With Congress facing a Sept. 30 deadline to pass both its appropriations and farm bills, and the threat of a government shutdown looming, the options to find a moving vehicle to which Congress could attach an extension of the $14 Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) are running short.
The ACP is expected to run out of federal funding within the next year. In anticipation of legislation to continue funding, some have called for an expansion of the program, while others h...
The Hill
Here’s how many times the federal government has shut down
There have been 21 federal government shutdowns in the last five decades, as Congress has until September 30th to pass a set of spending bills or come up with a short-term plan to avert a soon-to-be 22nd government shutdown.
A government shutdown would lead to non-essential federal functions such as social security and SNAP benefits to be suspended and result in millions of federal employees to not receive pay during the shutdown.
The soon-to-be approaching de...
GOP senators alarmed by chaos over House spending bills
Republican senators are growing increasingly alarmed at Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) inability to pass spending legislation over the staunch opposition of a small group of conservative rebels, and fear a government shutdown may be days away.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), who’s had to deal with the political fallout of government shutdowns in 1995-96, 2013 and 2018-19, warned Republican lawmakers on the other side of the Capitol on Tuesday that sh...
Republicans, Democrats both lose from late-night TV’s silencing
The late-night TV landscape has been silenced by Hollywood strikes, leaving audiences with fewer laughs, depriving candidates of an easy way to get attention and generally upsetting the nation’s normal political discourse.
Instead of polishing monologue jokes or getting ready to poke fun at the crop of 2024 candidates, late-night's lineup of network funnymen — including NBC’s “Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert “The Late Show” on CBS, and ABC’s Jimmy Kimme...
Government shutdown lessons for the GOP
The Republican-led House of Representatives and the Democratic-led Senate are at a budget impasse once again, which could lead to a government shutdown at the end of the month. A group of conservative and mainstream House Republicans reportedly worked out an agreement over the weekend to fund the government through October through a continuing resolution, but it appears that some far-right House Freedom Caucus members are panning the deal. A few are even arguing that a government shutdo...
Government shutdown lessons for the GOP
The Republican-led House of Representatives and the Democratic-led Senate are at a budget impasse once again, which could lead to a government shutdown at the end of the month. A group of conservative and mainstream House Republicans reportedly worked out an agreement over the weekend to fund the government through October through a continuing resolution, but it appears that some far-right House Freedom Caucus members are panning the deal. A few are even arguing that a government shutdo...
Congress needs to follow Mitt Romney’s example, and let a new generation lead
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), 83, has served in the U.S. House of Representatives for 35 years, including eight as the first woman Speaker and third in line to the presidency. She has been inducted into the National Woman's Hall of Fame. Among many other achievements, she was instrumental in winning Congress's approval of the Affordable Care Act and the American Rescue Plan.
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) was the Republican nominee for president in 2012. Utah's voters elected him ...
Congress needs to follow Mitt Romney’s example, and let a new generation lead
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), 83, has served in the U.S. House of Representatives for 35 years, including eight as the first woman Speaker and third in line to the presidency. She has been inducted into the National Woman's Hall of Fame. Among many other achievements, she was instrumental in winning Congress's approval of the Affordable Care Act and the American Rescue Plan.
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) was the Republican nominee for president in 2012. Utah's voters elected him ...
White House faces challenges getting COVID shots to the uninsured
For the first time since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government will not be able to ensure the shots for this fall's vaccination campaign will be available to the public for free.
When the public health emergency ended in May, so too did the administration's ability to purchase and distribute shots, tests and treatments for all Americans. The COVID vaccine is now commercialized, just like the flu shot and other vaccines.
Most health plans cover ro...
Veronica Duron: Chief of staff, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ)
In her winding path to Sen. Cory Booker's (D-N.J.) office, Veronica Duron has played a role in the key legislative battles of the last 15 years.
Rising from fellow to staff assistant to legislative correspondent to legislative assistant under former Rep. Solomon Ortiz (D-Texas), Duron soon learned that House staffers wear a multitude of policy hats.
"I was doing banking and finance policy during Dodd Frank, was doing housing policy and education policy when we were d...