Actress Alyssa Milano was arrested during a voting rights protest at the White House on Tuesday as the Senate gears up for a vote on the Freedom to Vote Act, a scaled-back version of the voting rights bill that Senate Republicans blocked in June.
President Joe Biden said on Saturday he was going to "work like hell" to get both an infrastructure bill and a multi-trillion-dollar social spending bill passed through Congress and plans to travel more to bolster support with Americans.
Lawmakers were forced to pass stopgap legislation to avert an imminent and complete government shutdown. The risk of the latter came after the Democrats failed to reach a deal on a new budget with the Republicans, or at least achieve intra-party unity on Biden's infrastructure bill to pass it unilaterally.
Senate Democrats are poised to blow past their Wednesday deadline to finish the $3.5 trillion social welfare bill, raising fresh doubts about the party’s ability to hold together and put the bill onto President Biden’s desk.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Thursday that the House will vote on legislation to guarantee access to abortion upon its return to Washington later this month after the Supreme Court refused to block a restrictive Texas law that bans most abortions.
Democrats hoping to stall a GOP-sponsored restrictive election bill ended a 38-day walkout on 19 August, allowing the legislature to reach a quorum, after a week earlier the Republican-led state Senate passed their version of the voting bill after a 15-hour filibuster by one of the Senate's leading Democrats. Sen. Carol Alvardo.
Democrats hoping to stall a GOP-sponsored restrictive election bill ended a 38-day walkout on 19 August, allowing the legislature to reach a quorum, after a week earlier the Republican-led state Senate passed their version of the voting bill after a 15-hour filibuster by one of the Senate's leading Democrats. Sen. Carol Alvardo.
Pelosi was ultimately able to secure yes votes from nine moderate House Democrats for the resolution which expands the social safety net in the U.S. with new federal programs.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) indicated before Congress went on recess that Sen. Jeff Merkley’s (D-Ore.) election reform “For the People” Act would be the top priority for congressional Democrats upon their return. This comes after Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) successfully blocked debate on the bill earlier this month. In the evenly divided Senate, Democrats will have a tough battle to pass the legislation as Republicans stand together in unanimous opposition to the bill.
