RON WYDEN

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has delivered a recommendation to the Drug Enforcement Administration on marijuana policy, and Senate leaders are hailing it as a first step toward easing federal restrictions on the drug.

U.S. lawmakers say Credit Suisse violated a plea agreement by failing to report secret offshore accounts that wealthy Americans used to avoid paying taxes.

More than 119,000 people have been injured by tear gas and other chemical irritants around the world since 2015 and some 2,000 suffered injuries from “less lethal” impact projectiles.

The discovery of classified documents at the home of former Vice President Mike Pence is scrambling the blame game in Washington.

President Joe Biden is trying to allay concerns raised by French President Emmanuel Macron about a clean energy law that benefits electric vehicles and other products made in North America.

With Medicare’s open enrollment underway, health experts are warning older adults about an uptick in misleading marketing tactics that might lead some to sign up for Medicare Advantage plans that don’t cover their doctors or prescriptions and drive up their out-of-pocket costs.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials under then-President Donald Trump compiled intelligence dossiers on people who were arrested at Black Lives Matter protests in Portland, Oregon.

Sen. Joe Manchin made a deal with Democratic leaders as part of his vote pushing the party's highest legislative priority across the finish line last month.

One of Washington’s favorite punching bags, the Internal Revenue Service, may finally get the resources it’s been asking Congress for if Democrats get their economic package focused on energy and health care over the finish line.

Senate Democrats say they have reached an accord on changes to their marquee economic legislation, clearing the major hurdle to pushing one of President Joe Biden’s leading election-year priorities through the chamber in coming days.

President Joe Biden is promising “strong executive action” to combat climate change, despite setbacks that have restricted his ability to regulate carbon emissions and boost clean energy such as wind and solar power.

Questions posed about the safety of tear gas remain unanswered, even after more than a dozen U.S. senators asked a congressional watchdog to look into the issue.

LIV Golf’s first U.S. event was set to begin Thursday, with a group of survivors and families who lost loved ones in the Sept. 11 terror attacks planning to gather at a nearby park to speak out against the Saudi Arabia-funded tour.

Four months after suggesting those who defected to the Saudi-backed LIV Golf series were sellouts, Brooks Koepka explained Tuesday that he simply changed his mind.

Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf is getting a chilly reception in Oregon, its first stop in the United States.

Four Democratic lawmakers are asking federal regulators to investigate Apple and Google for allegedly deceiving mobile phone users by collecting and selling their personal data.

An IRS watchdog says customer service issues are worsening at the tax-return-processing agency.

Firefighter groups are applauding steps taken by the Biden administration this week to temporarily raise wages for the men and women on the front lines of the nation’s largest wildfires.

The Internal Revenue Service says that it will have erased its backlog of last season’s tax returns by the end of this week.

More than 40 Democratic members of Congress are asking Google to stop what they see as the unnecessary collection and retention of peoples' location data.

Companies that collect data from the digital clues people leave online often know their most sensitive health information _ gleaned from web searches, health apps and location trackers.

Two House committees have launched an investigation into the government’s use of facial recognition software.

A major effort to overhaul care for people in the United States with mental health and drug problems is gaining traction in Washington.

Legislation punishing Russia for the war in Ukraine is finally getting a vote in the U.S. Senate.

Congress has overwhelmingly voted to suspend normal trade relations with Russia and ban the importation of its oil, ratcheting up the U.S. response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine amid reports of atrocities.

Home-district projects for members of Congress are back, sprinkled across the government-wide $1.5 trillion bill that President Joe Biden signed recently.

President Joe Biden’s $5.8 trillion budget for next year would trim federal deficits and boost taxes on the wealthiest Americans.

Reports that the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas implored Donald Trump’s White House chief of staff to act to overturn the 2020 election results have put a spotlight on how justices decide whether to step aside from a case.

Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers called Thursday for restoring the charitable deduction for donors who don’t itemize their taxes, a priority for nonprofits nationwide, but a key senator was noncommittal on the question of whether to support legislation designed to boost payout from foundations and donor-advised funds.

At a time when calls to the IRS have reached record levels, a private company lets those who are willing to pay jump to the front of the line to get their phone calls answered.

