News
Debt limit deal hits turbulence in Congress as leaders prep for vote
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 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 remove […]
Western lands fight erupts over Bureau of Land Management’s conservation proposal
One thing opponents and proponents of a recently proposed U.S. Bureau of Land Management rule agree on: It would be a major shift in how the agency manages nearly 250 million acres of federal lands. The rule would allow for conservation leases, similar to how the agency auctions off parcels of land for mining, livestock […]
Efforts for ranked-choice voting, STAR voting gaining progress in Oregon
Efforts to change Oregon’s voting system are on the move in the state Legislature and among citizen groups trying to write laws at the ballot box. The House last week voted mostly along party lines to approve House Bill 2004, Speaker Dan Rayfield’s proposal to establish ranked-choice voting in statewide elections beginning in 2028. The […]
USDA will invest $52 million to help fishing industry on the West Coast
The struggling fisheries industry on the West Coast is getting a much-needed financial boost from the federal government. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it will buy $52 million worth of Pacific groundfish for its food assistance programs. The money is the USDA’s third and biggest investment in the fish in as many years. “This […]
Funding for drought package less than half of what bipartisan authors proposed
Democratic leaders in the Legislature have announced they’d allocate $110 million to confront Oregon’s drought and water security issues for the next two years. It’s less than half of what the budget’s authors, Reps. Ken Helm, D-Beaverton, and Mark Owens, R-Crane, had initially proposed in March. The two wanted $250 million for at least 25 […]
‘Finally come home’: Oregon nonprofit works with Idaho vets, historians to solve WWII mysteries
GOODING – Among a box full of American flags tucked away at the Gooding County Historical Museum in Idaho, a mystery from World War II is unfolding. The 2-foot-by-2-foot piece of cloth is made of silk. Two small leather attachments with string – perhaps used to secure to a flagpole – are stitched to the […]
Biden, McCarthy say they have brokered a debt limit deal to avert U.S. default
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 […]
Republicans file campaign finance complaints against PAC targeting GOP senators for walking out
At least two Republican political consultants have filed campaign finance complaints against a liberal political action committee running radio ads asking Oregonians to tell their Republican senators to return to work. A political action committee formed last fall by the president of the public employee union that represents state employees, paid nearly $17,000 for radio […]
After years of bipartisan spending boosts, U.S. House GOP won’t lift debt ceiling without cuts
WASHINGTON — Republicans and Democrats in Congress together brokered dozens of debt limit agreements, including several during the past decade, marked by a desire in both political parties to increase federal spending. But U.S. House Republicans now are pushing for the federal government to spend less next year than it will this year in order […]
After session ends, Oregon senators will face a new battle – in the courts
The GOP-led Senate walkout is the first round of a fight that likely will continue in court when the session concludes by June 25. The political futures of senators who have racked up 10 or more unexcused absences is on the line: They’re disqualified from serving another term of office under a constitutional amendment approved […]
U.S. Supreme Court rejects Biden wetlands regulation, ruling for Idaho couple
The U.S. Supreme Court in a major environmental decision on Thursday overturned the Environmental Protection Agency’s definition of wetlands that fall under the agency’s jurisdiction, siding with an Idaho couple who’d said they should not be required to obtain federal permits to build on their property that lacked any navigable water. All nine justices agreed […]
With debt default as soon as a week away, U.S. House jets off for holiday break
WASHINGTON — U.S. House members walked down the steps of the Capitol building Thursday morning to head back to their districts for a Memorial Day recess that began exactly one week before the country could default on the debt. House Democrats took to the floor after the final vote of the week to give a […]