Biden Budget to Propose $6 Trillion in 2022 Spending

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U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday will ask Congress for the authority to spend nearly $6 trillion in 2022, which would give him the resources to begin implementing an ambitious agenda of infrastructure investment and expanded social programs. However, the blueprint would also increase federal spending to a nearly unprecedented share of the U.S. economy and drive the national debt to new highs. The budget request will forecast continued increases in federal spending over the next decade, eventually rising to $8.2 trillion in 2031, according to The New York Times. Much of that increase reflects the $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan andmore

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Microsoft, Mastercard Sign on to VP Harris’ Central America Strategy

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Twelve companies and groups including Microsoft, Mastercard and Nestle’s Nespresso said Thursday that they would commit to making investments in Central America, a win for Vice President Kamala Harris as she aims to lower migration from the region into the United States. President Joe Biden has tasked Harris with leading U.S. efforts with Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries of Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. Since then, Harris has taken a series of steps aimed at improving conditions and lowering migration from the region. Harris, who met with officials from these companies and groups Thursday, said economic opportunities in the region could bemore

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US Senate Republicans Set to Block Capitol Riot Inquiry Panel

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Senate Republicans are ready to deploy the filibuster to block a commission on the Jan. 6 insurrection, shattering hopes for a bipartisan probe of the deadly assault on the U.S. Capitol and reviving pressure on Democrats to do away with the procedural tactic that critics say has lost its purpose.The vote Thursday would be the first successful use of a filibuster this year to halt Senate legislative action. Most Republicans oppose the bill, which would establish a commission to investigate the attack by Donald Trump supporters over the election.  “We have a mob overtake the Capitol, and we can’t getmore

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Blinken Works to Build More Lasting Bridges as Israeli Palestinian Cease-fire Takes Hold

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Antony Blinken has wrapped up his first visit as U.S. secretary of state to the Middle East, where he aimed to shore up the Gaza cease-fire. He also sought to cement relationships and ensure the delivery of aid after a violent flare-up between Israel and Hamas that killed more than 250 people, most of them Palestinians. For VOA, Irris Makler reports from Jerusalem. Camera: Ricki Rosen …

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First Openly Gay Black Woman Delivers White House Briefing 

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Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre briefed reporters at the White House Wednesday, only the second Black woman to do so and the first openly gay one.   “It’s a real honor to be standing here today,” said Jean-Pierre from the White House podium, adding that she appreciates “the historic nature” of the occasion. “Being behind this podium, being in this room, being in this building, is not about one person, it’s about what we do on behalf of the American people,” she added. Jean-Pierre has briefed reporters in press gaggles aboard Air Force One when accompanying President Joe Biden on his travels, butmore

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Republicans Denounce Congresswoman Taylor Greene’s Holocaust Remarks

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U.S. House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy denounced fellow Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene on Tuesday for likening COVID-19 masks to the badges the Nazis forced Jews to wear in the Holocaust, but did not suggest any disciplinary action against the firebrand ally to former President Donald Trump.”Marjorie is wrong, and her intentional decision to compare the horrors of the Holocaust with wearing masks is appalling. The Holocaust is the greatest atrocity committed in history. The fact that this needs to be stated today is deeply troubling,” House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy said in a statement.”Let me be clear: the House Republicanmore

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Key Impeachment Witness Sues Pompeo Over $1.8M in Legal Fees

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Gordon Sondland, the Trump administration’s ambassador to the European Union and a pivotal witness in 2019 impeachment proceedings, sued former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday in an effort to recoup $1.8 million he racked up in legal expenses. Sondland alleges in the lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, that Pompeo had committed to reimburse his legal expenses after he was subpoenaed by House Democrats to testify in an impeachment case that accused then-President Donald Trump of withholding military aid from Ukraine while demanding an investigation into political rival Joe Biden and his son Hunter. Instead, Sondland says,more

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Biden Announces US-South Korea Vaccine Partnership

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COVID-19, climate change and cooperation in high-tech industries were the focus of a summit between U.S. President Joe Biden and South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the White House Friday. While the leaders also discussed North Korea, prospects for a breakthrough on denuclearization appear dim. White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has this report. …

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White House’s New, $1.7T Infrastructure Offer Panned by GOP

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The White House put forward a $1.7 trillion infrastructure counteroffer Friday to Senate Republicans, dropping from President Joe Biden’s sweeping $2.3 trillion proposal “in the spirit of finding common ground.”White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki disclosed the new offer as talks were still underway between key Cabinet secretaries and GOP senators at a crucial stage toward a deal. Skepticism had been rising on all sides amid complaints about the lack of significant movement off the opening bids. Republicans had offered a $568 billion plan.”This proposal exhibits a willingness to come down in size,” she said at the press briefing.According tomore

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US Anti-Hate Crime Law Provides New Enforcement Tools, but Will It Work?

