STENY HOYER

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The U.S. House has passed a bill that would allow Puerto Rico to hold the first-ever binding referendum on whether to become a state or gain some sort of independence.

The U.S. House passed a bill Thursday that would allow Puerto Rico to hold the first-ever binding referendum on whether to become a state or gain some sort of independence, in a last-ditch effort that stands little chance of passing the Senate. “It is crucial to me that any proposal in Congress to decolonize Puerto Rico be informed and led by Puerto Ricans,” said Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, which oversees affairs in U.S. territories. The proposal would commit Congress to accept Puerto Rico into the United States as the 51st state if voters on the island approved it.

The bust of a U.S. Supreme Court justice who wrote an infamous decision on slavery could soon be leaving the Capitol.

The House passed legislation Wednesday that calls for removing from the Capitol a bust of the U.S. Supreme Court justice who wrote the infamous 1857 Dred Scott decision that held African-Americans were not citizens. The bust of Roger B. Taney, the nation's fifth chief justice, sits inside the entrance to the Old Supreme Court Chamber in the U.S. Capitol. Taney led the court in that period, from 1836 to 1864.

The COVID-19 vaccine mandate for members of the U.S. military would be rescinded under the annual defense bill heading for a vote this week in Congress.

The White House state dinner honoring French President Emmanuel Macron was a who's who of Democratic elite featuring the biggest names in Hollywood, media and business.

House Democrats unanimously chose Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina for a new role in party leadership next year.

New York congressman Hakeem Jeffries has been elected House Democratic leader and will become in the new year the first Black American to lead a major political party in Congress.

Congress is moving urgently to head off the looming U.S. rail strike.

President Joe Biden is calling on Congress to pass legislation to intervene and block a railroad strike before next month’s deadline in the stalled contract talks.

Lawmakers face a long list of legislative items they must address before the end of the 117th Congress.

I think the biggest change in the institution is how confrontational Republicans have become," Hoyer recently told The Washington Post.

Republicans nominated House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to become Speaker of the House but it’s far from clear that he can attain the votes.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Majority Whip James Clyburn said that Democrats will focus on the future as Republicans are set to take the majority,

A day after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced she would step aside, congressman Hakeem Jeffries of New York has announced his history-making bid to become the first Black person to helm a major political party in Congress as leader of the House Democrats.

Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal has taken herself out of the running for Democratic leadership in the next Congress.

House Democratic Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries is believed to be the leading candidate to replace House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as Democratic leader after her decision to step down, which she announced from the well of the House Thursday.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she won't seek a leadership role in the new Congress.

Congress is returning to an extremely volatile post-election landscape.

With control of the House still hanging in the balance, Speaker Nancy Pelosi is staying mum on her future plans.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi is urging House Democrats to donate more money to the party's campaign arm as polls show Republicans surging ahead of Election Day.

A congressional district in Michigan that includes Grand Rapids hasn't had a Democratic House member in decades.

Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene once was shunned as a political pariah for her extremist rhetoric.

The Senate Tuesday advanced a bill to keep the government funded into December after stripping an energy permitting reform proposal from Sen. Joe Manchin.

House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy is rolling out his party's Trump-like midterm election agenda.

Sen. Joe Manchin on Tuesday railed against what he called “revenge politics″ being used against him, as liberals in the House and Senate team up with Republicans to oppose his plan to speed permits for natural gas pipelines and other energy projects.

"We believed we were going to win from Jan. 6 on – well, even November of last year on," the House speaker told Punchbowl News.

The House has approved wide-ranging legislation aimed at helping communities in the West cope with increasingly severe wildfires and drought — fueled by climate change — that have caused billions of dollars of damage to homes and businesses in recent years.

Maryland politicians float the idea of not demolishing the old bridge when the new span over the Potomac River is finished, but it sank.

Bestselling author Wes Moore has won the Democratic primary for Maryland governor.

A far-right Maryland legislator endorsed by former President Donald Trump has won the Republican primary for governor.

The Republican race for Maryland governor in Tuesday’s primary election pits a candidate backed by outgoing Gov. Larry Hogan against a rival endorsed by Donald Trump.

Facing stubbornly high gas prices that average about $5 a gallon nationwide, President Joe Biden has urged Congress to suspend federal gasoline and diesel taxes for three months.

