In the News
The House on Friday approved its defense authorization bill after adopting a slew of progressive amendments that helped Democrats earn votes from the party's more dovish members in the face of Republican opposition.
The final vote on the fiscal 2020 bill was 220-197. No Republicans supported the typically bipartisan measure that traditionally has earned more than 300 of the 435 available House votes.
The House soldiered on through hundreds of amendments to the annual defense policy bill Thursday, but major issues — including authorization to use force and military involvement on the southern border — remain unresolved, as does the ultimate fate of the bill.
Lawmakers plan to vote on some of the most controversial amendments, as well as final passage of the measure Friday morning. Republicans and progressives alike voiced deep reservations this week about the typically bipartisan measure, and it is unclear that the last two days of debate assuaged their concerns.
Artificial intelligence (AI) may be playing into stereotypes that adversely affect women and minorities in financial decisions, according to two experts.
The House Financial Services Committee held a hearing entitled: "Perspectives on Artificial Intelligence: Where We Are and the Next Frontier in Financial Services."
Tuesday is the last day for public comment on a proposal that could evict or even separate thousands of families with mixed-citizenship status who receive housing assistance in Texas.
A year after heavy rains flooded Harris County and forced the cancellation of many events, including Houston's Freedom Over Texas, the area's Fourth of July celebrations stayed dry Thursday.
More than a thousand people lined S. Rice Boulevard in Bellaire for the city's parade, which included the usual smorgasbord of fire trucks, elected officials, antique cars, civic groups, political parties and a marching band.
A group of lawmakers visited two border facilities in Clint and El Paso, Texas, on Monday, and they made sure everyone knew about the poor living conditions they saw by sharing graphic details of their trip via Twitter.
A delegation of U.S. Congress members and Texas legislators is in El Paso and Clint, Texas, Monday to investigate several facilities used to detain migrants.
Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX-16) and Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX-20) are leading the delegation.
After leaving the facility in northeast El Paso, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14) said "there is abuse in these facilities."
Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-PA-4) said in a tweet that women were sleeping in a small concrete cell with no running water and have gone weeks without showers.
On Thursday, the House of Representatives approved the Senate GOP's version of the border supplemental by a vote of 305-102.
The plan appropriates $4.5 billion in a bid to solve the myriad of problems occurring at America's southernborder.
The House Financial Services Committee continued to focus on workforce diversity.
That committee held a hearing entitled "Diversity in the Boardroom: Examining Proposals to Increase the Diversity of America's Boards."
This is the second hearing on diversity in this committee this session. The first in February was entitled "An Overview of Diversity Trends in the Financial Services Industry."
Later this month, the committee will hold another hearing on diversity entitled: "Diverse Asset Managers: Challenges, Solutions and Opportunities for Inclusion."