Policy

Republicans and Democrats alike on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee tried repeatedly with little success to elicit opinions from the White House’s nominee to lead the Food and Drug Administration, Heidi Overton, on health policy or a pledge to assert the agency’s independence. Throughout the hearing Thursday, Overton told senators she would “follow statutory guidelines” […]

Senators of both parties expressed alarm Wednesday about the use of artificial intelligence-powered surveillance cameras and automated license plate readers. The bipartisan concerns were aired at a hearing held by the Senate Judiciary Committee’s panel on Crime and Counterterrorism, though Garrett Langley, the CEO of Flock Safety, which has drawn intense criticism around privacy rights, […]

Senate negotiators expressed optimism over negotiations on legislation to overhaul the federal environmental permitting system, even as text remains elusive in what could be the final week in session before the midterm elections. This was expected to be a make-or-break week for a bill to streamline the process for greenlighting infrastructure projects, from new oil refineries to offshore […]

Amid industry and government calls for a pause on the most advanced artificial intelligence development, leading progressives are drawing a line in the sand on one type of AI. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, who chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus, unveiled legislation Wednesday that would ban AI “superintelligence” that exceeds human […]

A diesel export ban is gaining steam as a possible lever the White House can pull, without the need for congressional action, to help contain skyrocketing prices that are causing economic shock waves and becoming a midterm campaign headache for Republicans. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he personally supports the idea but that “it’s […]

The White House is working with Senate leadership to get health care fraud legislation over the finish line before the end of the congressional session, Vice President JD Vance said Tuesday during an announcement about cracking down on health care fraud. As part of that announcement, Vance said the Trump administration has removed about 760,000 enrollees […]

Among the thousands of victims of contaminated drinking water at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune was a woman with the ironic name of Mary Freshwater, who was raising her family at the North Carolina base in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when toxins in the water were at their peak. Freshwater had two healthy […]

High-profile legislation amounting to lawmakers’ first real stab at addressing voter anger over data centers stalled in the Senate on Thursday after securing overwhelming support in the House a day earlier. Senate Energy and Natural Resources ranking member Martin Heinrich objected to a unanimous consent request by Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, to clear the bill, […]

Surgeon general nominee Nicole Saphier, seeking to be confirmed as the nation’s top health educator and spokesperson, on Wednesday declined to fully distance herself from the Trump administration’s changes to the childhood vaccine schedule when pressed by a prominent Republican. During a hearing of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, outgoing Chairman Bill Cassidy, R-La., […]

Members of House Democrats’ Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition and its affiliated nonprofit released a set of policies on Tuesday to serve as a template to address both economic and climate concerns in the next Congress should their party make big midterm gains. The SEEC Institute’s Thriving Economy Project is presented as a “a policy […]