Latest Ron Wyden News
Democrats see tax 'framework' to pay for huge $3.5T package
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House and congressional Democrats have agreed to a framework of options to pay for their huge, emerging social and environment bill, top Democrats said Thursday. Now they face the daunting task of narrowing the menu to tax possibilities they can pass to fund...
Biden presses fellow Dems: Resolve party split on $3.5T plan
WASHINGTON (AP) — With a personal push, President Joe Biden pressed fellow Democrats to hasten work on his big “build back better” agenda Wednesday, telling them to come up with a final framework and their best topline budget figure as the party labors to bridge its divisions in...
Consumers get online tool to check nursing home vaccine data
WASHINGTON (AP) — Families and patients have a new online tool to compare COVID-19 vaccination rates among nursing homes, Medicare announced Tuesday, addressing complaints from consumer groups and lawmakers that the critical data had been too difficult to find. The...
Democrats tackling flash points of taxes, health, climate
WASHINGTON (AP) — Revamp the tax code and important federal health care and environment programs. Spend $3.5 trillion over 10 years, but maybe a lot less. Ensure that no more than three Democrats in all of Congress vote “no” because Republicans will be unanimously opposed. ...
Internet funding rule could favor rural areas over cities
Cities and urban counties across the U.S. are raising concerns that a recent rule from President Joe Biden's administration could preclude them from tapping into $350 billion of coronavirus relief aid to expand high-speed internet connections. Biden has set a goal of...
The Latest: Alaska Gov: Biden’s vaccine order 'un-American'
JUNEAU, Alaska — Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy said President Joe Biden’s effort to require millions of U.S. workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19 is “ill conceived, divisive, and un-American.” “At a time in which we are called to work together, forced medical...
White House taps populist message as Biden pushes $3.5T plan
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is preparing an urgent and populist message for selling President Joe Biden's $3.5 trillion “build back better” agenda, even as House committee leaders begin churning out pieces of the forthcoming measure. In a memo being sent...
Two anchors of COVID safety net ending, affecting millions
WASHINGTON (AP) — Mary Taboniar went 15 months without a paycheck, thanks to the COVID pandemic. A housekeeper at the Hilton Hawaiian Village resort in Honolulu, the single mother of two saw her income completely vanish as the virus devastated the hospitality industry. ...
Oregon county asks for morgue truck as COVID fatalities rise
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Noting that the COVID delta variant “is spreading like wildfire among the unvaccinated in our community," the leaders of an Oregon coastal county said Friday they no longer have capacity to store the bodies of those who have died and are asking the state for a...
Chicago watchdog harshly criticizes ShotSpotter system
CHICAGO (AP) — A gunshot detection system that has cost Chicago tens of millions of dollars and is touted as a critical component of the police department's effort to combat gun violence rarely produces evidence of gun-related crime in the city, Chicago's nonpartisan watchdog agency...
