ROSA DELAURO

The Senate has passed a stopgap spending bill that avoids a short-term shutdown and funds the federal government through Feb. 18 after leaders defused a partisan standoff over federal vaccine mandates.

President Joe Biden has signed into law the stopgap spending bill that will keep the federal government running through Feb. 18.

he Senate passed a stopgap spending bill Thursday that avoids a short-term shutdown and funds the federal government through Feb. 18.

The Senate passed a stopgap spending bill Thursday that avoids a short-term shutdown and funds the federal government through Feb. 18.

The House passed a bill Thursday that funds the government through Feb. 18 and avoids a short-term shutdown after midnight Friday.

The House passed a bill Thursday that funds the government through Feb. 18 and avoids a short-term shutdown after midnight Friday.

The measure now heads to the Senate, where prospects for quick passage are in doubt ahead of a Friday deadline. A few Republicans have said they'd object to fast-tracking the bill.

The bill funds the government through February 18, and includes $7 billion to held resettle Afghan refugees.

The House Appropriations Committee reached agreement on the spending bill, but some hurdles remain.

The House Appropriations Committee reached agreement on the spending bill, but some hurdles remain.

The House struck a deal to prevent a government shutdown, but the funding bill could face opposition in the Senate.

Women — and some men — in Congress have been fighting for government child care assistance for almost 80 years.

Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, who was elected in 1992 as a self described “mom in tennis shoes,” has been fighting for paid family and medical leave for decades.

President Joe Biden and leading Democratic lawmakers, including Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet and Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, have been fighting to make permanent a child tax credit that would give families at least $300 a month per child.

This month, the Treasury Department distributed more than $15 billion in payments to families of 61 million children.

The president floated a briefer extension of child tax credits, but some senior Democrats are calling it a "missed opportunity" to support families.

The House has overwhelming passed legislation to provide funding for Israel’s missile defense system.

President Joe Biden has met with Democrats from the House and Senate as Congress works to bridge party divisions over his big $3.5 trillion “build back better” agenda.

The government faces a shutdown if it can't pass more funding by the end of the month.

The House has approved legislation to fund the government, suspend its borrowing limit and provide federal disaster and refugee aid.

A bipartisan proposal in the U.S. House would ban the farming of mink fur in the United States in an effort to stem possible mutations of the coronavirus.

Dan Riffle's tweet was in response to a letter, led by Ocasio-Cortez, calling for a budget increase among House offices in order to pay staffers more.

Earmarks were banished from Congress over a decade ago, but the funding for lawmakers' pet projects is marking a sudden return.

By a razor-thin margin, the House approved $1.9B to bolster U.S. Capitol security, but Senate Republicans called for a "pause" to study details.

The House has narrowly approved $1.9 billion to fortify the Capitol after the Jan. 6 insurrection.

The head of the House Appropriations Committee proposes $1.9 billion in emergency spending to beef up Capitol security after the Jan. 6 riot.

The Capitol Police force was hurt by inadequate intelligence gathering ahead of the Jan. 6 siege at the U.S. Capitol.

President Joe Biden couldn’t get everything he wanted into his own $1.8 trillion families plan.

The House passed the Paycheck Fairness Act on Thursday, which aims to decrease the gender wage gap.

House Republicans narrowly voted Wednesday, March 17, to allow their members to seek earmarks under certain conditions, making a clean break from a decade-long ban against seeking money for specific projects back home. McCarthy said some Republicans were concerned about letting President Joe Biden's administration decide where federal dollars would go on transportation and elsewhere. Scott Applewhite, File)WASHINGTON – House Republicans narrowly voted Wednesday to allow their members to seek earmarks under certain conditions, making a clean break from a decade-long ban against seeking money for specific projects back home. The 102-84 vote changes the party's internal rules and allows Republicans to join the Democratic House majority as it puts in place a new process for earmarks in spending and transportation bills. That frustration spurred Democratic appropriators to revive earmarking, announcing they will accept public requests for “community project funding” in federal spending bills.

A dirty word for many Republicans is making the rounds on Capitol Hill -- earmarks. It's a question that's vexing Republicans as they consider whether to join a Democratic push to revive earmarks, the much-maligned practice where lawmakers direct federal spending to a specific project or institution back home. Democratic appropriators in the House see a solution and are proposing a revamped process allowing lawmakers to submit public requests for “community project funding” in federal spending bills. The ranking Republican on the committee, Rep. Sam Graves of Missouri, said earmarks would not increase the amount of money spent in a bill. “That’s something I feel pretty strongly about.”Norman worries that earmarks would be used to entice Republicans to vote for bills with expensive price tags.

(Senate Television via AP)WASHINGTON – The massive coronavirus relief plan making its way to President Joe Biden’s desk includes a plan to temporarily raise the child tax credit that could end up permanently changing the way the country deals with child poverty. The American Rescue Plan, expected to receive final approval this week, temporarily raises the child tax credit, now at a maximum of $2,000, to as much as $3,600 per child annually. Indeed, Biden himself told House Democrats during a private call last week that he supports legislation that would permanently increase the child tax credit to $3,000 per child. That's the case made by some Republican lawmakers in offering an alternative to the Biden proposal. Because the benefit currently expires after a year, the Biden plan essentially creates a potential fiscal cliff for child poverty.