Two Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee say the CIA has a secret, undisclosed data repository that includes information collected about Americans.

The IRS sys it will stop using facial recognition technology to authenticate people who create online accounts after the practice came under criticism from privacy advocates and lawmakers.

President Joe Biden's administration has refused to share evidence for national security claims in recent days, and officials have even accused reporters of buying into foreign propaganda.

The FBI has confirmed purchasing NSO Group's powerful spyware tool Pegasus, whose chronic abuse to hack journalists, dissidents and human rights activists has long been established.

The Democrats’ fragile hold on the Senate majority has become vividly apparent with the sudden illness of of New Mexico Sen. Ben Ray Luján.

Sen. Joe Manchin is signaling anew that he’s still not ready to back his party’s $2 trillion social and environment legislation as party leaders scramble for a pathway to advance the long-stalled package — preferably by Christmas.

The Associated Press is seeking answers from the Department of Homeland Security on its use of sensitive government databases for tracking international terrorists to investigate as many as 20 American journalists, including an acclaimed AP reporter.

The head of a Senate panel that oversees Medicare says the Biden administration should cut back a hefty premium increase soon to hit millions of enrollees.

A new $56,000-a-year Alzheimer’s medication that’s leading to one of the biggest increases ever in Medicare premiums is highlighting the limitations of President Joe Biden’s strategy for curbing prescription drug costs.

Democrats have finally driven President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion package of family services, health care and climate initiatives through the House.

Workers and families with private health insurance would reap savings on prescription drugs from a little-noticed provision in President Joe Biden's social agenda bill.

The U.S. Senate has unanimously approved the nomination of Charles “Chuck” Sams III as National Park Service director, which will make him the first Native American to lead the agency that oversees more than 131,000 square miles of parks and other landmarks.

Democrats say they have sealed a deal to lower pharmaceutical drug costs for most older Americans as part of President Joe Biden’s sweeping $1.75 trillion domestic proposal.

Elon Musk isn’t happy.

Top Democrats say a deal is within reach on President Joe Biden's big domestic bill.

President Joe Biden says he has reached a “historic” framework with Democrats in Congress on his sweeping, though scaled-back domestic policy plan.

The Democrats’ idea for a new billionaires’ tax to help pay for President Joe Biden’s social services and climate change plan is quickly running into criticism.

President Joe Biden’s big domestic policy bill is now half its original size and being pulled apart and reconfigured as Democrats edge closer to satisfying their most reluctant lawmakers.

To help pay for his big economic and social agenda, President Joe Biden is looking to go where the big money is and that's billionaires.

President Joe Biden and Democratic leaders in Congress have edged close to a deal on their big package of social services and climate change strategies.

The White House and Democrats are hurriedly reworking key aspects of President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion domestic policy plan.

A deal within reach, President Joe Biden and Congress’ top Democrats have edged close to sealing their giant domestic legislation.

The White House is floating new plans for ways to pay for President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion proposal for expanding social services and tackling climate change.

Scaling back his big government-overhaul plans, President Joe Biden has described a more-limited vision to Democratic lawmakers.

It’s Washington's enduring question: What does Joe Manchin want.

Negotiating Medicare drug prices is a linchpin of President Joe Biden's ambitious health care agenda.

As President Joe Biden visited one disaster site after another this summer he declared climate change “everybody’s crisis.”.

Top congressional Democrats say they and the White House have agreed to a framework of tax options to pay for their emerging $3.5 trillion social and environment bill.

Medicare says families and patients have a new online tool to compare COVID-19 vaccination rates among nursing homes.

Congressional Democrats face a daunting assignment.

Officials in some urban areas are raising concerns about a federal rule limiting how federal coronavirus relief money can be spent on high-speed internet.

Hospitals in Iowa’s second-largest city are limiting elective procedures because of increased numbers of patients driven partly by a surge in COVID-19 admissions.

President Joe Biden is refocusing on his $3.5 trillion “build back better” agenda.

Labor Day 2021 represents a perilous crossroads for millions of Americans.