The House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol is pressing pause on its hearings for next week and picking them up again in July. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the chairman of the committee, told reporters Wednesday that the committee would hold off on the two final hearings it had planned for…

The Biden administration foresees unnecessary deaths if lawmakers don’t approve billions of dollars more to brace for the pandemic’s next wave.

The House’s top law enforcement official says members of Congress should be barred from carrying firearms anywhere in the Capitol or its surrounding office buildings and grounds.

The Puerto Rico Status Act would create and fund a process by which residents of the island would take a binding vote to determine the island's status.

In a story published May 19, 2022, The Associated Press reported that a group of Democratic congress members on Thursday proposed a binding plebiscite to decide whether Puerto Rico should become a state or gain some sort of independence.

Brazilian environmental and Indigenous organizations are urging the United States to fund forest protection initiatives that directly involve forest peoples.

The amount is more than double the $14 billion in support authorized so far to respond to the Russian invasion, a senior administration officials told reporters Thursday.

The Senate voted to revoke Russia's "most favored nation" trade status, an economic downgrade that opens the possibility of tariffs on Moscow.

A compromise $10 billion measure buttressing the government’s COVID-19 defenses has stalled in the Senate.

President Joe Biden has signed into law plans for a sweeping overhaul of the U.S. Postal Service.

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

The House has approved a bill decriminalizing marijuana and letting states set their own policies on pot.

The House of Representatives could vote on the Securing a Strong Retirement Act, or Secure Act 2.0, as early as Tuesday.

Congressional leaders have reached a bipartisan deal to provide $13.6 billion to help Ukraine fend off its invasion by Russia and assist European allies coping with the continent's worst refugee crisis since World War II.

Vice President Kamala Harris is in Selma, Alabama, to mark the anniversary of a defining moment in the fight for equal voting rights.

President Joe Biden is signaling an election year shift to the center to help protect fragile Democratic majorities in Congress, even as key voices across his party’s sprawling political coalition threaten revolt.

Congressional Democrats and Republicans are showing signs of support for providing $6.4 billion or more in aid to Ukraine and its European neighbors.

A senior Republican lawmaker has apologized for using an expletive when Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty of Ohio asked him to put his mask on while in the Capitol.

The 82-year-old representative said he is vaccinated and boosted.

President Joe Biden will appear in Pittsburgh on Friday as an opening step in a broader campaign to promote the White House’s achievements in key states before the midterm elections.

President Joe Biden has visited the bridge in Pittsburgh that collapsed just hours before his previously scheduled trip to promote his infrastructure package — a new law that aims to prevent just such disasters.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney has made a surprise appearance in the House in a show of support for his daughter, Rep. Liz Cheney.

Democratic leaders are pressing ahead on President Joe Biden’s big domestic policy bill.

The House passed a key procedural vote to line up eventual passage of President Biden's signature social safety net and climate change bill.

Top Democrats have abruptly postponed an expected House vote on their 10-year, $1.85 trillion social and environment measure.

The new version now contains a provision that had been dropped, paid leave, and also includes a tax break for wealthier Americans.

Democrats in the House appear on the verge of advancing President Joe Biden’s $1.85 trillion-and-growing domestic policy package.

The new version now contains a provision that had been dropped, paid leave, and also includes a tax break for wealthier Americans.

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.

Democrats say they only have a handful of issues to resolve before they can strike a deal on Biden's social safety net and climate plan.

Hoyer is hopeful about reaching a framework as Democrats try to resolve sticking points over what to include in Biden's economic plan and how to pay for it.

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

The House has approved a short-term hike to the nation’s debt limit.

The measure now goes to the House, which is slated to vote on it next week.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says he will not again help Democrats extend the government’s borrowing authority.

The held vote comes as Democrats remain divided over a separate but politically linked larger spending measure.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House is still on track to hold a vote on President Joe Biden's bipartisan infrastructure bill Thursday.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer tried to pass the bill with a simple majority vote of 50, rather than the 60 that is usually required for Senate bills.

Pressure is mounting on President Joe Biden to trim back his $3.5 trillion federal government overhaul to win over holdout fellow Democrats.

The House has overwhelming passed legislation to provide funding for Israel’s missile defense system.

Calling fellow Democrats to the White House, President Joe Biden is pushing in person for them to hasten work on his “build back better” agenda.

The House has approved legislation to fund the government, suspend its borrowing limit and provide federal disaster and refugee aid.

