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U.S. House Dems pass $28.6B in disaster aid for recovery from hurricanes, wildfires, floods
WASHINGTON — Congressional Democrats unveiled a short-term spending measure on Tuesday that would keep the federal government operating through Dec. 3 and provide $28.6 billion for costs related to recent natural disasters. The bill was passed by the House on a party-line vote Tuesday night, 220-211. But it faces a battle in the evenly divided Senate, […]
U.S. Supreme Court schedules Dec. 1 oral arguments in major abortion case
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Dec. 1 in a case that threatens to overturn decades of abortion protections established under the landmark 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade. The upcoming case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, stems from a Mississippi law that bans most abortions after 15 weeks. It has been […]
How House Democrats would expand Medicare and Medicaid and lower prescription drug costs
WASHINGTON — New Medicare benefits for older Americans, like dental care. An expansion of eligibility for Medicaid for low-income people in Republican-controlled states that have declined to take that step. And potentially an historic effort to rein in prescription drug prices — if congressional Democrats can work through objections from moderates in their party. The massive […]
Billions in federal rental aid remains stalled in Georgia, other slow-moving states
WASHINGTON — Make it simpler to apply for rental assistance money. Allow landlords to apply on behalf of unresponsive tenants. And consolidate two overlapping federal programs aimed at getting financial help to struggling renters. Those are among the proposals that U.S. House members are weighing to better help states and local governments that have moved far […]
Kemp vows fight after Biden plans to mandate COVID vaccines, tests for U.S. workers
Gov. Brian Kemp quickly vowed to go to court and other Georgia Republicans responded with angry charges of government overreach after President Joe Biden outlined a plan of expansive new federal vaccine requirements to attack the surge of COVID-19. More than 80 million employees of private businesses in the U.S. will be required to get […]
Biden to require COVID-19 vaccines for federal employees and contractors, reports say
WASHINGTON — Federal employees will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 with no opt-out for testing under an executive order that President Joe Biden is expected to sign Thursday, according to several news outlets. The new requirement will be rolled out as Biden gives a major address Thursday afternoon on new national strategies for combating […]
White House seeks at least $24B to aid states struck by hurricanes, wildfires
WASHINGTON — The White House is urging Congress to approve at least $24 billion — and likely more — for disaster relief costs, saying that the aid should be included in a short-term spending bill expected this month. That tally includes $14 billion for recovery costs related to extreme weather events including hurricanes, floods and wildfires during the last […]
Federal civil rights investigations launched for five states banning school mask mandates
WASHINGTON — Federal education officials have launched civil rights investigations in five Republican-led states that have prohibited school districts from mandating mask-wearing, saying those policies could amount to illegal discrimination against students with disabilities. The Biden administration notified the education chiefs in Iowa, Tennessee, South Carolina, Utah and Oklahoma of the investigations through formal letters Monday. The new investigations will examine whether “students […]
Supreme Court rejection of eviction ban increases pressure to dole out rental aid money
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court’s rejection of the Biden administration’s last-ditch effort to extend a federal ban on evictions has put hundreds of thousands of American renters at risk of losing their housing — and is increasing pressure on states and localities to get rental assistance dollars distributed faster. In an eight-page majority opinion […]
House Dems advance budget resolution, overcoming infrastructure vote standoff
This story was updated at 8 p.m. Tuesday with a comment from Congresswoman Carolyn Bourdeaux. WASHINGTON — Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday muscled through a $3.5 trillion budget framework, overcoming a standoff with a handful of centrists who had demanded the House first approve the bipartisan $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill passed by the […]
FDA grants full approval to Pfizer’s COVID shot, more vaccine mandates predicted
The full federal approval of Pfizer-BioNTech’s two-dose vaccine marks a new chapter in the battle against COVID-19. In Georgia, where vaccination rates are low and resistance is high, experts are hoping it will sway on-the-fence residents into taking their medicine and, if not, spur employers into requiring them to. The green light from the U.S. […]
Biden vaccine mandate for senior homes prompts warnings of ‘dire’ Georgia nurse shortage
WASHINGTON — Nursing homes will be required to ensure their staffers are vaccinated against COVID-19, or risk losing federal Medicare and Medicaid dollars, the Biden administration announced Wednesday in a major move on vaccinations as the delta variant sweeps many states. Under the new nursing home policy, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services […]