INSIDER
Santos should consider resigning, veteran GOP lawmaker says
Read full article: Santos should consider resigning, veteran GOP lawmaker saysEven as the House GOP leadership keeps silent, a veteran Republican lawmaker says George Santos should consider resigning after the congressman-elect from New York admitted to lying about his heritage, education and professional career.
Student loan forgiveness could help more than 40 million
Read full article: Student loan forgiveness could help more than 40 millionMore than 40 million Americans could see their student loan debt reduced โ and in many cases eliminated โ under President Joe Bidenโs long-awaited forgiveness plan.
Yellen's global tax plan meets resistance abroad and at home
Read full article: Yellen's global tax plan meets resistance abroad and at homeLast July, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen celebrated it as a โhistoric dayโ when more than 100 nations agreed to a global minimum tax deal meant to reform and equalize the worldโs economy.
Leak of billionaires' tax data draws GOP outcry over privacy
Read full article: Leak of billionaires' tax data draws GOP outcry over privacyRepublicans in Congress are alarmed by the leak of confidential IRS data to ProPublica that has enabled the investigative news organization to reveal that famous billionaires including Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg paid little in U.S. income tax at times.
Fraud overwhelms pandemic-related unemployment programs
Read full article: Fraud overwhelms pandemic-related unemployment programsFraud perpetrators, sometimes in China, Nigeria or Russia, buy stolen personal identifying information on the dark web and use it to flood state unemployment systems with bogus claims. In Ohio, weekly first-time unemployment claims have ranged from 17,000 to more than 40,000 during the pandemic. In July, officials said theyโd discovered a massive criminal enterprise that had stolen more than $500 million in unemployment benefits. Nearly 800,000 of the 1.4 million claims Ohio has received through this program have been tagged for potential fraud. President Joe Biden's administration is pledging to cut down on unemployment fraud even as it tries to extend benefits through September.
Democrats pushing Biden's COVID-19 bill through House panels
Read full article: Democrats pushing Biden's COVID-19 bill through House panelsRepublicans are attacking the Democrats $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package as too costly, economically damaging and overtly partisan. Weโre very proud of that,โ House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told reporters when asked if the overall House bill would include the minimum wage increase. Democratic leaders hope for House passage later this month, with Senate approval and a bill on Bidenโs desk by mid-March. Republicansโ amendments spotlighted what they see as political soft spots they can exploit. And while the GOP amendments were beaten back, they forced Democrats to take positions that could tee up GOP campaign ads for the 2022 elections.
Dems attempt to push through school funding, wage increase
Read full article: Dems attempt to push through school funding, wage increaseThe plan faces opposition from Republicans who want to tie new school funding to reopening. Biden's plan for $130 billion in school funding is in addition to more than $8 billion from previous relief packages. Stop ruining their futures and stop playing games.โScott countered that schools can't make changes needed to reopen safely unless they get the funding in Biden's plan. AdRepublicans also signaled a fight over standardized testing, backing a proposed change to prevent relief funding from being used on academic assessments. The $350 billion portion of the bill before the committee also includes Biden's plan to raise the minimum wage from $7.25, where is has been since 2009.
Trump's $2,000 checks stall in Senate as GOP blocks vote
Read full article: Trump's $2,000 checks stall in Senate as GOP blocks voteโThereโs one question left today: Do Senate Republicans join with the rest of America in supporting $2,000 checks?โ Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said as he made a motion to vote. The showdown over the $2,000 checks has thrown Congress into a chaotic year-end session just days before new lawmakers are set to be sworn into office for the new year. Saying little, McConnell signaled an alternative approach to Trump's checks that may not divide his party so badly, but may result in no action at all. For now, the $600 checks are set to be delivered, along with other aid, among the largest rescue packages of its kind. Biden supports the $2,000 checks and said Tuesday the aid package is merely a โdown paymentโ on what he plans to deliver once in office.
