Erik Wasson
Congress Clears Government Funding Bill to Avert Shutdown
The bill passed after Democrats dropped an earlier attempt to attach a debt-ceiling suspension to the bill in face of implacable Republican opposition to that measure. (Associated Press)
The House passed a nine-week spending bill to avert a U.S. government shutdown hours before it was set to begin on an 254-175 vote. The legislation passed the Senate earlier Sept. 30 and was signed by President Joe Biden.
September 30, 2021House GOP Squeezes Pelosi on Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi by Samuel Corum/Bloomberg News
House GOP leaders are urging Republican lawmakers to vote against the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, increasing the likelihood that Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will have to postpone a planned Sept. 27 vote on the bill given opposition in her own caucus.
September 22, 2021House Passes Debt Limit Suspension, Sets Up Standoff in Senate
The U.S. Capitol by Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg News
The Democratic-controlled House passed a bill that would suspend the U.S. debt ceiling into December 2022 and provide the government funding to operate past Sept. 30. Republicans have vowed to block it when it reaches the Senate over the debt limit provision.
September 21, 2021Top House Democrat Still Eyes Passing Biden Agenda This Month
Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) during an interview on Bloomberg TV. (Bloomberg TV)
The chairman of the powerful House Rules Committee said Sept. 1 that Democrats are trying to complete work on President Joe Biden’s $4 trillion economic agenda by the end of September.
September 2, 2021Infrastructure Deal in Sight After Medicare Agreement
“The pay-fors are pretty much lined up," says Sen. Joe Manchin. (Al Drago/Bloomberg News)
A bipartisan group of senators is closing in on a $579 billion infrastructure deal after agreeing to pay for it in part by delaying a Trump-era Medicare regulation, a key Democratic senator said July 22.
July 22, 2021Bipartisan House Group Backs Biden-Senate Infrastructure Deal
Construction workers carry a sheet of wood on the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge in Washington, D.C. (Al Drago/Bloomberg News)
A bipartisan group of House lawmakers on July 6 publicly endorsed President Joe Biden’s $579 billion infrastructure deal with a group of Republican and Democratic senators, giving the compromise fresh momentum at the start of a crucial month for the administration’s agenda.
July 6, 2021Biden Infrastructure Plan’s Chances Gain as GOP Preps Offer
President Joe Biden walks on the Ellipse after exiting Marine One near the White House May 17. (Shawn Thew/EPA via Bloomberg News)
President Joe Biden’s prospects for passing a major infrastructure bill through Congress with bipartisan support — seen unlikely in the wake of his Democrat-only pandemic-relief package in March — are now rising, though disagreements over funding still could scrap a deal.
May 17, 2021House Lawmakers Seek $15 Billion in Infrastructure Earmarks
Rep. Garrett Graves (R-La.) submitted the largest request, $945 million for a highway connector. (Al Drago/Bloomberg News)
House lawmakers have requested $14.9 billion in spending on earmarked projects for a transportation bill set to be a centerpiece of President Joe Biden’s economic agenda.
May 11, 2021House GOP OKs Spending Earmarks, Boosting Infrastructure Plan
The U.S. Capitol building at dawn on March 2. (Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg News)
House Republicans voted to allow their members to request dedicated-spending projects, known as earmarks, following that same move by Democrats, in a positive sign for President Joe Biden’s hopes for a bipartisan infrastructure bill.
March 17, 2021Progressives Propose Wealth Tax to Fund Infrastructure
Sen. Elizabeth Warren speaks during a March 1 news conference at the U.S. Capitol. (Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg News)
Sen. Elizabeth Warren said her proposed wealth tax on households worth more than $50 million could help pay for investments in infrastructure, child care and health reforms as part of President Joe Biden’s plan to “Build Back Better” after the coronavirus pandemic that has disproportionately hit low-income families.
March 1, 2021