DC BUREAU

Our Washington, D.C., bureau reports on congressional delegations and key Supreme Court and administrative decisions that affect our state.

STAFF

Jane Norman

DC Bureau Chief

Jane directs national coverage, managing staff and freelance reporters in the nation’s capital and assigning and editing state-specific daily and enterprise stories.

Jacob Fischler

DC Bureau Senior Reporter

Jacob covers federal policy as a senior reporter for States Newsroom. Based in Oregon, he focuses on Western issues. His coverage areas include climate, energy development, public lands and infrastructure.

Ashley Murray

DC Bureau Senior Reporter

Ashley Murray covers the nation’s capital as a senior reporter for States Newsroom. Her coverage areas include domestic policy and appropriations.

Jennifer Shutt

DC Bureau Senior Reporter

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.

Ariana Figueroa

DC Bureau Reporter

Ariana covers the nation's capital for States Newsroom. Her areas of coverage include politics and policy, lobbying, elections and campaign finance.

STORIES

An aerial view of Verratti Farms LLC, a dairy and grain operation in Newfane and Gasport, New York, on May 26, 2022. (Courtesy of USDA)

Limits on foreign ownership of U.S. farmland gain support in Congress, despite skepticism

BY: - March 17, 2023

WASHINGTON — Bipartisan momentum is building in Congress to restrict China and other foreign adversaries from purchasing U.S. farmland, a reflection of a similar push by some states as well as apprehension over Chinese spy balloons, rising land prices and growing international competition.  “Foreign ownership of agricultural land threatens small family farms and the overall […]

U.S. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack testifies during a U.S. Senate Ag Committee oversight hearing March 16, 2023. (Committee video screenshot)

Members of U.S. Senate agriculture panel spar with Vilsack over USDA spending, response

BY: - March 16, 2023

WASHINGTON — Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack bristled at complaints from both Democrats and Republicans of unchecked departmental spending and delayed support for farmers during a Thursday U.S. Senate oversight hearing. He also lobbied Congress to provide a farm bill that will balance large-scale productivity with the needs of small and mid-sized producers, a theme the […]

(Darwin Brandis/iStock Getty Images Plus)

As opioids overdose deaths keep rising, report urges lawmakers to develop new approaches

BY: - March 16, 2023

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers should view America’s staggering opioid crisis, including the rise of illicit fentanyl, through an “ecosystems” approach, argues a massive RAND Corporation report published Thursday. That means they should examine the gaps and interconnections among emergency response, data collection, education, treatment, housing and law enforcement, the report advises. The 600-page volume — which […]

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

U.S. Senate moves toward repealing authority for military force against Iraq

BY: - March 16, 2023

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate took a broadly bipartisan vote Thursday to advance legislation that would end the 32-year-old and the 20-year-old Authorizations for Use of Military Force against Iraq.  The 68-27 vote moves the measure past the chamber’s 60-vote legislative filibuster and towards a final passage vote as soon as next week. House Republican […]

Contractors conduct groundwater sampling in March 2022 as part of an effort to provide alternative water supplies for areas affected by PFAS contamination near Ellsworth Air Force Base. (U.S. Air Force Civil Engineer Center)

Pentagon to halt use of firefighting foam that contains PFAS as cleanup costs mount

BY: and - March 16, 2023

WASHINGTON — Battered by years of criticism from U.S. lawmakers and environmental advocates, the Department of Defense will stop purchasing PFAS-containing firefighting foam later this year and phase it out entirely in 2024.  The replacement for Aqueous Film Forming Foam has yet to be determined, and advocates are frustrated it’s taken so long to halt […]

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., responds to reporters' questions about a White House meeting with Democratic congressional leaders, Jan. 24, 2023. (Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)

U.S. Senate leader calls for safety audit into all major railroads after Ohio derailment

BY: - March 15, 2023

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called Wednesday for the federal authority responsible for determining the causes of transportation casualties to investigate the safety culture at all major North American freight railroads. Following the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern derailment that caused a toxic chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio, Schumer, a New York Democrat, said […]

(SDI Productions/Getty Images)

Noncitizens allowed to vote in some local elections, spurring backlash from GOP

BY: - March 15, 2023

A few cities and towns around the U.S. are letting noncitizens vote in local elections, and more could follow. In response, Republicans see a chance to turn opposition to noncitizen voting into a national rallying cry. On March 14, Washington, D.C., became the latest city to approve noncitizen voting, when a bill allowing the District’s […]

U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-South Dakota, questions witnesses in a hearing of the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, in the Cannon House Office Building on Feb. 28, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

South Dakota congressman advocates expansion of work requirements for federal food aid

BY: - March 14, 2023

WASHINGTON — Republican South Dakota Rep. Dusty Johnson introduced a bill Tuesday aimed at expanding work requirements for federal nutrition aid, reigniting a perennial conflict over how Congress navigates both the farm bill and federal spending.  “Work is the best pathway out of poverty,” Johnson, who in his home state has talked about growing up […]

General Motors Co. announced plans to double revenue by 2030 with new battery-electric vehicles and hopes to surpass leading electric carmaker Tesla with the release of a new $30,000 electric SUV. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

States to receive $2.5B from feds for electric vehicle charging infrastructure

BY: - March 14, 2023

The federal government will send $2.5 billion over the next five years to states, local governments and tribes to build electric vehicle charging infrastructure, Biden administration officials said Tuesday. The new Charging and Fueling Infrastructure grant program, which was authorized by the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law, will spend $2.5 billion over five years to build […]

A worker tells people that the Silicon Valley Bank headquarters is closed on March 10, 2023, in Santa Clara, California. Silicon Valley Bank was shut down by California regulators and was put in control of the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Biden says U.S. bank deposits are safe despite tumult over California bank collapse

BY: - March 13, 2023

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden reassured Americans early Monday that their money is safe in U.S. banks, after a tumultuous weekend following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and a move by regulators to shut down a second lender. Americans “should feel confident that their deposits will be there, if and when they need them,” […]

Phillip A. Washington speaks at a nomination hearing with the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee on Capitol Hill on March 1, 2023, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Head of Denver airport doesn’t need waiver to lead the FAA, Biden administration says

BY: - March 10, 2023

President Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the Federal Aviation Administration — the CEO of Denver International Airport — does not need a congressional waiver to allow him to serve in the role, the U.S. Transportation Department’s top lawyer said in a Thursday letter to Congress. Federal law requires the FAA administrator to be a civilian […]

The sun sets on a wetland northwest of Hartford, South Dakota. (Joshua Haiar/SD Searchlight)

U.S. House votes to roll back Biden’s WOTUS rule

BY: - March 10, 2023

The U.S. House voted Thursday to undo a Biden administration definition of wetlands that allows for regulations on private lands. The chamber approved, 227-198, a resolution to roll back the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s broader definition of what qualifies as “waters of the United States,” or WOTUS, for the purposes of federal regulation under the […]