Senior Democratic senators are introducing legislation that responds to the ravages of COVID-19 in nursing homes.

Senators negotiating two colossal bills that would deliver more than $4 trillion for infrastructure, health care, environment and other initiatives keep insisting both bills will be fully paid for.

When a religious publication used smartphone app data to deduce the sexual orientation of a high-ranking Roman Catholic official, it exposed a problem that goes far beyond a debate over church doctrine and priestly celibacy.

Senate Democrats are accusing Republicans of a cynical ploy that would damage the government’s credit rating and the economy.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is pressuring lawmakers to reach agreement by next week on a pair of massive domestic spending measures.

The Senate’s top Democrat is backing a bill that would strike down a longstanding federal marijuana prohibition.

Climate activists and their Democratic allies in Congress are pressing with renewed urgency for huge investments to slow global warming after a bipartisan infrastructure plan cut out some of President Joe Biden’s key climate initiatives.

Six decades after University of California forestry professor Harold Biswell experimented with prescribed burns and was treated with ridicule, he is seen as someone whose ideas could save the U.S. West’s forests and ease wildfire dangers.

The White House is making clear that President Joe Biden is opposed to letting the federal gasoline tax rise at the rate of inflation to help pay for an infrastructure package that a bipartisan group of 21 senators is trying to craft.

Democratic leaders are laying the groundwork for a go-it-alone approach on President Joe Biden's big jobs and families infrastructure plan even as the White House continues negotiating with Republicans on a scaled-back $1 trillion proposal.

Democrats are committed to passing legislation this year to curb prescription drug prices.

President Joe Biden might have persuaded some of the world’s largest economies to hike taxes on corporations.

A new report says the $56,000 Alzheimer’s drug approved this week would raise Medicare premiums broadly.

The Senate has confirmed President Joe Biden’s pick to run U.S. health insurance programs, putting in place a key player who’ll carry out his strategy for expanding affordable coverage and reining in prescription drug costs.

Police responding to a person gripped by a mental health or drug crisis can lead to tragic results.

Elizabeth Furse, who represented northwestern Oregon in Congress for three terms in the 1990s, has died.

The sprawling hacking campaign came to be known as SolarWinds, for the company whose software update was seeded by Russian intelligence agents with malware to penetrate government and private networks.

The IRS says it expects to meet the July 1 deadline under the new pandemic relief law for starting a groundbreaking tax program aimed at reducing child poverty.

President Joe Biden is promoting his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan directly to Americans with an appeal to think big.

Republicans raised long-running conservative grievances, unproven, that the platforms are biased against conservative viewpoints and censor material based on political or religious viewpoints. There is increasing support in Congress for legislation to rein in Big Tech companies. The tech CEOs defended the legal shield under Section 230, saying it has helped make the internet the forum of free expression that it is today. Trump enjoyed special treatment on Facebook and Twitter until January, despite spreading misinformation, pushing false claims of voting fraud, and promulgating hate. The tech blog Gizmodo eventually revealed the device was a “BlockClock” that shows the latest prices of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ethereum.

Nursing homes have to publicly disclose their vaccination rates for flu and pneumonia, but theres no similar mandate for COVID-19 shots. Nursing homes have been required since last May to regularly report cases and deaths among residents and staff to the government. Nursing homes are again allowing loved ones to visit, and hugs are included. The main nursing home industry trade group, the American Health Care Association, says it supports disclosure of vaccination data. Wyden and Crapo said current government policy that encourages nursing homes to voluntarily report vaccination data to the government has only led to “limited participation by the industry.”The government should require nursing homes to break down vaccination data by race and ethnicity, given disparities in vaccine acceptance.

President Joe Bidens pick for health secretary is taking heat for his defense of abortion rights from a tag team of Republicans looking to define him and the new administration as out of the mainstream. Becerra now serves as California’s attorney general and previously represented the Los Angeles area for more than 20 years in the U.S. House. Republicans voiced concern about Becerra’s record in support of abortion rights. Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., said Becerra as attorney general “aggressively crusaded in favor of abortion” and repeatedly inserted California into abortion litigation involving other states. Perceptions changed after Becerra was appointed California attorney general in 2017.

