Page 7 - Us Congress

US Congressional leaders ready stopgap bill to extend govt funding

Another extension has moved into focus as Congress appears on track to miss two staggered deadlines - January19 for passage of four of the 12 annual government-funding bills and February 2 for others

US Congressional leaders ready stopgap bill to extend govt funding to March

Congressional leaders are preparing a stopgap bill to keep the federal government running into March and avoid a partial shutdown next week. The temporary measure will run to March 1 for some federal agencies whose approved funds are set to run out on Friday and extend the remainder of government operations to March 8. That's according to a person familiar with the situation and granted anonymity to discuss it. The stopgap bill, expected to be released on Sunday, would come as House Speaker Mike Johnson has been under pressure from his hard-right flank in recent days to jettison a recent bipartisan spending deal with Senate Democrats. The bill would need Democratic support to pass the narrowly divided House. Johnson insisted on Friday that he is sticking with the deal he struck with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, despite pressure from some conservatives to renegotiate. Moderates in the party had urged him to stay the course. Still, in his first big test as the new leader, h

US Congress leaders announce agreement on spending levels to avert shutdown

Congressional leaders have reached an agreement on topline spending levels for the current fiscal year that could help avoid a partial government shutdown later this month. The agreement largely hues to spending caps for defense and domestic programmes that Congress set as part of a bill to suspend the debt limit until 2025. But it does provide some concessions to House Republicans who viewed the spending restrictions in that agreement as insufficient. In a letter to colleagues, House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday it will secure USD 16 billion in additional spending cuts from the previous agreement brokered by then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy and President Joe Biden and is about USD 30 billion less than what the Senate was considering. This represents the most favourable budget agreement Republicans have achieved in over a decade, Johnson writes. Biden said the agreement moves us one step closer to preventing a needless government shutdown and protecting important national ...

2023: Battle lines drawn in Indian politics and beyond - a year review

The Opposition bloc taking shape after a Congress push, BJP's sweep in the Hindi heartland, and suspension of MPs protesting over Parliament security breach set the stage for an intense 2024 showdown

US Congress bars Pentagon from utilising Chinese port logistics platform

The US Congress has approved a measure prohibiting the Pentagon from using any seaport worldwide reliant on the Chinese logistics platform LOGINK, the Voice of America (VOA) reported

Probe China's role in violence against protesters on US soil: Congress

A congressional commission is asking the Justice Department to investigate the role of Beijing after protesters claimed they were beaten and harassed by Chinese government agents in November in San Francisco during an official visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping. The protesters, who were defending the rights of Hong Kong, Tibet and ethnic Uyghurs, said their attackers' attire, coordination and strong reaction to anti-Communist Party rhetoric indicated official Chinese involvement. They provided no definitive evidence, but US officials have previously accused Chinese operatives of targeting people in the United States. Rep. Chris Smith, a New Jersey Republican who chairs the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, said Tuesday it was demanding a thorough investigation to find out why all of these wonderful people who were peacefully protesting were hit with poles, have scars that now you know will not go away. The Chinese Embassy denied any involvement and instead accused the

Biden invites Zelenskyy amid a stepped-up push for Congress to approve aid

President Joe Biden has invited Ukraine's leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to the White House on Tuesday as the US administration steps up the pressure on Congress to provide billions more in aid to Kyiv in the war with Russia. The visit is intended "to underscore the United States' unshakeable commitment to supporting the people of Ukraine as they defend themselves against Russia's brutal invasion," the White House said in a statement Sunday. As Russia ramps up its missile and drone strikes against Ukraine, the leaders will discuss Ukraine's urgent needs and the vital importance of the United States' continued support at this critical moment." Biden has asked Congress for a USD 110 billion package of wartime funding for Ukraine (USD61.4 billion) and Israel, along with other national security priorities. But the request is caught up in a debate over US immigration policy and border security. Earlier, Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday defended the emergency sale to Israel of .