House approves Trump's $2K checks, sending to GOP-led Senate
Read full article: House approves Trump's $2K checks, sending to GOP-led SenateWhile Democrats favored bigger checks, Congress had settled on smaller $600 payments in a compromise over the big year-end relief bill Trump reluctantly signed into law. The vote was a stunning turn of events from just days ago, when House Republicans blocked Trump's demands during a Christmas Eve session. After the robust House vote, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer warned, โThere is no good reason for Senate Republicans to stand in the way.โโThereโs strong support for these $2,000 emergency checks from every corner of the country," Schumer said in a statement. The bipartisan bill negotiated by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had already passed the House and Senate by wide margins. Most House Republicans simply shrugged off Trump's push, 130 of them voting to reject the higher checks that would pile $467 billion in additional costs.
Trump ally McCarthy is reelected leader of House Republicans
Read full article: Trump ally McCarthy is reelected leader of House RepublicansHouse Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., talks about House Republicans and the election, during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020. House Republicans are โthe most united and energizedโ he's ever seen after their โhistoric political upset." McCarthy and his team are now among the remaining leaders from the tea party era, when House Republicans last controlled Congress. In the Trump era, House Republicansโ role receded as the White House often dominated the discussion and Republicans held the majority in the Senate. The House Republicans had to seek a waiver from the District of Columbia, which has restrictions on large gatherings.
Trump ally McCarthy is reelected leader of House Republicans
Read full article: Trump ally McCarthy is reelected leader of House RepublicansHouse Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., talks about House Republicans and the election, during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020. House Republicans are โthe most united and energizedโ he's ever seen after their โhistoric political upset." McCarthy and his team are now among the remaining leaders from the tea party era, when House Republicans last controlled Congress. In the Trump era, House Republicansโ role receded as the White House often dominated the discussion and Republicans held the majority in the Senate. The House Republicans had to seek a waiver from the District of Columbia, which has restrictions on large gatherings.
Audit likely gave congressional staff glimpse of Trump taxes
Read full article: Audit likely gave congressional staff glimpse of Trump taxesWhen JCT staffers disagree with the IRS on a decision, the review is typically kept open until the matter is resolved. Even acknowledging that Trump's taxes were before the panel is verboten. Representatives for the Trump Organization did not respond to messages seeking comment and confirmation that the Joint Tax Committee had reviewed Trump's taxes. Former JCT staffers would not comment on whether they remembered the dispute with Trump, citing confidentiality rules. Neal, the lead force behind a Democratic lawsuit to expose Trumpโs taxes, said the Timesโ reporting is proof that the documents should be given to Congress.
Congress shifts attention to overhauling small-business aid
Read full article: Congress shifts attention to overhauling small-business aidLawmakers are wrestling over whether to go big as Pelosi wants for the next relief bill or hit pause as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell insists. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)WASHINGTON Deadlocked over the next big coronavirus relief bill, Congress is shifting its attention to a more modest overhaul of small-business aid in hopes of helping employers reopen shops and survive the pandemic. Yet absent from the agenda is formal talks between congressional leaders on the next phase of the federal coronavirus response. Democrats have already pushed a $3 trillion-plus measure through the House, but negotiations with the GOP-controlled Senate and White House have yet to begin. Its something were looking at very carefully, said White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow.
GOP weighs jobless aid cuts as layoffs surpass 38 million
Read full article: GOP weighs jobless aid cuts as layoffs surpass 38 millionPresident Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell huddled at the White House to discuss the issues. The flurry of activity comes after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushed a new $3 trillion aid package through the House last week. The Senate, under McConnell, says there is no urgency to act, and senators are expected to reconsider more aid only in June. With the nation's death toll poised to hit 100,000 and layoffs surpassing 38 million, some lawmakers see a failure by Washington to act as untenable. He said conversations were happening at the highest levels at the White House.
GOP weighs jobless aid cuts to urge Americans back to work
Read full article: GOP weighs jobless aid cuts to urge Americans back to workRevamping jobless aid is fast becoming the focus of debate over the next virus aid package. The flurry of activity comes after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushed a new $3 trillion aid package through the House last week. The Senate, under McConnell, says there is no urgency to act, and senators are expected to reconsider more aid only in June. At least one Republican, Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado, was trying to prevent the Senate from recessing unless it considered more aid. "He has the zeroes bill.Unemployment insurance, though, was quickly becoming a new priority for Republicans staking out the next aid package.