Politics + Government
Cortez Masto: Senate mulling options to codify abortion rights
U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto said Thursday “the Republican party in general, including the Republicans who are running against me, are extreme and they are going to do everything that they can to continue to undermine Roe v. Wade. I’ve watched it over the years.” The condemnation came moments after Cortez Masto raised the specter […]
How House Democrats would expand Medicare and Medicaid and lower prescription drug costs
WASHINGTON — New Medicare benefits for older Americans, like dental care. An expansion of eligibility for Medicaid for low-income people in Republican-controlled states that have declined to take that step. And potentially an historic effort to rein in prescription drug prices — if congressional Democrats can work through objections from some in their own party. […]
Political orientation predicts science denial
Vaccine refusal is a major reason COVID-19 infections continue to surge in the U.S. Safe and effective vaccines have been available for months, but as of mid-September 2021, only 65% of eligible American adults are fully vaccinated. In many areas, a majority of eligible adults haven’t taken advantage of the opportunity to get vaccinated. […]
Saying Senate bill fell short, House Dems add more transit money in reconciliation
A U.S. House panel early Wednesday passed along party lines a $60 billion slice of the Democrats’ $3.5 trillion budget plan, adding nearly $20 billion for a new transit program and high-speed rail development. Chairman Peter A. DeFazio of Oregon had considered these and other items underfunded in the Senate-led bipartisan infrastructure bill, passed there […]
Democrats include youth violence prevention bill in reconciliation package
When U.S. Democratic Rep. Steven Horsford was 19, his father was shot and killed. He almost lost his mother as well, who struggled with drug addiction before she became sober 26 years ago. Nearly three decades later, Horsford sat at the West Las Vegas Library on Monday listening to a group of predominantly Black youth […]
Revised voting rights bill rolled out in Senate, with Manchin on board
WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats on Tuesday unveiled a revamped voting rights bill that would expand voter registration as well as create nonpartisan redistricting committees, but the measure is still likely to face an uphill battle in an evenly divided Senate. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he will bring the legislation to the floor of […]
Four big climate items in the reconciliation bill in Congress
The U.S. House Natural Resources Committee late Thursday approved its first piece of Democrats’ sweeping $3.5 trillion spending blueprint on a party-line 24-13 vote. Among the highest priorities for President Joe Biden in the plan was addressing climate change, and the panel included initiatives ranging from oil and gas reform to offshore wind ventures. The […]
Fiore recall organizer who refused to turn over petition signers’ names faces trial
Molly Taylor, the Las Vegas woman who led ‘Expel Michele,’ an unsuccessful 2020 campaign to recall Las Vegas City Councilwoman Michele Fiore, received a summons earlier this year and faces trial Monday on a criminal misdemeanor charge for failing to turn over the recall petitions to the state. Taylor says Fiore threatened petition signers during […]
There he goes, into the wild red yonder
A couple weeks ago conspiracy-monger and putative Republican U.S. Senate nominee Adam Laxalt all but promised he’ll file lawsuits to discredit the 2022 election before it happens, and then sue some more after he loses. Just as his idol and endorser Donald Trump did for months prior to the 2020 election and continues to do […]
House reconciliation package would provide path to citizenship
A provision tucked in the $3.5 trillion reconciliation package would direct Congress to chart a path for citizenship for millions of undocumented people. If passed, the House provision would provide a pathway to citizenship for those in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, often referred to as Dreamers; farmworkers; those who hold a Temporary […]
Where Cortez Masto could end up to the right of Manchin: Mining
Unlike producers of coal, oil and natural gas on public lands, corporations that mine gold and other so-called hardrock minerals in Nevada and elsewhere in the U.S. have never had to pay federal royalties. Now there’s a bill for that. Actually there have been several bills for that, over several decades, but none have succeeded, […]
House Democrats kick off reconciliation process with $30 billion Interior bill
The House Natural Resources Committee on Thursday inched toward approval of a $30 billion bill to fund climate, tribal and environmental programs. Thursday’s meeting marked the first time a congressional committee considered any piece of Democrats’ $3.5 trillion spending plan meant to fundamentally change U.S. health, climate, education and tax policy. Democrats plan to move […]