President Joe Bidens pick for health secretary is taking heat for his defense of abortion rights from a tag team of Republicans looking to define him and the new administration as out of the mainstream. (Greg Nash/Pool via AP)WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden’s pick for health secretary is taking heat from Republicans for his actions in support of abortion rights. By a show of force, they're trying to deny a president who supports abortion rights his choice to run the Department of Health and Human Services with the coronavirus pandemic still untamed. Becerra, 63, was a reliable Democratic vote for abortion rights during more than 20 years representing a Los Angeles-area district in the U.S. House. She disagrees with his support for abortion rights but finds common ground elsewhere.

“He said we need to pass this bill and pass it soon. The Senate bill was expected to largely mirror the House-approved package, with the most glaring divergence the Senate's dropping of language boosting the federal minimum wage to $15 hourly. Schumer said Senate debate would commence as soon as Wednesday and predicted, “We'll have the votes we need to pass the bill." Progressives, though, were still smarting over the virtual certainty that the Senate bill will lack the minimum wage boost, up from $7.25 hourly locked in since 2009. The funding was removed after some Republican lawmakers had criticized it as an example of a wasteful spending item that should not be part of the COVID relief bill.

Activists appeal for a $15 minimum wage near the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. The $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill being prepped in Congress includes a provision that over five years would hike the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. AdThe overall relief bill is Biden’s biggest early legislative priority. AdSenate Budget Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said he wanted Democrats to ignore the parliamentarian's ruling blocking the minimum wage increase. But Sanders, the Senate's lead sponsor of the hike to $15, said he'd force a vote on an amendment restoring the minimum wage increase anyway.

“We have no time to waste,” Biden said at the White House after the House passage early Saturday. That ships the bill to the Senate, where Democrats seem bent on resuscitating their minimum wage push and fights could erupt over state aid and other issues. Biden said weeks ago that he didn't expect the minimum wage increase to survive the Senate's rules. But those same Senate rules prohibit provisions with only an “incidental” impact on the federal budget because they are chiefly driven by other policy purposes. Republicans oppose the $15 minimum wage target as an expense that would hurt businesses and cost jobs.

FireEye CEO Kevin Mandia, SolarWinds CEO Sudhakar Ramakrishna and Microsoft President Brad Smith testify during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021 in Washington. In the first congressional hearing on the breach, representatives of technology companies involved in the response described a hack of almost breathtaking precision, ambition and scope. “We haven’t seen this kind of sophistication matched with this kind of scale,” Microsoft President Brad Smith told the Senate Intelligence Committee. U.S. national security officials have also said Russia was likely responsible for the breach, and President Joe Biden's administration is weighing punitive measures against Russia for the hack as well as other activities. Officials have said the motive for the hack, which was discovered by private security company FireEye in December, appeared to be to gather intelligence.

“To meet this moment, we need strong federal leadership," Becerra said at the first of two hearings on his nomination. AdAppearing before the Senate health committee, Becerra seconded President Joe Biden’s goals of 100 million vaccine shots in his first 100 days, increased coronavirus testing, ramped-up DNA mapping of the virus to track worrisome mutations and reopening schools and businesses. Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina, the ranking Republican on the health committee, left no doubt that Becerra faces tough scrutiny. California took pride in viewing itself as the resistance to Trump, and Becerra embodied that ethos. AdLack of medical experience doesn't disqualify a nominee for HHS secretary, though it can be a plus.

AdThe reaction reflects the severity of a hack that was disclosed only in December. The administration has also proposed expanding by 30% the budget of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency, or CISA, a little-known entity now under intense scrutiny because of the SolarWinds breach. The breach was discovered in early December by the private security firm FireEye, a cause of concern for some officials. AdRight after the hack was announced, the Treasury Department bypassed its normal competitive contracting process to hire the private security firm CrowdStrike, U.S. contract records show. “In practical terms, what that meant is they weren’t invited in because no department or agency wants to look bad,” he said.