(Senate Television via AP)WASHINGTON – The massive coronavirus relief plan making its way to President Joe Biden’s desk includes a plan to temporarily raise the child tax credit that could end up permanently changing the way the country deals with child poverty. The American Rescue Plan, expected to receive final approval this week, temporarily raises the child tax credit, now at a maximum of $2,000, to as much as $3,600 per child annually. Indeed, Biden himself told House Democrats during a private call last week that he supports legislation that would permanently increase the child tax credit to $3,000 per child. That's the case made by some Republican lawmakers in offering an alternative to the Biden proposal. Because the benefit currently expires after a year, the Biden plan essentially creates a potential fiscal cliff for child poverty.

Less than three weeks into his presidency, Biden has declared that vanquishing the virus and resuscitating the economy are his top priorities. AdHouse Education and Labor Committee Democrats also previewed their plans Monday. Couples who make up to $150,000 would be entitled to $2,800 relief payments, which would gradually diminish and fully disappear for those earning $200,000. Biden has said he will not allow the per-person payments to fall below $1,400 but has indicated flexibility on the income thresholds. A federal law known as COBRA already allows them to temporarily keep their old employer’s health plan, but they typically have to pay prohibitively high premiums.

The price needs to be weighed against the heavy cost that child poverty imposes on society, said Hilary Hoynes, a UC Berkeley economist and expert on poverty. AdvertisementCutting child poverty would create additional “benefits to society, and the benefits can be quite large,” Hoynes said. Plans for expanded child payments have had bipartisan support — at least in theory. In a Senate speech last week, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) cited child payments as an issue on which Republicans and the administration might cooperate. “The expansion of the child tax credit will be permanent.”

This undated image provided by the United States Capitol Police shows U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who died Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021, of injuries sustained during the riot at the Capitol. One Capitol Police officer, Brian Sicknick, died Thursday night from injuries suffered during the riot. Another disturbing video shows a bloodied police officer screaming for help as he’s crushed by protesters inside the Capitol building. Still, the riot — and Sicknick's death — focused renewed attention on Capitol Police, a force of more than 2,300 officers and civilian employees that protects the Capitol, lawmakers, staff and visitors. Capitol Police turned them down both times, according to senior defense officials and two people familiar with the matter.

WASHINGTON – House Democrats on Thursday elected Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., to chair the Appropriations Committee by a vote of 148-79 over Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., of Weston. Maloney will lead the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which helps recruit House candidates, raises money and provides campaign guidance. Rep. Gregory Meeks, 67, of New York was chosen chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee while Georgia Rep. David Scott, 75, was elected Agriculture Committee chairman. At the Agriculture panel, Scott replaces Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., who lost his House reelection after 15 House terms. Democrats went into November’s elections with a 232-197 House majority, along with an independent and five vacancies.

A vote by the 222 members of the House Democratic majority is likely in the first few days in December. DeLauro and Kaptur both have more seniority than Wasserman Schultz, who is finishing her eighth term. Wasserman Schultz has support from leading members of the Congressional Black Caucus and moderate Democrats. On the political front, Wasserman Schultz has helped other Democratic House candidates with political fundraising. Wasserman Schultz said by email she is working to win the race.

U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, left, and U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, gesturing, after touring the Homestead Temporary Shelter for Unaccompanied Children on July 15, 2019. The two are leaders of the House Appropriations Committee and are vying to become chairwoman of the powerful committee in the next Congress. Majority party Democrats are expected to vote during the first week of December 2020. (Lynne Sladky / AP)

Trump initially requested $2.5 billion, with much of that coming from previously appropriated funds. New York states confirmed coronavirus cases have doubled to 22, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Thursday. Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell said the legislation will provide $11.5 million to help her states health department respond to the crisis. The money to fight coronavirus includes over $3 billion for research and development of vaccines, test kits and medical treatments. Besides dispatching money throughout the United States, the bill approved by Congress also would provide for low-interest federal loans to businesses affected by a coronavirus outbreak.

A man in a face mask rides the subway in Manhattan, New York City, after further cases of coronavirus were confirmed in New York, U.S., March 5, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew KellyA Senate vote would follow House passage of the legislation on Wednesday, 415-2. The money to fight coronavirus includes over $3 billion for research and development of vaccines, test kits and medical treatments. Another $2.2 billion would aid public health activities on prevention, preparedness and response to outbreaks. The funding bill moving through Congress also would provide for low-interest federal loans to businesses affected by a coronavirus outbreak.

The GOALS Act would block federal funding for the 2026 Men's World Cup which will be hosted, jointly, by Canada, Mexico and the U.S. until the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) pays the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (USWNT) "fair and equitable wages." The World Cup is over, but the fight for equal compensation on the field continues. Earlier in July, West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin introduced a bill that would ban federal funding for the 2026 Men's World Cup until the USSF pays the women's and men's team equitably. U.S. viewership of the 2019 Women's World Cup final was 22% higher than the 2018 men's final, according to a statement from Fox Sports. The USWNT's lawsuit states that the Women's National Team Player's Association (WNTPA) has proposed a revenue-sharing model, describing a proposal that would tie player compensation to revenue generated by the women's national team for USSF, which the men's national team supports.