Congressmen take USDA to task for delaying organic industry animal welfare rule

Members of Congress chastise the US Department of Agriculture in a Jan. 17 letter for threatening to withdraw a widely popular final rule passed in the 11th hour of the Obama Administration that would heighten animal welfare standards for organic producers. USDA announced in December that it intended to withdraw the Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices final rule, which outlined sweeping changes in how organic animals are housed, transported and slaughtered, because the department claimed the rule exceeds the statutory authority of the National Organic Program.

Trump slams Democrats as third day of government shutdown begins

The government shutdown headed into the workweek Monday as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he would consider allowing a floor debate on immigration issues in mid- to late February if leaders do not strike an agreement before then, an offer most Democrats appeared to reject. As the Senate prepared for a vote at noon that could pave the way to ending the shutdown, President Trump went on Twitter to argue Democrats are acting at the behest of their "far left base" in demanding protections for young undocumented immigrants in negotiations to reopen the government.

Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, Joseph Crowley, Linda Sanchez

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., center, joined from left by, Rep. Joseph Crowley, D-N.Y., House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Calif., hold a news conference on the first morning of a government shutdown after a divided Senate rejected a funding measure last night, at the Capitol in Washington, Saturday, Jan. 20, 2018. WASHINGTON - The government shutdown is set to sow more disruption and political peril Monday after the Senate inched closer but ultimately fell short of an agreement that would have reopened federal agencies before the beginning of the workweek.

No deal in Senate as shutdown expanding

The Air National Guard's 122nd Fighter Wing said that exempt federal technicians and active-duty personnel would continue to carry out essential operations at the base today but that non-exempt technicians would be furloughed.

Shutdown to extend into workweek as Senate fails to reach deal

Night falls on the U.S. Capitol on Day 2 of the federal shutdown as lawmakers negotiate behind closed doors, in Washington on Jan. 21, 2018. Night falls on the U.S. Capitol on Day 2 of the federal shutdown as lawmakers negotiate behind closed doors, in Washington on Jan. 21, 2018.

U.S Senator who lost both her legs in Iraq slams Trump as a ‘five-deferment draft dodger’

Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth said the U.S. president's attempts to pin the shutdown on Democrats, especially by using the military, were examples of him failing to take responsibility. Donald Trump's decision to accuse Democrats of not caring about the military is galling, said U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth, who lost both of her legs in the Iraq War.

Democrats, GOP hold out hope for ending government shutdown

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., walks to the chamber on the first morning of a government shutdown after a divided Senate rejected a funding measure last night, at the Capitol in Washington, Saturday, Jan.... . Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wis., arrives for a meeting of fellow Republicans on the first morning of a government shutdown after a divided Senate rejected a funding measure, at the Capitol in Washington, Saturday,... .

Congress’ leaders aren’t budging on government shutdown

WASHINGTON - Congressional leaders in both parties refused to budge publicly from their political corners Saturday on the first day of the government shutdown, avoiding direct negotiations and bitterly blaming each other for the impasse in speeches. But private glimmers of a breakthrough were evident by late Saturday, as moderate Democrats and Republicans began to rally behind a new short-term funding proposal to reopen the government through early February.

US Senate panel moves Keystone bill forward, despite White House veto threat

Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., left, GOP sponsor of the long-stalled Keystone XL pipeline bill, is joined by Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., right, as he makes his case at the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee during a markup to advance a bill to the floor, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015, on Capitol Hill in Washington. WASHINGTON - A bill to approve the Canada-U.S. Keystone XL oil pipeline cleared a key Senate committee Thursday, setting up a fight next week pitting newly empowered Republicans against President Barack Obama and Senate Democrats.

Congress back at work on Sunday, still searching for deal to end shutdown Source: Cox Media Group

With no signs of any deal to restore funding for the federal government, lawmakers on Capitol Hill will be back for a rare Sunday session, with no real signs of an agreement to end the first government shutdown since 2013, as both parties continued to point the finger of blame at each other. The main stumbling block continues to be immigration, and what to do about hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrant Dreamers in the United States, who were protected under the Obama Administration's DACA program, which was ended by the Trump Administration in October.