Top US Congressmen introduce legislation to reduce green card backlog

Three influential Congressmen, including Indian-Americans Raja Krishnamoorthi and Pramila Jayapal, have introduced bipartisan legislation in the US House of Representatives to reduce green card backlog and end country-based discrimination for employment-based visas. Both the moves, if passed and signed into law, would help thousands of Indian-Americans who are currently in decades-long wait for green cards or permanent residency. Congressman Rich McCormick is the third lawmaker to have joined the two Indian-Americans in introducing the bill on Monday. HR 6542, the bipartisan Immigration Visa Efficiency and Security Act of 2023, would strengthen the US economy and boost its international competitiveness while reducing the green card backlog by allowing American employers to focus on hiring immigrants based on their merit, not their birthplace, a press statement said. The bill would phase out the existing seven per cent per-country limit on employment-based immigrant visas while ...

US nearly out of funds for Ukraine aid, White House warns Congress

The Biden administration on Monday sent Congress an urgent warning about the need to approve tens of billions of dollars in military and economic assistance to Ukraine, saying Kyiv's war effort to defend itself from Russia's invasion may grind to a halt without it. In a letter to House and Senate leaders and also released publicly, Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young warned the US will run out of funding to send weapons and assistance to Ukraine by the end of the year, saying that would kneecap Ukraine on the battlefield. She added that the US already has run out of money that it has used to prop up Ukraine's economy, and if Ukraine's economy collapses, they will not be able to keep fighting, full stop. We are out of money and nearly out of time, she wrote. Biden has sought a nearly USD 106 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel and other needs, but it has faced a difficult reception on Capitol Hill, where there is growing scepticism about the magnitude of ...

US House Committee approves 'Resolve Tibet Act' for Tibet-China dispute

The Resolve Tibet Act states that Tibetans "are a people with a distinct religious, cultural, linguistic and historical identity," as per the ICT

US lawmakers move to force a vote on expelling Rep. Santos from House

House lawmakers from both parties moved on Tuesday to force a vote this week on the expulsion of Rep. George Santos, a Republican from New York who was the subject of a scathing ethics investigation released earlier this month and is facing nearly two dozen charges in federal court. Santos responded to the competing expulsion resolutions by taking to the House floor and asking colleagues to understand what kind of precedent it would set for him to be removed before federal charges against him are resolved. He made clear he would not be resigning beforehand. This expulsion vote simply undermines and underscores the precedent that we've had in this chamber, Santos said. It starts and puts us in a new direction, a dangerous one. Santos has survived two prior expulsion votes. But a report released by the House Ethics Committee following a monthslong investigation has prompted new outrage. The report released November 16 was unsparing in its criticism, concluding that Santos sought to ..

High-stake face-off; Hunter Biden to testify publicly before Congress

Hunter Biden has offered to testify publicly before Congress, striking a defiant note in response to a subpoena from Republicans and setting up a potential high-stakes face-off even as a separate special counsel probe unfolds and his father, President Joe Biden, campaigns for reelection. The Democratic president's son on Tuesday slammed the subpoena's request for closed-door testimony, saying it can be manipulated. But Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, stood firm, saying Republicans expect "full cooperation" with their original demand for a deposition. Hunter Biden's lawyer called the inquiry a "fishing expedition", a response in line with the more forceful legal approach he's taken in recent months as congressional Republicans pursue an impeachment inquiry seeking to tie his father to his business dealings. The early-November subpoenas to Hunter Biden and others from Comer were the inquiry's most aggressive step yet, testing the reach of .

US Congress approves temporary funding, averts government shutdown

Ending the threat of a government shutdown until after the holidays, Congress gave final approval Wednesday night to a temporary government funding package that pushes a confrontation over the federal budget into the new year. The Senate met into the night to pass the bill with an overwhelming 87-11 tally and send it to President Joe Biden for his signature one day after it passed the House on an overwhelming bipartisan vote. It provides a funding patch into next year, when the House and Senate will be forced to confront and somehow overcome their considerable differences over what funding levels should be. In the meantime, the bill removes the threat of a government shutdown days before funding would have expired. This Friday night there will be no government shutdown, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a floor speech ahead of the final vote. The spending package keeps government funding at current levels for roughly two more months while a long-term package is ...

