Interior legislators respond to lingering per diem question

Legislators are under fire for per diem costs again as figures have been released showing the state has paid almost $400,000 for living costs since the start of the first regular session on Jan. 17. During the first four-month session, nearly all state lawmakers took the same amount of per diem, between $213 to $295 per day, costing $30,949 between ... (more)

A.M. Roundup: On ethics reform, that sound you hear is the…

Good morning and happy Monday! Did you catch a glimpse of the Aurora Borealis last night? Today's forecast looks just like every day last week: Maybe thunderstorms, maybe hail, maybe rain, maybe not. Here's a suggestion for Mother Nature: Just rain already.

Ahead of House Subcommittee Hearing on Modernizing NAFTA, CTA…

Ahead of tomorrow's hearing on the "Modernization of the North American Free Trade Agreement " by the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade, Sage Chandler, the Consumer Technology Association's vice president of international trade, issued the following statement: "As the administration celebrates 'Made in America' week, we applaud Sens. John Thune and Ron Wyden for emphasizing the need for digital trade reforms to President Trump and Ambassador Robert Lighthizer. We hope the administration will maintain the beneficial parts of NAFTA, which has played a significant role in liberalizing trade and giving U.S. manufacturers the chance to grow their market presence in Canada and Mexico.

Jesus Lara will be deported early Tuesday morning, leaving behind his four U.S. citizen children.

The following is a statement from David Leopold, former AILA president and attorney for Jesus Lara Lopez, ahead of Lara's scheduled deportation tomorrow morning: Mr. Jesus Lara has not received a response from the government regarding his latest request for a stay of deportation. Immigration and Customs Enforcement should not deport Jesus without meaningfully and fully responding to his stay request.

Lawmakers: US Senate’s health care plan would hurt Vermont

The health care proposal under consideration in the U.S. Senate would be devastating to the thousands of Vermont residents who rely on the current system for care, and it has the potential to wreak havoc on the state's finances, top state and federal politicians across the political spectrum said Monday. Meeting in the Statehouse office of Republican Gov. Phil Scott, the three members of the congressional delegation and other top lawmakers from the Democratic and Republican parties said they had different opinions about the best way to fix President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act, but they agreed Vermont residents had to be protected in the process.

Unions and lawmakers press Trump to protect workers in NAFTA talks

With NAFTA negotiations to happen next month, the Trump administration is set to release its priorities within the next 30 days under the 'fast-track' rules. President Trump shakes hands with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto during the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, on July 7, 2017.

NYPost: Kamala Harris Builds Cachet, Meets Clinton Donors

Rising star Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., met with some "key" Hillary Clinton donors in a wealthy New York resort enclave "as she takes a national stage and expands her influence and ambitions," the New York Post reported. The freshman California senator and former San Francisco district attorney was the star attraction last Saturday at the Bridgehampton, Long Island, home of MWWPR CEO Michael Kempner one of Clinton's national-finance co-chairs who led a fundraiser for her 2008 presidential bid, the Post's Page Six columnist Emily Smith reported.

Tom Reed: The dignity of developing our workforce

"American citizens have worked every job, every occupation, no matter what it might be-no matter how grueling, how challenging, or even how dangerous," he said during his weekly address. His message was there is dignity in every honest job, and there good paying career opportunities available now-and you don't need to run up tens of thousands of dollars of debt earning a four-year college degree to get those jobs.

Yellen calls risks of inflation ‘two-sided’

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, left, and the committee's ranking member Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, listen on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, July 13, 2017, as Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen testified before the committee. less Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, left, and the committee's ranking member Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, listen on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, July 13, 2017, as Federal ... more Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, July 13, 2017, before the Senate Banking Committee.

Durbin: President Trump’s wall won’t fix broken immigration system

WASHINGTON U.S. Senator Dick Durbin , Ranking Member of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, slammed the Trump Administration's simplistic approach to immigration, arguing that a border wall would do little to stop people overstaying visas, who make up the majority of recent unauthorized immigrants. Senator Durbin recalled that the comprehensive immigration reform bill passed by the Senate in 2013 - which he helped author as a member of the "Gang of 8" - would have increased border security, created a system to track overstays, and provided a path to citizenship for law-abiding immigrants with deep roots in the United States.

Durbin, Duckworth: Plainfield tank car derailment a wake-up call for DOT

WASHINGTON U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth today called on U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao to do more to prevent railroad tank car accidents like the one in Plainfield, Illinois on June 30, 2017, in which multiple rail cars on a Canadian National train carrying crude oil derailed, causing an estimated 45,000 gallons of oil to leak out of the tank cars. "We are extremely grateful for the hard work of Plainfield's first responders, who were able to contain the spill and prevent any injuries or deaths as a result of the incident," the Senators wrote in a letter to Secretary Chao.

State receives over two million in housing and development funding

WASHINGTON U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded a total of $2,058,130 in grant funding to Illinois agencies through two programs the Housing Counseling Grant Program and the Service Coordinator Program to help families, seniors, and people with disabilities who live in insured and assisted apartment housing across the state live more independent lives. "This funding will give local housing agencies across Illinois the ability to expand and improve existing supportive services for families, seniors, and people with disabilities, helping them to continue to live as independently as possible in the communities they love and know," Durbin said.

Dem senator’s family profits from outsourcing he decries: report

Joe Donnelly Dem senator's family profits from outsourcing he decries: report Indiana Republican raises M for potential Senate bid Senate confirms Trump's 'regulatory czar' MORE , who has fiercely criticized the outsourcing of U.S. jobs, has profited from a company that uses a Mexican factory to produce dye for ink pads, The Associated Press reported Thursday. Stewart Superior Corp., an arts and crafts business owned by Donnelly's family, has for more than a year shipped raw material to a company-owned factory in Mexico where it produces ink pads and other products.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal: Donald Trump Jr.a s emails could prove intent

Sen. Richard Blumenthal said Thursday that Donald Trump Jr.'s emails could prove intent if charges result from one of the investigations into the Trump campaign's ties to Russia. "No question that we're very far from criminal charges here and from proof beyond a reasonable doubt, but if you're asking what's the significance of these emails, it's criminal intent, which is often the most difficult part of any case," Mr. Blumenthal, Connecticut Democrat, told CNN.