Top Democrats are planning House votes next week on a budget resolution that would clear a path for future passage of the party's ambitious plans for social and environment programs.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is facing a fresh hurdle to passing President Joe Biden’s multitrillion-dollar domestic policy aspirations.

President Joe Biden on Monday announced that some Americans experiencing long-term effects of Covid may qualify for disability resources and protections from the federal government.

House votes 285-120 to remove Confederate and pro-slavery statues from the U.S. Capitol

The willingness of top Democrats, including Steny Hoyer, to criticize AIPAC reflects the growing schism in the party over US-Israeli relations.

The Senate passed the bill with an overwhelming and bipartisan majority last month.

The legislation was first introduced in 1989. The committee's debate was long and often heated. And prospects for final passage remain poor.

The legislation was first introduced in 1989. The committee's debate was long and often heated. And prospects for final passage remain poor.

The bill is likely to stall in the Senate.

The bill is likely stall in the Senate.

House Democrats aim to pass the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill on Wednesday so President Joe Biden can sign it by the weekend. Biden aims to sign the legislation in time to beat a Sunday deadline to renew unemployment aid programs. Democrats will likely pass the package without Republican votes, as the GOP questions the need for nearly $2 trillion more in federal spending. On Tuesday, House Democratic Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told reporters he is "110% confident that the votes exist to pass" the plan. The legislation extends a $300 per week jobless benefit boost and programs expanding unemployment aid to millions more Americans through Sept. 6.

1, a sweeping government and elections reform bill and a key legislative priority for the Democratic majority. The House also passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, though the vote was initially scheduled for Thursday. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer released an updated schedule showing the House would vote on the George Floyd measure Wednesday night instead of Thursday, enabling the House to wrap up its workweek a day early and to not be in session Thursday. After the House vote, civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump tweeted, "On behalf of George Floyd's family, we are deeply gratified and grateful for US House leadership. Some Democrats argue that it is important to eliminate the filibuster particularly so that voting rights legislation can be passed, such as the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, which would restore provisions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act struck down by the Supreme Court.

1, a sweeping government and elections reform bill and a key legislative priority for the Democratic majority. The House also passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, though the vote was initially scheduled for Thursday. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer released an updated schedule showing the House would vote on the George Floyd measure Wednesday night instead of Thursday, enabling the House to wrap up its workweek a day early and to not be in session Thursday. After the House vote, civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump tweeted, "On behalf of George Floyd's family, we are deeply gratified and grateful for US House leadership. Some Democrats argue that it is important to eliminate the filibuster particularly so that voting rights legislation can be passed, such as the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, which would restore provisions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act struck down by the Supreme Court.

Top Democratic leaders in the House are pushing President Biden to nominate Shalanda Young to be director of the Office of Management and Budget, after Neera Tanden withdrew her nomination for the post on Tuesday, concluding there was "no path forward" to be confirmed. Young, Mr. Biden's nominee for deputy director of the agency, is a Democratic staff director for the House Appropriations Committee and well-respected on both sides of the aisle. In a joint statement, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Majority Whip Jim Clyburn said they "take great pride in recommending Shalanda Young as Director of the Office of Management and Budget." "You'll get my support, maybe for both jobs," GOP Senator Lindsey Graham told Young. It was also unclear whether Tanden would get support from Senator Bernie Sanders, a frequent critic of hers, or Senator Kyrsten Sinema.

Shalanda D. Young, nominee to be deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget, is sworn into her Senate Budget Committee confirmation in Dirksen Building on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. House Democratic leaders endorsed Shalanda Young on Wednesday for director of the Office of Management and Budget. The move by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Majority Whip Jim Clyburn came a day after President Joe Biden withdrew his nomination of Neera Tanden for OMB director at her request. Young is Biden's pick for deputy budget director and a former top Democratic aide on the House Appropriations Committee. Tanden, president of left-leaning think tank Center for American Progress, drew pushback during her confirmation process over her prior critical remarks of lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle.

A $300 per week unemployment insurance enhancement and programs extending jobless benefits to millions more Americans formally expire on that day. Democrats aim to pass their $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan next week and send it to President Joe Biden 's desk for his signature. Senate Democrats still have to keep all of their members on board to get the bill through the chamber this week. Biden was set to nudge Senate Democrats toward approving the legislation when he called into a meeting with the caucus on Tuesday afternoon. Some Democrats believe Congress needs to do more to provide direct relief after passage of the $1.9 trillion plan.

