USA News and Discussions

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Bill to fund government passes House, goes to Biden just before deadline

Source: Washington Post
The House on Friday passed legislation to fund the government and avert a partial shutdown, sending it to President Biden for his signature hours before a midnight deadline. The continuing resolution extends current funding levels until Dec. 16, while also approving $12.4 billion in military and diplomatic spending to help Ukraine in its war against Russia. It also contains $18.8 billion for domestic disaster recovery efforts, including Western wildfires, floods in Kentucky and hurricanes in the Southeast.

The House vote was 230-201, with 10 Republicans breaking ranks to support the legislation. The Senate passed the bill, 72 to 25, on Thursday after Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) dropped his proposal that would have overhauled federal rules for environmental permitting for large energy projects after it became evident it would not garner the 60 votes required to attach it to the must-pass legislation. The president's request to include coronavirus and monkeypox funding was excluded to ensure both chambers could pass the legislation.

"We need this bill," Rep. Rosa De Lauro (D-Conn.) said on the House floor moments before the vote. "We provide relief to working families, to our schools, our children, small businesses, communities across this nation. We support the people of Ukraine. We support them in what is the fight for their lives, for their democracy and for world democracy against Russian aggression. We protect communities everywhere in need of safe water. We help to rebuild them from crushing natural disasters. This bill will make a very real difference in the lives of Americans everywhere." Averting a government shutdown was the final goal for Democrats to complete before leaving Washington for the final sprint to the midterm elections.

Failure to pass a funding bill would be an embarrassment for the party that controls both chambers. Democrats have campaigned on their ability to govern as a contrast to Republicans, who oversaw two government shutdowns during the Trump administration. "We will be able to do what is necessary here in the House to keep the government open to make sure that it can continue to properly function and deliver for the American people," Democratic Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said Thursday. "House Democrats are going to continue to put people over politics, fight for lower costs, better paying jobs and safer communities."
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics ... urs-spare/
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Social Security benefits to rise by 8.7 percent in 2023
Source: Washington Post
The Social Security Administration on Thursday announced an 8.7 percent increase in benefit checks for seniors starting next year, a response to the fastest U.S. inflation in four decades. The change will affect about 70.3 million Social Security beneficiaries, including roughly 8 million Supplemental Security Income recipients. The adjustment will increase monthly Social Security checks by about $145 per month on average, according to AARP, which represents seniors.

Social Security is the largest source of retirement income for U.S. seniors, but rapid price increases over the past year have diminished the value of that income as well as that of other payments. The increase will help seniors adjust to higher living costs, but it also will further strain Social Security’s finances, bringing forward the date by which the program’s trust fund is projected to be exhausted.

The increase announced Thursday is the largest rise in Social Security payments in roughly four decades. The Social Security Administration increased the program’s benefits by 5.9 percent at the beginning of this year in response to lower — but still substantial — inflation in 2021. The change is known as a cost of living adjustment, or COLA.

“The guaranteed benefits provided by Social Security, including the annual COLA, are more crucial than ever, as high inflation remains a problem for older Americans,” said Jo Ann Jenkins, the chief executive of the AARP, in a statement. “The automatic adjustment is an essential part of Social Security that helps ensure the benefit does not erode over time due to rising prices.”
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-polic ... inflation/
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For months, Trump has 'repeatedly' discussed choosing Marjorie Taylor Greene as his 2024 running mate: journalist

https://www.businessinsider.com/donald- ... te-2022-10

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Mitch McConnell wins secret-ballot election to continue leading Senate Republicans

Source: CNN Politics
CNN — Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell won a secret-ballot leadership election after days of finger-pointing over the Republican midterm losses, putting him on pace to become the longest-serving Senate party leader in US history.

McConnell defeated Florida Sen. Rick Scott, his first challenger in his 15 years atop his conference.

McConnell won the leadership vote 37-10-1 and said at a news conference that he was “pretty proud” of the result.

“I don’t own this job. Anybody who wants to run for it can feel free to do so,” McConnell said. “I’m not in any way offended by having an opponent or having a few votes in opposition.”
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/16/politics ... index.html
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Nancy Pelosi to Step Down as House Democratic Leader After Two Decades
by Kevin Breuninger
November 17, 2022

Introduction:
(CNBC) House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced Thursday she will not seek reelection to her congressional leadership role, ending a two-decade streak as the top House Democrat that saw her become the first woman to lead the chamber.

Pelosi, speaking on the House floor, said she will remain a member of Congress and serve out the term to which she was just elected.

“With great confidence in our caucus, I will not seek reelection to Democratic leadership in the next Congress,” Pelosi said between rounds of applause throughout the 14-minute speech.

“For me, the hour has come for a new generation to lead the Democratic Congress that I so deeply respect,” Pelosi said. “And I am grateful that so many are ready and willing to shoulder this awesome responsibility.”

The announcement came a day after news outlets projected that Democrats would narrowly lose their House majority to Republicans following the midterm elections.
Read more here: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/17/nancy- ... rity.html
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Rep. Hakeem Jeffries announces bid to replace Nancy Pelosi as Democratic leader
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Source: NBC News

WASHINGTON — New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the fourth-ranking House Democrat, said Friday that he will run to replace House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as the party's leader after Republicans took back control of the chamber in last week’s midterm elections.

His announcement in a letter to colleagues came a day after Pelosi said in a powerful floor speech that she is stepping down after a two-decade reign as the top leader of House Democrats.

If Jeffries is successful, it would represent a historic passing of the torch: Pelosi made history as the first female speaker of the House, while Jeffries, the current Democratic Caucus chairman, would become the first Black leader of a congressional caucus and highest-ranking Black lawmaker on Capitol Hill. If Democrats were to retake control of the House — a real possibility with Republicans having such a narrow majority — Jeffries would be in line to be the first Black speaker in the nation's history.

The ascension of the 52-year-old Jeffries to minority leader would also represent generational change. Pelosi and her top two deputies — Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., and Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, D-S.C. — are all in their 80s and are receiving from within the party for “new blood” in leadership; Hoyer will not seek another leadership post while Clyburn plans to stay on and work with the next generation.
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congre ... -rcna57673
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