Lawmakers look to boost Energy’s cybersecurity role

To protect the energy sector and other critical infrastructure against cyber threats, lawmakers are looking to boost the Department of Energy's cybersecurity role and questioned the future role of its new cybersecurity office. Government needs to "make sure we're doing everything we can to protect our electric grid" and the energy sector as a whole from emerging threats and emergencies as they arise, said Chairman Greg Walden at a March 14 House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing.

Fate hazy for GOP bill helping dying patients try new drugs

A leading House Democrat announced his opposition Monday to a Republican bill making it easier for some terminally ill patients to try experimental drugs, clouding the measure's fate. Republicans are hoping for House approval today, seven months after a similar package cleared the Senate.

Walden Tours Bend Kombucha Facility

Congressman Greg Walden toured Humm Kombucha's new northeast Bend facility Friday, to draw attention to a proposal he's supporting, which would change federal beverage regulations. Currently, alcoholic beverages are designated as those with .5% alcohol by volume , which often includes fermented drinks like kombucha.

Intel ‘intentionally hid’ Meltdown and Spectre from US cyber security officials

CHIP GIANT Intel intentionally hid the discovery of the Meltdown and Spectre chip security flaws from US cybersecurity officials, according to a bunch of tech companies who wrote to lawmakers on Thursday. In a number of letters seen by Reuters , the companies wrote that Intel didn't make the issue known to the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team, or US-CERT, until they leaked to the public.

St. Charles takes $3 million hit on drug costs

Efforts to rein in abuse of a drug discount program for hospitals that serve a high number of low-income patients could cost St. Charles Health System an estimated $3 million in revenue in 2018. The 340B program, created by Congress in 1992, requires pharmaceutical manufacturers to give deep discounts to safety-net hospitals and health clinics.

Oregon legislators respond to government shutdown

"The stakes are too high to put politics before people: President Trump stripped protections for Dreamers and Congressional Republicans have not prioritized Children's Health insurance. Oregon's families and Dreamers deserve certainty, not partisanship," she said.

Senate panel to probe Hawaii alerts as FCC investigates

A U.S. Senate panel plans to hold a Jan. 25 hearing on the errant Hawaii ballistic missile alert that stirred panic and anger as the Federal Communications Commission investigates the matter. The Senate Commerce Committee is expected to announce later Thursday it will hold a hearing next week on the false alert and why it went uncorrected for 38 minutes, officials said.

GOP on the verge of huge tax overhaul – with one hiccup

Jubilant Republicans pushed on Tuesday to the verge of the most sweeping rewrite of the nation's tax laws in more than three decades, a deeply unpopular bill they insist Americans will learn to love when they see their paychecks in the new year. President Donald Trump cheered the lawmakers on, eager to claim his first major legislative victory.

GOP on the verge of huge tax overhaul a ” with one hiccup

Jubilant Republicans pushed on Tuesday to the verge of the most sweeping rewrite of the nation's tax laws in more than three decades, a deeply unpopular bill they insist Americans will learn to love when they see their paychecks in the new year. President Donald Trump cheered the lawmakers on, eager to claim his first major legislative victory.

House passes massive tax package; Senate to vote next

Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., left, and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wis., leave a closed-door Republican Conference meeting as Congress prepares to vote on the biggest reshaping of the U.S. tax code in three decades, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, Tuesday. WASHINGTON >> Gleeful Republicans on Tuesday muscled the most sweeping rewrite of the nation's tax laws in more than three decades through the House.

Giddy Republicans celebrate major tax victory ahead of vote

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, steward of the GOP tax bill, smiles he as he arrives for a closed-door meeting as the Republican majority in Congress prepares to vote on the biggest reshaping of the U.S. tax code in three decades, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2017. Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., left, and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wis., leave a closed-door Republican Conference meeting as Congress prepares to vote on the biggest reshaping of the U.S. tax code in three decades, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2017.

House bill to fund kids’ insurance goes to Senate

Legislation providing five more years of financing for an expired children's health program won House approval Friday, though a partisan battle over paying for the extension continued to play out in the Senate. Each side is using the fight to accuse the other of jeopardizing the Children's Health Insurance Program, which serves more than 8 million children from low-income families.

Upton considers Senate run as GOP seeks Stabenow challenger

In this My 3, 2017, file photo, Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., left, speaks to reporters outside the White House in Washington, following a meeting with President Donald Trump on health care reform. Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore.

The Latest: Corporate culture a factor in Equifax breach?

Equifax is blaming an unspecified "website application vulnerability" in hackers' ability to get personal information on 143 million Americans. Security experts say it's hard to say for sure without more information, but such vulnerabilities typically don't require a lot of sophistication to exploit.

Energy Secretary Perry visits Hanford

Energy Secretary Rick Perry, left, closely observes as worker trainers Joni Spencer, center, and Dean Beaver prepare to give a respirator demonstration Tuesday at the HAMMER Training Facility in Richland. Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., stands next to Perry and Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., stands in between the workers at right.

Lobbyists Push GOP to Repeal Obamacare Fees in Tax Overhaul

Senate Finance Chairman Orrin G. Hatch, seen here with Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow wants to look at a possible repeal of the 2010 health care law's taxes as part of a larger tax package. The Republican effort to repeal President Barack Obama's signature health care law may have stalled, but lobbyists are pushing the GOP to continue to target the provisions the industry most despises: the law's taxes.

GOP unsure what to do about Affordable Care Act

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, was one of three Republicans to reject the 'skinny repeal' plan. Melina Mara/The Washington Post Hundreds of people stood outside the U.S. Capitol Thursday, to protest the Republican health care bill as the Senate worked overnight on the legislation.

Senate health care bill still up in the air as lawmakers go home for holiday

Sen. Susan Collins will celebrate the Fourth of July within view of the Canadian border, at a remote northeastern Maine town's annual parade. Sen. Lisa Murkowski will appear on the other end of the continent in an old timber town on an isolated Alaskan island.

Bipartisan Driverless-Car Bill Hits Speed Bump in House

Democrats are skeptical of GOP moves to preempt strict state safety laws on autonomous vehicles, and say they weren't consulted on the legislation. The interior of a Tesla Model X 75D semiautonomous electric vehicle parked at the governor's mansion in Olympia, Wash., on Jan. 23. A long-awaited bipartisan bill to boost the burgeoning driverless-car industry is facing a series of speed bumps in the House, delaying and perhaps even stalling a rapid push by lawmakers to regulate autonomous vehicles.