Page 11 - Us Senate

US Senator freezes during press conference, returns to say "I'm fine"

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell froze up during a press conference and was escorted back to his office by his colleagues in the Republican leadership

US may ban lawmakers from trading on Street, new poll shows public support

The bill from Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D, NY) and Josh Hawley (R, Mo) is the latest in a series of measures to be introduced in Congress in response to WSJ's Capital Asset series last year

Members of India Caucus bring bipartisan legislation to push weapons sales

Members of the powerful India Caucus have introduced bipartisan legislation aimed at providing India access to the weapons it needs to defend itself and boost its security goals with the US in the strategic Indo-Pacific region. Indian-American Democratic Congressmen Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ro Khanna and Marc Veasey joined Republican Congressmen Andy Barr and Mike Waltz in introducing the legislation that will allow weapon sales to India from the US to be fast-tracked and deepen the US-India defence ties. Companion legislation has also been introduced by Democratic Senator Mark Warner and Republican Senator John Cornyn in the US Senate, a statement issued by Krishnamoorthi's office said. Barr's office said in a statement that this legislation would place India on equal footing with other U.S. partners and allies by streamlining and accelerating the review and sales process for Foreign Military Sales (FMS) and exports under the Arms Export Control Act. It subjects Indian FMS to the same

Investors relieved as US House passes debt ceiling Bill; Senate in focus

Asian markets were trading higher when the bill cleared the house and held their gains. Investors nudged S&P 500 futures from slightly negative back to flat. Treasury yields rose marginally

Former SVB chief Greg Becker set to testify to Senate on bank collapses

Scott Shay and Eric Howell, the former chair and president of Signature Bank, which also failed in March, are to appear on May 16

US House to vote on Republican debt limit bill this week, says McCarthy

McCarthy floated a plan last week that would pair $4.5 trillion in spending cuts with a $1.5 trillion increase in the $31.4 trillion U.S. debt limit

Meeting to strengthen US-India relations on April 26 at US Capitol

The Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans has announced a meeting to strengthen US-India partnership by bringing key stakeholders together. To be held on April 26 at the US Capitol, the meet has bipartisan support and has gained momentum in the past decade. "I am very excited that leading members of the Indian American community, senior members of the Congress, critical Administration leaders and foreign policy experts will be convening on April 26 to chart out a comprehensive strategy for strengthening US-India partnership," Indian American Congressman Ro Khanna told PTI. Khanna, who is co-chair of the Congressional India Caucus, is instrumental in organising the first of its kind India-US meeting at the US Congress. Eminent Indian Americans from across the country have been invited for the meet. The US' new ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti, is flying back from New Delhi to address the event along with his Indian counterpart Taranjit Singh Sandhu. Among other key

US lawmaker calls for India to join 'team America', abandon China-Russia

A US lawmaker of a key Congressional committee on the increasingly contentious relationship with China, called on India to choose "team America" over Russia and China.

US Senate passes bill to end national Covid-19 emergency, declared by Trump

The US Senate has passed a bill to end the national Covid-19 emergency which was declared by former President Donald Trump on March 13, 2020

Bill to reform H-1B and L-1 visa programme introduced in US Senate

A group of influential lawmakers have introduced a bipartisan legislation in the US Senate to comprehensively overhaul the H-1B and L-1 visa programmes and usher in more transparency in the recruitment of foreign workers. The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China. The L-1 is the other type of work visa the US issues to professionals looking to work in the country. Unlike the H-1B, where an individual is looking to join an American company, the L-1 visa is issued to those who are already employed by the company in another country, and who are merely relocating to an American office. Two influential Senators -- Dick Durbin and Chuck Grassley -- have introduced this legislation in the US Senate. The co-sponsors include Senators Tommy Tuberville,

US Senate votes to keep 2001 authorization for use of force against terror

The Senate voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to continue congressional authorization for the use of military force in the global fight against terror, turning back an effort by Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul to repeal the 2001 measure. Senators rejected the amendment 86-9 as they are debating a separate repeal of two authorizations of military force in Iraq. There is broad bipartisan support to withdraw that congressional approval granted in 1991 and 2002 for military strikes against Saddam Hussein's regime. While those two authorizations are rarely used and focused on just one country, Iraq, the 2001 measure gave President George W. Bush broad authority for the invasion of Afghanistan and the fight against terrorism, approving force against those nations, organizations, or persons that planned or aided the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. Passed in October 2001, it is still used to this day to justify U.S. military action against terror groups including al-Qaida and its ...

