Author

Jennifer Shutt

Jennifer Shutt

Jennifer covers the nation’s capital as a senior reporter for States Newsroom. Her coverage areas include congressional policy, politics and legal challenges with a focus on health care, unemployment, housing and aid to families.

The U.S. Capitol (Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)

‘We should not fear a government shutdown’: Far-right U.S. House members slam spending bills

By: - July 25, 2023

WASHINGTON — A handful of ultra-conservative U.S. House Republicans rebuked their leadership on Tuesday over the annual government funding process, but appeared at odds on whether they should force a government shutdown later this year. Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs at a news conference mostly ruled out a funding lapse, though Virginia Rep. Bob Good left […]

Members of the crowd bow their heads in prayer at the start of the Faith & Freedom Road to Majority conference at the Washington Hilton on June 23, 2023. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Where the GOP presidential candidates stand on national abortion bans, restrictions

By: - June 26, 2023

WASHINGTON — The 2024 Republican presidential primary marks the first time in half a century that candidates will debate whether abortion should be restricted or banned at the federal level without the Roe v. Wade ruling making most of their proposals moot. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last summer to overturn the nationwide, constitutional right […]

The U.S. Capitol (Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)

U.S. Senate spending panel sets funding levels for annual bills

By: - June 22, 2023

WASHINGTON — A group of U.S. Senate Democrats on Thursday approved funding levels for dozens of federal departments for the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1 — setting up a likely clash with House Republicans as a deadline approaches later this year. The move to advance the spending plan was essential if Congress is going […]

People protest in response to the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ruling in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on June 24, 2022, in Washington, D.C. The Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health overturned the landmark 50-year-old Roe v. Wade case and erased a federal right to an abortion. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

A year after Dobbs: Congress takes a back seat on federal abortion policy

By: - June 19, 2023

WASHINGTON — One year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion, the courts rather than a divided Congress are leading the way on decisions on reproductive rights that would affect the entire nation. Congress has not enacted federal legislation to either preserve reproductive rights or to restrict abortion in the […]

Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Ed Markey, left, Washington Democratic Sen. Patty Murray, center, and North Carolina Democratic Rep. Kathy Manning at a press conference on contraception access outside the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, June 14, 2023. (Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)

Democrats in Congress renew push to protect access to birth control

By: - June 14, 2023

WASHINGTON — Democrats in Congress reintroduced a bill Wednesday that would guarantee access to birth control regardless of any future Supreme Court rulings. The measure would ensure people have the right to use contraception and that health care providers have a right to share information about contraception as well as provide it. The legislation would […]

Farmers are increasingly having to cope with severe weather events, like wildfires, drought, hurricanes and flooding. Here, floodwaters cover a farm in Union, Nebraska, in March 2019, when damages from a "bomb cyclone" topped $1 billion. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Effects of climate change on farming, federal spending explored by U.S. Senate panel

By: - June 7, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. senators on the Budget Committee dug into the impacts of climate change on farming during a Wednesday hearing, raising concerns about what the next few decades hold for food production and the way of life. But Republicans and representatives of farm groups pushed back against increased government regulation. Brent Johnson, president of […]

The U.S. Capitol building is seen on Oct. 22, 2021, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

U.S. Senate sends Biden debt limit legislation ahead of Monday default deadline

By: - June 1, 2023

WASHINGTON — The bipartisan debt limit bill is on its way to President Joe Biden after the U.S. Senate voted Thursday to clear the measure for his signature. The 63-36 vote followed several amendment votes, all of which were rejected. Biden is expected to quickly sign the package, preventing a default on the debt that […]

The U.S. Capitol. (SkyNoir Photography by Bill Dickinson/Getty Images)

U.S. House approves debt limit package, sending it to Senate days before default deadline

By: - May 31, 2023

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House took a broadly bipartisan vote Wednesday night on the debt limit package, sending it to the U.S. Senate where lawmakers are expected to vote quickly to clear the measure. The bill would suspend the nation’s borrowing limit through Jan. 1, 2025 and set caps on discretionary spending for two years. […]

U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, holds a press conference inside the U.S. Capitol’s Statuary Hall on the debt limit and government spending negotiations on May 24, 2023. (Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)

Debt limit deal hits turbulence in Congress as leaders prep for vote

By: and - May 30, 2023

WASHINGTON — Congress began moving the bipartisan debt limit package forward Tuesday, though frustrations with provisions in the bill could make for narrow passage in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate. Conservative Republicans and progressive Democrats both aired their disappointment with the agreement forged over the weekend, but only GOP lawmakers are looking to possibly […]

U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, front, with GOP Rep. Garret Graves of Louisiana at left, speaks briefly to reporters about a deal to avoid a default on the nation's debt he said has been reached with the White House, on May 27, 2023. (Screenshot from speaker's office webcast)

Biden, McCarthy say they have brokered a debt limit deal to avert U.S. default

By: and - May 27, 2023

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced a deal in principle Saturday night that would stave off a first-ever default on the nation’s debt as long as it can clear both chambers of Congress before June 5. The agreement would address the nation’s debt limit and include a “historic” reduction in spending, McCarthy said, though […]

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen gives a speech on the economy at Ford Rouge Electric Vehicle Center on Sept. 8, 2022, in Dearborn, Michigan. (Sarah Rice/Getty Images)

Treasury secretary pinpoints June 5 as earliest date for U.S. debt default

By: - May 26, 2023

WASHINGTON — Republicans in Congress and the Biden administration have until at least June 5 to broker and enact a debt limit bill under new estimates from the Treasury Department, giving negotiators a few more days before the country would default. “Based on the most recent available data, we now estimate that Treasury will have […]

President Joe Biden speaks during a news conference following the Group of Seven (G-7) leaders summit on May 21, 2023, in Hiroshima, Japan. (Kiyoshi Ota-Pool/Getty Images)

Biden says he’s offered $1 trillion in spending cuts but GOP won’t budge on debt limit

By: - May 21, 2023

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said Sunday his administration has offered $1 trillion in spending cuts as part of the ongoing talks with Republicans around a budget agreement, but he said no deal has yet been reached.  Biden, speaking from Japan during a press conference following the G7 summit, said his administration wants House Speaker […]