Category: US House of Representatives

Trump Risks U.S. Default with Debt Ceiling Denier Mulvaney as Budget Chief

So far, the defining trait of the incoming Trump administration is its staffing with extremists dedicated to destroying the agencies they are supposed to head. Friday was no exception, as President-elect Trump made the latest addition to his Kamikaze Cabinet by selecting South Carolina Republican Congressman Mick Mulvaney to direct the Office of Management and Budget .

Drug overdose deaths increased significantly in past 5 years

Drug overdose deaths have increased by 33 per cent in the past five years across the country, with some states seeing jumps of nearly 200 per cent. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 30 states saw increases in overdose deaths resulting from the abuse of heroin and prescription painkillers, a class of drugs known as opioids.

Obama signs bill for Flint water, California drought

President Barack Obama signed a bill Friday authorizing water projects across the country, including $170 million to address lead in the drinking water in Flint, Michigan, and $558 million to provide relief to drought-stricken California. Obama said the bill advances vital projects across the country to restore watersheds, improve flood control and rebuild water infrastructure – including pipes in Flint, where residents have struggled with lead-tainted water for more than two years.

Here’s what the future of rail travel in the Northeast could be like

WASHINGTON — U.S. transportation officials proposed spending more than $120 billion over the next 30 years to revamp and overhaul railroad tracks in the Northeast Corridor, shaving 80 minutes off the trip between Washington and Boston, and expanding rail service throughout New Jersey. The report by the Federal Railroad Administration said a mixture of funding sources would need to be tapped to fulfill the plan of improved service along the 457-mile corridor, including some new tracks, new stations and new trains.

Trump salutes supporters in Florida, names budget director

President-elect Donald Trump, in the latest stop of his victory lap, told a military veteran-laden crowd in Florida that while he would build up the country’s armed forces, he would use them sparingly as commander-in-chief. “For too long, we’ve moving from one reckless intervention to another, to countries you’ve never heard of before,” Trump said at a rally Friday night in Orlando.

Trump taps conservative SC Rep. Mulvaney as budget chief

President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Mulvaney as his budget director, naming a tough-on-spending conservativ… WASHINGTON – President-elect Donald Trump has tapped South Carolina GOP Rep. Mick Mulvaney as his budget director, naming a tough-on-spending conservative and an advocate of balancing the federal budget to the important post. An official on Trump’s transition team, who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter before it is officially announced, confirmed Trump’s pick Friday evening.

Nation-Now 47 mins ago 11:29 p.m.Don’t call it soy milk, Vermont congressman says

Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., is asking the Food and Drug Administration to enforce the definition of “milk” – as in, a beverage that comes from cows – and require non-dairy drinks that currently market themselves as “milk” to find another name. Welch argues that plant-based products using the name “milk” are freeloading off milk ads paid for by dairy farmers, such as the “Got Milk?” campaign.

Obama signs massive water bill that could impact Delta

President Barack Obama on Friday quietly signed and bequeathed to President-elect Donald Trump a massive infrastructure bill designed to control floods, fund dams and deliver more water to farmers in California’s Central Valley. While attempting to mollify critics’ concerns over potential harm to the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, Obama signed the $12 billion bill in a distinctly low-key act.

U.S. electors expected to officially confirm Trump victory

The U.S. Electoral College is expected on Monday to officially select Republican Donald Trump as the next president in a vote that is usually routine but takes place this year amid allegations of Russian hacking to try to influence the election. At meetings scheduled in every state and the District of Columbia, the institution’s 538 electors, generally chosen by state parties, will cast official ballots for president and vice president.

Democrats plan lengthy hearings for Trump Cabinet nominees

Democratic senators plan to aggressively target eight of Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees in the coming weeks and are pushing to stretch their confirmation votes into March – an unprecedented break with Senate tradition. Such delays would upend Republican hopes of quickly holding hearings and confirming most of Trump’s top picks on Inauguration Day.

Navy extends comment time on plan to add jets at Whidbey

The Navy is giving people an extra month to weigh in on its proposal to increase the number of electronic attack aircraft at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island. The Seattle Times says the new Feb. 24 deadline results from requests by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, Rep. Rick Larsen and Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray for more time for public review of the draft environmental study.

U.S. Representatives vote against D.C. assisted suicide law

The U.S. House of Representatives’ Oversight Committee voted on Monday to strike down a Washington, D.C. law that would allow physician-assisted suicide there. City leaders passed legislation in December that allows terminally ill patients to end their lives with a doctor’s help, but the U.S. Constitution gives Congress the power to overturn laws in the 68-square-mile district.

Trump’s wiretap tweets come as NSA surveillance programs are up for renewal this year

Nearly four years after National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden blew the lid off domestic spying, the vast surveillance programs cherished as the “crown jewels” of the U.S. intelligence establishment are about to spring back into public debate – and not just because of Donald Trump’s allegation that he’s been the subject of wiretaps. The legal framework for some of the broadest U.S. surveillance programs, authorized for a five-year period in 2012, will expire Dec. 31 unless Congress reauthorizes it.

Elections

Republican billionaire businessman Donald J. Trump stunned the nation and the world with a historic victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton Tuesday, winning Wisconsin and other traditionally Democratic states in a historic triumph. Wednesday, November 9, 2016 All three seats on the Lac du Flambeau Town Board are up for reelection come April 4. The League of Women Voters of the Northwoods and Citizens for Education in Town Governance sponsored a public forum Tuesday, allowing citizens to meet the candidates running and ask questions relevant to town governance.

Elections

Republican billionaire businessman Donald J. Trump stunned the nation and the world with a historic victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton Tuesday, winning Wisconsin and other traditionally Democratic states in a historic triumph. Wednesday, November 9, 2016 Green Party candidate Jill Stein wants a recount of the presidential vote in Wisconsin, and she’s going to get one – though not the one she wanted – after paying almost $3.5 million to the state.

Congress ushers in new era of all-Republican rule

Congress ushers in a new era of all-Republican rule. On Tuesday at noon, with plenty of pomp and pageantry, members of the 115th Congress will be sworn in, with an emboldened GOP intent on unraveling eight years of President Barack Obama’s Democratic agenda and targeting massive legacy programs from Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson such as Social Security and Medicare.

Governor names new leader for wildlife and fisheries agency

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards has named a new secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries after its former leader called it “a troubled state agency” and resigned abruptly. Edwards on Friday announced that State Rep. Jack Montoucet will be the agency’s new secretary effective Jan. 16, replacing Charlie Melancon.