Congress paid out $15M in settlements

Two things have become painfully clear on Capitol Hill this week: Lawmakers and staffers say sexual harassment is "rampant" -- but even members of Congress have no idea just how widespread the problem is. The controversial and sensitive issue has taken center stage in Congress this week, with female lawmakers making fresh allegations of sexual harassment against unnamed members who are currently in office, and the unveiling of a new bill on Wednesday to change how sexual harassment complaints are reported and resolved.

Council accepts preliminary engineering report for sewers

Peninsula Village Council accepted Stantec Consulting Services Inc.'s preliminary engineering report for a wastewater collection and treatment system at the Nov. 13 meeting. Mayor Doug Mayer said the report will help the village when the time comes to make a decision on the system.

House Republicans await audience with Trump on tax overhaul

Republicans are muscling their massive tax bill through the House, with President Donald Trump urging them on to a critically needed legislative victory and GOP House leaders exuding confidence they have the votes. But the tax overhaul hit a roadblock Wednesday as Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin became the first Republican senator to say he opposes his party's politically must-do tax legislation.

GSG pens letter against tax bill

The Graduate Student Government sent a letter to the United States Congress on Wednesday expressing graduate students' concerns about the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the latest Republican-sponsored bill proposed to modify the existing tax code. The letter, which garnered more than 450 signatures, was a direct response to several provisions in the proposed bill, including one that would repeal the graduate and professional students' tax-free tuition income.

Former Pentagon chiefs to Congress: If you’re serious about defense, don’t pass current GOP tax bill

Former defense secretary Leon E. Panetta speaks during a discussion on countering violent extremism on Oct. 23 in Washington. Three former secretaries of defense are warning lawmakers not to enact proposed Republican tax restructuring plans, arguing they will jeopardize future military spending.

Tax bill thrown into uncertainty as first GOP senator comes out against it

Uncertainty gripped the Senate on Wednesday over efforts to pass a sweeping $1.5 trillion tax cut after a Wisconsin Republican became the first senator in his party to declare that he could not vote for the tax bill as written, and other senators expressed serious misgivings over the cost and effect on the middle class. The House is set Thursday to pass its own version of the tax bill, which would cut taxes by more than $1.4 trillion over 10 years and broadly rewrite the business tax code.

GOP Swamp Leaders Plotting ‘Drastic Plan’ To Steal Senate …

As Steve Bannon warned at CPAC back in February, "If you think they're going to give your country back to you without a fight you are sadly mistaken." Republican leaders are plotting a "drastic plan," to block Judge Roy Moore from becoming the next Senator of Alabama.

The Latest: Senate bill adds tax break for family leave

A new tax break for businesses that give their workers paid family leave has been put into the Senate Republican tax bill now moving toward approval. The proposal by Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., was included in a late revision to the bill written by Sen. Orrin Hatch, chair of the Senate Finance Committee.

The Pentagon Has Avoided Audit For 27 Years

To achieve this budget, which is expected to sail through the Senate after the Thanksgiving break, Congress will have to raise the caps set into place during the Budget Control Act. But if there is a will - which there certainly is, considering the powerful defense industry lobby, coupled with members' own special interests for their districts - there is a way.

Roy Moore’s lawyer challenges Alabama woman’s claim of sexual assault

The Senate campaign of Roy Moore of Alabama sought Wednesday to discredit a woman's accusation that he sexually assaulted her when she was 16, suggesting that what looks like his signature on her high school yearbook could be a forgery. Moore's attorney, Phillip L. Jauregui, Jr., also disputed a statement by Beverly Young Nelson that she'd had no contact with Moore since the alleged assault took place in 1977 in Gadsden, Ala.

The GOP Has Its First Casualty In Tax Reform Push

Well, the smooth road to tax reform just it a bump with Sen. Ron Johnson signaling that he will be a "no" vote on the legislation. The Wisconsin Republican is the first to definitively say he will be against the bill, as he feels it gives too much to corporations at the expense of other businesses.

1st GOP senator opposes tax bill in early sign of problems

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wis., points to boxes of petitions supporting the Republican tax reform bill that is set for a vote later this week as he arrives for a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tue... WASHINGTON - Wisconsin's Ron Johnson on Wednesday became the first Republican senator to say he opposes his party's tax bill, signaling potential problems for GOP leaders. Passage of a similar package seemed certain Thursday in the House, where a handful of dissidents conceded they expected to be steamrolled by a GOP frantic to claim its first major legislative victory of the year.

Florida man pleads guilty to threatening Utah congressman

The Orlando Sentinel reports that Charles Zachary Howard of Winter Park pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to threatening Utah Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz last March. Howard, a registered Republican, called Chaffetz's Washington office and threatened to hunt him down, "wrap a rope around your neck and hang you from a lamppost."