Congress

Kevin Kirby operates a tractor to begin the sweet potato harvest process by plowing them up from the field on Kirby Farms in Mechanicsville, Virginia, on Sep. 20, 2013. Kirby is a fourth-generation farmer. (USDA photo by Lance Cheung.)

Senators probe foreign ownership of ag land; Rounds measure would ban several countries

BY: - September 27, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. senators said during a Wednesday hearing that foreign ownership of U.S. farmland is a national security threat that should be further examined. The U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry discussed foreign ownership of the nation’s agricultural lands, with testimony from experts and Senate colleagues who have been taking the lead […]

U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-California, center, speaks to reporters on Sept. 26, 2023, at the U.S. Capitol. (Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)

U.S. Senate moves on short-term spending bill in struggle to avoid shutdown days away

BY: - September 27, 2023

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate is on track to clear a short-term government funding bill in the days ahead, but it wasn’t clear Tuesday if that would happen before the Saturday midnight deadline to avert a shutdown, or if House GOP leaders would put the bill up for a vote in that chamber. U.S. House […]

Visitors drive into Badlands National Park on Oct. 1, 2013, near Wall. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

How a looming government shutdown could hit national parks

BY: - September 26, 2023

National parks and nearby communities could forgo millions of dollars per day during a partial government shutdown that could start this weekend. Would-be visitors will likely see restrictions on park access, though the extent of those restrictions was still unclear just days before a potential lapse in federal appropriations set to begin Sunday. Parks would […]

Mike Scully harvests soybeans at Scully Family Farms in Spencer, Indiana, on Sept. 29, 2022. (USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service photo by Brandon O’Connor)

The farm bill is on the verge of expiring. Congress is months away from a new version.

BY: - September 26, 2023

WASHINGTON — As the deadline for Congress to pass a new farm bill looms this weekend, staff members of the House and Senate Agriculture committees say it will be months – if not longer – until they reach agreement on a new bill. Lawmakers must rewrite the sweeping farm bill every five years to set […]

Fall peppers and chili at Bloomingdale Farmers Market on Nov. 9, 2014, in Washington, D.C. The market accepted Women, Infant and Children (WIC) Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program benefits coupons. (USDA Photo by Lance Cheung)

Food benefits for low income families at risk in a government shutdown, White House says

BY: - September 25, 2023

WASHINGTON — As Congress barrels toward a partial government shutdown, the White House Monday warned that a program that helps millions of low income families afford healthy food could see substantial cuts. The White House released a state-by-state breakdown, estimating that nearly 7 million people who rely on the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, […]

U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-South Dakota, speaks with students on May 19, 2023, in Sioux Falls. (Joshua Haiar/SD Searchlight)

Johnson says members who ‘love chaos’ could hurt Republicans in shutdown fight

BY: - September 25, 2023

South Dakota’s lone U.S. representative said Monday that a handful of his fellow Republicans with extreme positions could hurt the party’s position in negotiations on a potential government shutdown. Congress does not have a deal yet on a short-term spending bill to avert a partial government shutdown before the new fiscal year begins Sunday. Rep. […]

Fireplaces inside the U.S. Capitol send smoke into the sky on Jan. 6, 2023. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)

Shutdown inches closer as U.S. House GOP fails to pass defense bill, lawmakers exit D.C.

BY: - September 21, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans were unable for a third time Thursday to begin debate on the Defense funding bill, throwing another wrench into Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s leadership tenure. The 212-216 vote that rejected the rule for the $826 billion Defense spending measure was unexpected, coming less than a day after House GOP lawmakers gathered […]

U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson speaks on the House floor in September 2023 about his bill to protect land at the Wounded Knee Massacre site. (Courtesy of Rep. Johnson's office)

U.S. House passes Johnson’s bill to protect Wounded Knee land

BY: - September 20, 2023

The U.S. House approved by voice vote Wednesday a bill that would help protect land at the site of the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre in South Dakota, where an estimated 350 Lakota were killed by U.S. soldiers. The site is within the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The Oglala Sioux Tribe and the Cheyenne River Sioux […]

Low water levels are visible at Lake Powell on June 24, 2021, in Lake Powell, Utah. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

U.S. Senate panel grapples with how to ensure access to water amid Western drought

BY: - September 20, 2023

Decades of drought in the West has made water quality and quantity a major issue requiring government funding and innovation to fix, members of a U.S. Senate panel said Wednesday. Demand for water in growing municipalities is stretching agricultural and tribal communities, while shrinking availability is leading to higher water prices, witnesses told the Senate […]

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

A ‘disaster’ nears: Millions of federal workers’ paychecks would be on hold in a shutdown

BY: - September 20, 2023

WASHINGTON — More than 3.5 million federal employees and military personnel — many in the Washington, D.C., area but also scattered across the states and around the globe — are bracing for another partial government shutdown, as U.S. House Republicans struggle to produce a short-term plan to fund the government past the end of the […]

A Trump supporter holds a Trump flag during the attack on the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Former U.S. Capitol Police chief blames intelligence failures, not Trump, for Jan. 6 attack

BY: - September 19, 2023

The FBI and U.S. Department of Homeland Security failed to share intelligence with the U.S. Capitol Police ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack, leaving the Capitol Police under-prepared for that day’s violence, the former chief of the Capitol Police told a U.S. House panel chaired by Georgia Republican Barry Loudermilk on Tuesday. But Democrats […]

U.S. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., speaks to reporters after a House Republican conference meeting at the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 19, 2023 in Washington, D.C. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

U.S. House GOP spending bills falter as Congress struggles to avoid a shutdown

BY: and - September 19, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Democrats said Tuesday they are preparing their own short-term spending bill that they believe will garner bipartisan support, a decision that could stave off a partial government shutdown — and as House Republicans failed to advance two spending bills. The Senate move would work as long as the House votes to […]