Biden's Cabinet will push Congress to send aid to Israel and Ukraine

Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken will make the case Tuesday that the United States should immediately send aid to Israel and Ukraine, testifying at a Senate hearing as the administration's massive $105 billion emergency aid request for conflicts in those countries and others has already hit roadblocks in the divided Congress. President Joe Biden's Cabinet secretaries will be advocating for the foreign aid to a mostly friendly audience in the Senate, where majority Democrats and many Republicans support tying aid for the two countries together. But it faces much deeper problems in the Republican-led House, where new Speaker Mike Johnson has proposed cutting out the Ukraine aid and focusing on Israel alone, and cutting money for the Internal Revenue Service to pay for it. The drastically narrowed House proposal, which would cost more than $14 billion, faced immediate resistance among Senate Democrats -- and put pressure on Senate Republicans who ...

'Will introduce resolution to recognise significance of Diwali in US'

Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi on Thursday announced his plans to introduce a Diwali resolution in the US House of Representatives to recognise the festival of lights. For Sikhs, Jains, and Hindus across the world and here in the United States, Diwali is a festival for gratitude as well as a celebration of the triumph of light over darkness and good over evil, Krishnamoorthi said in a statement. Each year, Diwali is celebrated by millions of Americans of Indian descent, as well as hundreds of millions more people across the world. This year, the festival will be celebrated on Sunday, November 12. I am proud to announce that I am reintroducing a bipartisan resolution to recognise the enormous religious, cultural, and historical significance of Diwali, he said. I hope my colleagues from both parties will join me in this effort and in wishing a safe and happy Diwali to all the families that will be gathering with their loved ones to light lamps and to pray for good ..

IMF expects continuing US support for Ukraine despite Congress dropping aid

Officials from the International Monetary Fund say they expect the United States will continue playing its key role in amassing multinational support that has helped keep Ukraine's economy afloat during Russia's invasion. That's despite Congress recently passing a short-term funding package that averted a US government shutdown but dropped USD 6 billion in aid to Ukraine. It's not clear if, when, or how that aid instalment might be restored. The US has already sent or committed USD 69.5 billion in military, financial, and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, according to the Institute for the World Economy in Kiel, Germany. President Biden has made an announcement ... that he is fully committed to supporting Ukraine," Uma Ramakrishnan, IMF European department deputy director, said at a news conference Wednesday in Kyiv. And so from our standpoint, the baseline assumption remains that the US remains committed." She added that it is premature for us to comment on what will materialize or no

Biden suggests he has path around Congress to get more aid to Ukraine

Facing a likely roadblock from House Republicans on aid for Ukraine, President Joe Biden said on Wednesday he's planning to give a major speech on the issue and suggested there may be another means to provide support for Kyiv if Congress continues to balk. I'm going to be announcing very shortly a major speech I'm going to make on this issue and why it's critically important for the United States and our allies that we keep our commitment to Ukraine, Biden told reporters after giving unrelated remarks at the White House. White House officials declined to say when Biden planned to give his speech. The president did not elaborate on the alternate method he was looking at to get additional military aid to Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia. There is another means by which we may be able to find funding, but I'm not going to get into that right now, he said. Aid for Ukraine has been a source of tension and uncertainty as several Republicans in the House have severe doubts or openly

Structural shift

Fiscal conditions in the US will affect capital flows

Pentagon warns Congress, says it is running low on money to replace weapons

The Pentagon is warning Congress that it is running low on money to replace weapons the US has sent to Ukraine and has already been forced to slow down resupplying some troops, according to a letter sent to congressional leaders. The letter urges Congress to replenish funding for Ukraine. Congress averted a government shutdown by passing a short-term funding bill over the weekend, but the measure dropped all assistance for Ukraine in the battle against Russia. Pentagon Comptroller Michael McCord told House and Senate leaders there is USD 1.6 billion left of the USD 25.9 billion Congress provided to replenish US military stocks that have been flowing to Ukraine. The weapons include millions of rounds of artillery, rockets, and missiles critical to Ukraine's counteroffensive aimed at taking back territory gained by Russia in the war. In addition, the US has about USD 5.4 billion left to provide weapons and equipment from its stockpiles. The US would have already run out of that fund

US averts govt shutdown hours before deadline, passing stopgap bill

"The American people can breathe a sigh of relief: there will be no government shutdown tonight," Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said after the vote