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A bill that President Joe Biden signed into law Thursday gives local and federal officials new tools and resources to combat hate crimes, while putting the spotlight on a surge in anti-Asian hate during the COVID-19 pandemic. The impetus for the new law, known as the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, was a dramatic increase in attacks on Asian Americans since the start of the pandemic in Wuhan, China, more than a year ago. Dramatic surge  Anti-Asian hate crimes in major U.S. cities and counties spiked by about 150% last year over the year before and 194% during the first quarter of 2021more

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Biden Signs Hate Crimes Measure Into Law 

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Hailing it as a rare contemporary example of bipartisan cooperation in Washington, President Joe Biden on Thursday signed legislation intended to fight anti-Asian hate crimes, which have escalated in the United States during the coronavirus pandemic.Hate and racism are “the ugly poison that has long haunted and plagued our nation,” the president said before signing the bill in the White House East Room.The law establishes a new Justice Department position to expedite the review of COVID-19-related hate crimes and provide support for local law enforcement agencies to respond to such violence. It also is intended to improve hate crime datamore

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Proposed Funding Targets US Community College Upgrades

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President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion infrastructure proposal, released last month, includes $12 billion for community colleges to address technological needs, help protect the health and safety of students and faculty, and narrow funding inequities.It also calls for two years of free tuition at community colleges, one of many parts of First lady Jill Biden, third from left, speaks during a visit with Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, left, to Sauk Valley Community College, in Dixon, Ill., April 19, 2021.Brown said the current infrastructure proposal would benefit community colleges that have aging buildings.“Many of them have been built in the ’60s ormore

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US Justice Department Ramps Up Investigations of Police

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In the wake of George Floyd’s death last May beneath the knee of then-police officer Derek Chauvin, Black Lives Matter protesters demanded that the Justice Department investigate the Minneapolis police department for civil rights violations.   FILE – People hold up signs, including one with an image of George Floyd, outside the courthouse in Minneapolis, Minnesota, April 20, 2021, after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty in the death of Floyd.Under the Obama administration, the Justice Department investigated two dozen police agencies for evidence of misconduct and gross violations of Black Americans’ rights, eventually entering into court-approved agreementsmore

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Top US, Russian Diplomats Meet in Iceland to Cooperate on ‘Intersecting Interests’

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The United States says it is ready to work with Russia to advance areas where the two nations have “intersecting interests,” while continuing to defend U.S. interests and respond if Moscow acts aggressively against Washington and its allies.”There are many areas where our interests intersect and overlap, and we believe that we can work together and indeed build on those interests — whether it is dealing with COVID-19 and the pandemic, climate change, the nuclear programs” in Iran and North Korea, or the peace process in Afghanistan, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday.Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov metmore

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Biden Test-Drives New Truck to Promote Electric Vehicles

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On a day many motorists in the southeastern United States could not find gasoline, President Joe Biden promoted the transition to electrical vehicles while warning that China is ahead in the race to build the next-generation automobiles.  “They think they’re going to win, but I got news for them. They will not win this race. We can’t let them. We have to move fast,” said the president during a visit to a Michigan plant where electric pickup trucks are made.  Ford on Wednesday will formally unveil its F-150 Lightning, an all-electric version of its best-selling pickup truck, which the presidentmore

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First Female Speaker of the House, Pelosi Knew Politics from Early Age

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For many years, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was the highest-ranking woman in the history of the U.S. government before Kamala Harris was elected vice president last November. A continual target of Republican criticism, Pelosi has cemented her place in history leading an often-divided Democratic caucus under four U.S. presidents. VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson has more.  Produced by: Katherine Gypson   …

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‘Third Party’ Threat to the Status Quo of US Politics Faces Long Odds

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Rancor within the Republican Party peaked last week between members who remain loyal to former President Donald Trump and those who want the party to repudiate him and his continued false claims of election fraud. First, there was the dramatic expulsion of Congresswoman Liz Cheney from her leadership post in the House of Representatives after she voted to impeach Trump and denounced his claims the 2020 election had been “stolen” by the Democrats.  Then came the announcement that more than 100 disgruntled conservatives are exploring the possibility of launching a new political party rededicated to founding ideals. To non-U.S. observers, the creation of a new political party from the shards of one riven by internal discord may seemmore

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Congressman Gaetz Associate Pleads Guilty to Sex Trafficking Charges

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A Florida politician who emerged as a central figure in the Justice Department’s sex trafficking investigation into Representative Matt Gaetz pleaded guilty Monday to six federal charges and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors as part of a plea deal.Joel Greenberg, a longtime associate of Gaetz’s, appeared in federal court in Orlando. He pleaded guilty to six of the nearly three dozen charges he faced, including sex trafficking of a minor, and he admitted he had paid at least one underage girl to have sex with him and other men.Gaetz was not mentioned in the plea agreement or during the courtmore

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House Republicans Elect Pro-Trump Stefanik to Leadership Role

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U.S. House Republicans approved Representative Elise Stefanik on Friday for a top leadership spot, sending a powerful message about the direction of the party by elevating the New York congresswoman noted for her support of former president Donald Trump.     The 36-year-old Stefanik takes over the position of House Republican Party conference chair from Representative Liz Cheney, who was removed Wednesday after calling Trump’s allegations of fraud in the 2020 presidential election “a big lie.”    Thank you to my colleagues for electing me to serve as House Republican Conference Chair and to my constituents across FILE – House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California speaks during his weekly press briefing onmore

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Agreement Reached for Bipartisan Probe into US Capitol Riot

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Two members of the U.S. House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee announced an agreement Friday to form a panel to conduct a bipartisan investigation into the Jan. 6 insurrection on the U.S. Capitol. The deal was announced in a statement by committee Democratic Chairman Bennie Thompson and its top Republican, John Katko. The legislators said they would introduce a bill for House consideration as early as next week. The measure will call for an investigative commission similar to the one that probed the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S., they said.  The proposed 10-member commission would consist of five membersmore

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EPA Website Restores Climate Change Data

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Data missing from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s website is back and updated after a four-year absence under the Trump administration.The EPA’s new Climate Change Indicators website shows that the last decade was the hottest on record; heat waves have increased in frequency from two per year in the 1960s to six per year in the 2010s; and sea levels rose as much as 8 inches in coastal areas.”With this long overdue update, we now have additional data and a new set of indicators that show climate change has become even more evident, stronger, and extreme — as has themore

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