives delayed a planned vote on a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill that had been set for Thursday, bowing to party progressives who had demanded action on a larger social policy bill first. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and President Joe Biden have been scrambling to patch up differences between progressive lawmakers, who want a $3.5 trillion social spending package to go along with the infrastructure plan, and moderates wanting a smaller bill. The move gave Biden and Democratic leaders more time to try to assemble the votes to gain support for a keymore

Leave a comment

US Congress Approves Stopgap Funding to Keep Government Open

On

The House and Senate voted Thursday afternoon in favor of stopgap legislation to keep the government funded until December 3, avoiding a midnight shutdown.  The Senate vote was 65-35, which was followed by a House vote of 254-175. The legislation headed to the White House for President Joe Biden’s signature.  The legislation maintains current funding levels across government agencies. It also includes $28.6 billion for states suffering from hurricane and wildfire damage, and $6.3 billion to help relocate Afghan refugees moving to the United States after Washington ended its two-decade war in Afghanistan last month.  Avoiding a shutdown was justmore

Leave a comment

Democratic-Controlled Congress Poised to Approve Stopgap Funding to Keep US Government Open

On

The Democratic-controlled U.S. Congress appeared set Wednesday to approve a stopgap funding measure to avert a partial national government shutdown at midnight Thursday.  Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the legislation would maintain current funding levels across government agencies through December 3. It would also include $6.3 billion to help relocate Afghan refugees moving to the U.S. after Washington ended its two-decade war in Afghanistan last month, and $28.6 billion to help eastern and southern states recover from devastating hurricanes and western states from raging wildfires.  “We can approve this measure quickly and send it to the House so itmore

Leave a comment

Uncertainty Grips Washington in Face of Another Possible Shutdown

On

If Congress fails to act, the U.S. government’s authority to continue spending money will expire at midnight on Thursday, forcing more than 1 million federal workers and an untold number of contractors to stop working. Thousands more will be expected to continue working without clarity about precisely when they will be paid.  “The stakes are whether the United States government is able to answer the many challenges that we face as a country,” said Max Stier, president of the Partnership for Public Service, an advocacy group for improved federal government. And once the government shuts down, Stier said, restarting itmore

Leave a comment

Amid Democratic Infighting, Biden’s Domestic Agenda Hangs by a Thread

On

The events of the next four days on Capitol Hill will go a long way toward determining the ultimate success or failure of President Joe Biden’s domestic agenda, as four different legislative initiatives converge in a burst of frenetic policymaking.  Congress must pass a budget resolution for the new fiscal year before Friday to avoid a partial shutdown of the federal government, and it must raise the limit on the Treasury Department’s authority to borrow money to avoid a catastrophic default on the country’s debts that could occur as soon as mid-October.  At the same time, the Democratic Party ismore

Leave a comment

US Senate Fails to Pass Government Funding, Debt Ceiling Measures

On

The U.S. Senate failed Monday to pass measures to avert a partial government shutdown and prevent a federal default at the start of a crucial legislative week that is highlighting the challenges facing the sharply divided Congress. Republican lawmakers voted to oppose the bills Monday evening, forcing Democrats to look for other ways to keep the government open beyond Thursday and to raise the debt ceiling before the government is expected to default on its loans sometime in late October or early November. The near party-line vote failed 48-50. Democrats narrowly control both Houses of Congress, but under Senate rules,more

Leave a comment

US House to Debate $1 Trillion Infrastructure Bill 

On

The U.S. House of Representatives is due to begin debate Monday on a $1 trillion infrastructure bill ahead of a planned vote Thursday on the measure that is a major part of President Joe Biden’s domestic agenda. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the dates in a letter to Democratic lawmakers Sunday, and in television interviews she expressed confidence the bill will pass.  “Let me just say that we’re going to pass the bill this week,” Pelosi said on ABC News’ “This Week” show. She added that she would not bring a bill to the House floor for consideration unless itmore

Leave a comment

House Panel OKs Democrats’ $3.5T Budget Bill 

On

Democrats pushed a $3.5 trillion, 10-year bill strengthening social safety net and climate programs through the House Budget Committee on Saturday, but one Democrat opposed the measure in an illustration of the challenges party leaders face in winning the near unanimity they’ll need to carry the sprawling package through Congress.  The Democratic-dominated panel, meeting virtually, approved the measure on a near party-line vote, 20-17. Passage marked a necessary but minor step for Democrats by edging the bill closer to debate by the full House. Under budget rules, the committee wasn’t allowed to significantly amend the 2,465-page measure, the product ofmore

Leave a comment

Republican Review Finds No Proof Arizona Election Stolen from Trump

On

A Republican-backed review of the 2020 presidential election in Arizona’s largest county ended Friday without producing proof to support former President Donald Trump’s false claims of a stolen election. After six months of searching for evidence of fraud, the firm hired by Republican lawmakers issued a report that experts described as riddled with errors, bias and flawed methodology. Still, even that partisan review came up with a vote tally that would not have altered the outcome, finding that Biden won by 360 more votes than the official results certified last year. The finding was an embarrassing end to a widelymore

Leave a comment

Experts: Biden Foreign Policy Troubles Linked to Domestic Focus

On

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is defending President Joe Biden’s foreign policy record as the administration faces pressure over its handling of Haitian migrants on the U.S. border, the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and a nuclear submarine deal with Australia that angered France. VOA’s senior diplomatic correspondent Cindy Saine has more.  Produced by: Kim Weeks …

Leave a comment

Biden Won’t Shield Trump Records From House’s January 6 Inquiry

On

President Joe Biden will not invoke executive privilege to shield former President Donald Trump’s records in relation to an investigation into the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Friday.  “The president has already concluded that it would not be appropriate to assert executive privilege,” Psaki said. “And so, we will respond promptly to these questions as they arise.”  The U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee investigating the deadly January 6 riot at the Capitol has subpoenaed four former members of Donald Trump’s administration, including Mark Meadows and Steve Bannon,more

Leave a comment