US Senate takes step in repealing Iraq War authorisations to end authority

The Senate took a first step Thursday toward repealing two measures that give open-ended approval for military action in Iraq, pushing to end that authority as the United States marks the 20th anniversary of the Iraq War. Senators voted 68-27 to move forward on legislation that would repeal the 2002 measure that greenlighted the March 2003 invasion of Iraq and also a 1991 measure that sanctioned the U.S.-led Gulf War to expel Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's forces from Kuwait. Nineteen Republicans joined Democrats in supporting the repeal. The bipartisan effort comes as lawmakers in both parties are increasingly seeking to claw back congressional powers over U.S. military strikes and deployments, arguing that the war authorizations are no longer necessary and subject to misuse if they are left on the books. President Joe Biden has backed the push, and the White House issued a statement Thursday in support. "Repeal of these authorizations would have no impact on current U.S. military .

Eric Garcetti: Everything you need to know about new US ambassador to India

Eric Garcetti's tenure as mayor of Los Angeles saw several high points, like adopting a $15 minimum wage and his regular briefings during the Covid-19 pandemic. But, it had some setbacks as well

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US Senate to vote on nomination of Eric Garcetti as envoy to India

The United States Senate will vote on the nomination of Eric Garcetti as the country's next ambassador to India on Wednesday. Such a move by Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer came amidst fresh round of campaign against Garcetti by his distractors on allegations of sexual assault against one of his staffers when he was the mayor of Los Angeles. If confirmed by the Senate, Garcetti would soon head to India as US Ambassador, a position that has remained vacant for more than two years. The confirmation vote on his nomination is scheduled at 2.15 pm local Washington time. This would be preceded by a vote on the cloture motion on his nomination, which indicated that Schumer is confident of having enough votes to get Garcetti confirmed as the US Ambassador to India. Garcetti's nomination has been pending before the US Congress since July 2021, when he was nominated for the prestigious diplomatic posting by President Joe Biden. Last week, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, at its

Cloture motion filed for Garcetti's nomination, step closer to confirmation

The nomination of Eric Garcetti for US Ambassador to India moved a step closer to being confirmed by the Senate as it adopted a cloture motion, indicating that the ruling Democrats have the support of a super-majority for his selection for the key position. Such a move by Senate Majority Leader Senator Chuck Schumer came a day after the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at its business meeting voted 13-8 in favour of his nomination. Garcetti's nomination is pending before the US Congress since July 2021, when he was nominated for the prestigious diplomatic posting by President Joe Biden. His nomination was not brought to the Senate floor for a vote during the last Congress as the ruling Democratic Party did not have enough support to get the 52-year-old close aide of Biden through. On Thursday afternoon, a Senate clerk read and brought the nomination of Garcetti to be Ambassador of the US to India on the Senate floor. "I send the cloture motion to the desk," Schumer said on the f

US Senate panel approves Biden's pick Garcetti for India ambassador

A key senatorial committee on Wednesday voted 13-8 to advance the nomination of Eric Garcetti as US Ambassador to India. Garcetti, 52, is the former mayor of Los Angeles and his nomination has been pending before the US Congress since July 2021, when he was nominated for this prestigious diplomatic posting by President Joe Biden. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee at its business meeting on Wednesday voted 13-8 in favor of the nomination of Garcetti. Now the nomination heads to the Senate floor for a fill vote. Two Republican Senators -- Todd Young and Bill Hagerty -- Wednesday afternoon voted in favour of Garcetti, joining the Democratic lawmakers and passing the nomination through the Senatorial committee. Garcetti wasn't confirmed in Biden's first two years in office amid concerns by some lawmakers that as the then-mayor he hadn't adequately handled allegations against a former senior adviser of sexual assault and harassment. Senator Chuck Grassley this week called for votin

Senate confirms appointment of Arun Subramanian as NY district court judge

The United States Senate on Tuesday confirmed Indian-American Arun Subramanian to be District Judge for the Southern District of New York, thus making him the first South Asian judge to serve on this bench. The United States confirmed the nomination of Subramanian by a vote of 58-37 Tuesday evening. "We have confirmed Arun Subramanian as an SDNY (Southern District of New York) judge. He's a son of Indian immigrants and the 1st South Asian-American judge confirmed to SDNY which has one of the largest South Asian-American populations in the country. He's dedicated his career to fighting for people," Senate Majority Leader Senate Chuck Schumer said immediately after the conformation vote. Before the floor vote, Schumer said Subramanian is the "epitome of the American Dream and a history maker": the child of hard-working immigrants from India, he will become the first South Asian to preside in the Southern District, which has one of the largest South Asian populations in the ...

White House applauds US Senators for introducing bill targeting TikTok

The White House on Tuesday applauded a group of Senators for introducing the Restricting the Emergence of Security Threats that Risk Information and Communications Technology (RESTRICT) Act

Keep teens out of your metaverse dream: US Senators tell Mark Zuckerberg

"Any strategy to invite young users into a digital space rife with potential harms should not be driven by a goal to maximise profit," the senators wrote