President-elect Joe Biden, right, listens as Janet Yellen, who Biden nominated to serve as Secretary of the Treasury, speaks at The Queen theater, Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2020, in Wilmington, Del. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)WASHINGTON – The Senate on Monday approved President Joe Biden’s nomination of Janet Yellen to be the nation’s 78th treasury secretary, making her the first woman to hold the job in the department's 232-year history. Yellen, a former chair of the Federal Reserve, was approved by the Senate on a 84-15 vote, becoming the third member of Biden’s Cabinet to win confirmation. Before the approval by the full Senate, Yellen had received unanimous backing from the Senate Finance Committee. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, told Yellen that Biden’s plan represented a “laundry list of liberal structural economic reforms.”As Treasury secretary, Yellen, 74, will occupy a pivotal role in shaping and directing Biden’s economic policies.

President-elect Joe Biden announced Yellen as his nominee for Treasury Secretary. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)WASHINGTON – The Senate Finance Committee approved President Joe Biden’s nomination of Janet Yellen to be the nation’s 78th treasury secretary on Friday, setting up a final vote that would make her the first woman to hold the job. The Finance Committee approved her nomination on a 26-0 vote. Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the incoming chair of the Finance Committee, said he hoped to get Yellen's nomination approved by the full Senate later Friday, but the vote was not scheduled. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told Yellen that Biden’s plan represented a “laundry list of liberal structural economic reforms.”As treasury secretary, Yellen, 74, would occupy a pivotal role in shaping and directing Biden’s economic policies.

Thousands had gathered that day as Congress voted to formally certify President Joe Biden’s victory over Trump in November. Hawley and Cruz led objections in the Senate to Biden’s victory, despite the widespread recognition that the effort would fail. And both senators used their objections for political fundraising,” the Democratic senators said in their letter. Cruz helped force a vote on Biden's victory in Arizona, while Hawley helped force one on Biden's victory in Pennsylvania. “This latest effort is a flagrant abuse of the Senate ethics process and a flagrant attempt to exact partisan revenge."

President-elect Joe Biden announced Yellen as his nominee for Treasury Secretary. “More must be done,” Yellen told the Senate Finance Committee during her confirmation hearing. Since leaving the Fed, Yellen has been a distinguished researcher at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank. Yellen has agreed to recuse herself from Treasury matters involving certain firms that have compensated her for her talks. Yellen's Treasury nomination was supported in a letter from eight previous Treasury secretaries serving both Republican and Democratic administrations.

(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)WASHINGTON – Dozens of email accounts at the Treasury Department were compromised in a massive breach of U.S. government agencies being blamed on Russia, with hackers breaking into systems used by the department's highest-ranking officials. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., provided new details of the hack following a briefing to Senate Finance Committee staff by the IRS and Treasury Department. A Treasury Department spokeswoman declined to comment on Wyden's statement Monday. Microsoft notified the Treasury Department that dozens of email accounts were compromised, Wyden said. President Donald Trump sought to downplay the severity of the hack last week, tweeting without any evidence that perhaps China was responsible.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., provided new details of the hack following a briefing to Senate Finance Committee staff by the IRS and Treasury Department. Wyden said that though there is no indication that taxpayer data was compromised, the hack “appears to be significant,” including through the compromise of dozens of email accounts and access to the Departmental Offices division of the Treasury Department, which the senator said was home to its highest-ranking officials. A Treasury Department spokeswoman declined to comment on Wyden's statement. Microsoft notified the Treasury Department that dozens of email accounts were compromised, Wyden said. President Donald Trump sought to downplay the severity of the hack last week, tweeting without any evidence that perhaps China was responsible.

Meanwhile, the FDA said late Wednesday that some Pfizer vaccine vials may contain more than the standard five doses. The Trump administration has come under scathing criticism from congressional Democrats after news leaked out last week about the missed opportunity to secure more vaccine. A second vaccine from Moderna appears headed for Food and Drug Administration approval within days, and more vaccine candidates are advancing through clinical trials. Operation Warp Speed has financed the development, manufacture and distribution of millions of doses, with the goal of providing a free vaccine to any American who wants one. Pfizer was not as closely involved with Operation Warp Speed as other manufacturers, preferring to retain control over its own development and manufacturing.