House Democrats plan to pass their $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill on Friday as lawmakers try to prevent unemployment lifelines from expiring next month. "The American people strongly support this bill, and we are moving swiftly to see it enacted into law," House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said in a statement posted to Twitter on Tuesday night. It also puts $20 billion into Covid-19 vaccinations, $50 billion into testing, and $350 billion into state, local and tribal government relief. Democrats have moved to pass the legislation on their own through budget reconciliation, which requires a simple majority in a Senate divided 50-50 by party. They have argued they cannot wait to ease economic pain while they try to strike a deal with the GOP.

On Tuesday, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer , D-Md., told lawmakers to prepare to work through Feb. 26 and into the ensuing weekend in order to pass the relief bill. The Senate on Saturday acquitted Trump of inciting an insurrection against the government after five days of proceedings. With former President Donald Trump 's second impeachment trial behind them, Democrats are moving to pass another coronavirus relief package within weeks. The bill includes a proposal to gradually hike the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025. If the Senate passes a different bill than the House does, representatives would have to reconvene to approve the legislation again.

The House will vote Thursday on a resolution to strip Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., of her committee assignments, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., met with Greene on Tuesday evening in his Capitol office. "The Rules Committee will meet this afternoon, and the House will vote on the resolution tomorrow," Hoyer said. A spokesman for the minority leader told NBC News that McCarthy would discuss the matter with lawmakers later Wednesday. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., this week condemned Greene's "loony lies and conspiracy theories," calling them "cancer for the Republican Party and our country."

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., speaks during a news conference calling for the removal of a bust from the Capitol of Chief Justice Roger Taney in Washington on Monday, March 9, 2020. Democrats have started to lay the groundwork to pass the next coronavirus relief package without Republican votes as GOP lawmakers criticize the cost of President Joe Biden's rescue plan. The thorny process would allow Democrats to pass a pandemic aid bill by a simple majority vote in the Senate with no Republican support. She added that "we hope and expect" Republicans will back an aid bill, but "Democrats will not take any tools off the table." The House majority leader told lawmakers he could change the schedule again before March 14 to allow time to renew programs to boost unemployed workers during the pandemic.

The Democratic-led House of Representatives on Saturday sent a letter to FBI Director Chris Wray and other agency chiefs seeking information on the intelligence and security failures that led up to the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 that forced lawmakers into hiding. Four House committee chairs signed onto the letter, which called for documents and briefings from the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, the National Counterterrorism Center and the Director of National Intelligence on what was known ahead of the attack. "This still-emerging story is one of astounding bravery by some U.S. Capitol Police and other officers; of staggering treachery by violent criminals; and of apparent and high-level failures — in particular, with respect to intelligence and security preparedness," the committees wrote. The letter was signed by Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Homeland Security Committee Chair Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., Judiciary Committee Chair Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y. and Oversight Committee Chair Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y. The inspectors general of the Department of Justice, Defense, Homeland Security and Interior have launched reviews of their agency's actions connected to the attack.

(Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)Members of the National Guard relax in the Capitol Visitor Center on Wednesday. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)Members of the National Guard sleep on the floor of the Capitol Rotunda. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)National Guard members have breakfast on the steps of the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday morning. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)AdvertisementMore visual journalism from the Los Angeles Times

National Guard troops protected Congress on Wednesday as the House of Representatives moved to impeach President Donald Trump for inciting a violent mob that invaded the U.S. Capitol complex a week earlier. U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., meets with a National Guard troop, on the East Entrance of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on January 13, 2021. Oliver Contreras | APPelosi tweeted Wednesday about her speaking to the National Guard troops. "It was my privilege today to personally thank members of the National Guard who are working protect our nation's Capitol. The acting police chief of Washington said more than 20,000 National Guard troops are expected to be in the District of Columbia on Jan. 20 for Biden's inauguration that day.

The House looked all but certain to charge the president with high crimes and misdemeanors after Pence rejected the 25th Amendment route. Vice President Mike Pence said Tuesday night he will not try to remove President Donald Trump from office, shortly before the House passed a measure calling on him and the Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment. The 25th Amendment measure passed by the House does not compel Pence and Cabinet secretaries to take action. Democrats introduced competing versions of impeachment articles on Monday. "If he won't resign and Vice President Pence and the Cabinet won't invoke the 25th Amendment, he will be impeached by the House.