Working & The Economy
U.S. House committee approves bills on whole milk, condemns sheltering migrants in schools
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee on Tuesday passed several bills that are a rebuke of not only the Biden administration’s policies on immigration, child nutrition and healthcare, but regulations from the Obama era. The committee passed a resolution that condemns the use of public schools to shelter undocumented people, a bill […]
Turkey, pork, bringing home the bacon: 1,540 pet projects slipped into 2023-24 state budget
When the Florida Legislature approved a $117 billion state budget in May, 1,540 local projects slipped into the massive document, from museums, soccer and football fields, and after school programs to libraries and community centers, water main projects and wastewater treatment facilities – often with big price tags. The record number of local projects, often […]
New law designed to protect privacy against Big Tech, especially for kids
Gov. Ron DeSantis — back in Florida following a presidential campaign swing through key primary states — signed legislation Tuesday designed to protect Floridians’ privacy against tech companies that market their private information. He did so during a ceremony in Central Florida’s Wildwood, cheek by jowl with The Villages, the massive senior community where he’s […]
Decarbonization ambitions ignite debate over mining, permitting
The decarbonized, electrified future envisioned by the Biden administration, state governments, automakers, utility companies, and corporate sustainability goals depends to a huge degree on minerals and metals. Lots more lithium will be needed for car and truck batteries, as well as the big banks of batteries that are increasingly popping onto the electric grid to balance the […]
U.S. Senate votes to block student loan relief, White House will veto
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate on Thursday voted to overturn the Biden administration’s one-time student debt relief plan that is on hold due to a pending Supreme Court decision. President Joe Biden has vowed to veto the resolution, but the 52-46 vote forced vulnerable Senate Democrats up for reelection in 2024 to take a public stance on […]
U.S. House approves debt limit package, sending it to Senate with just days until default deadline
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House took a broadly bipartisan vote Wednesday night on the debt limit package, sending it to the U.S. Senate where lawmakers are expected to vote quickly to clear the measure. The bill would suspend the nation’s borrowing limit through Jan. 1, 2025 and set caps on discretionary spending for two years. […]
Who cut your pork chop, Governor DeSantis?
Ron DeSantis was railing on about illegal immigration while grilling pork chops at the annual picnic May 13 in deep-red Sioux Center hosted by Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Hull. The crowd cheered him on, knowing full well that immigrants cut the chops and work the dairy barns around Northwest Iowa. It’s an open secret that the […]
New work requirements for some SNAP recipients included in debt limit deal
WASHINGTON — The holiday weekend debt ceiling deal struck by President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy preserves in part new work requirements for some food stamp recipients but now with exceptions for certain populations, including veterans. The agreement released late Saturday night showed concessions from both sides — from GOP members, who wanted […]
Debt limit deal hits turbulence in Congress as leaders prep for vote
WASHINGTON — Congress began moving the bipartisan debt limit package forward Tuesday, though frustrations with provisions in the bill could make for narrow passage in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate. Conservative Republicans and progressive Democrats both aired their disappointment with the agreement forged over the weekend, but only GOP lawmakers are looking to possibly remove […]
More states line up to serve free school meals to all kids
During his long career as a high school teacher, New York state Sen. John Mannion often reached into his own pocket to cover the cost of lunches for kids who didn’t have the funds. “I watched kids get to the end of the line and not have enough money on their cards,” the Democrat said […]
Treasury secretary pinpoints June 5 as earliest date for U.S. debt default
WASHINGTON — Republicans in Congress and the Biden administration have until at least June 5 to broker and enact a debt limit bill under new estimates from the Treasury Department, giving negotiators a few more days before the country would default. “Based on the most recent available data, we now estimate that Treasury will have […]
Work requirements, spending are sticking points as U.S. debt limit talks extend
WASHINGTON — Negotiations over the country’s debt limit and government spending continued behind closed doors Friday, though the broad parameters of an agreement did begin to emerge. U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, told reporters in the Capitol building Friday morning that the two sides would continue working towards a bipartisan agreement on […]