The Republican-controlled Pennsylvania Senate passed a bill Monday that would empower poll watchers across the state. The bill, S.B. 573, is sponsored by Republican gubernatorial nominee state Sen. Doug Mastriano. It would increase the fines and criminal penalties for interfering with a poll watcher, mandate that poll watchers be able to stand “six feet or less” from election...
North Carolina GOP Senate nominee Budd embraces tax hike for 102 million people
Rep. Ted Budd of North Carolina, the Republican nominee for his state’s open Senate seat, has endorsed the idea of a tax hike for most Americans, agreeing that everyone, no matter their income level, should have “skin in the game” by paying federal taxes. Budd also said that his party needs to be cautious about how it talks about National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair...
Biden pushes House to pass ocean shipping reform to help US businesses
In a video released by the White House on Thursday, President Joe Biden announced his intention to sign legislation currently pending in Congress aimed at reforming ocean shipping regulations. The Ocean Shipping Reform Act passed the Senate on March 31; Biden says in the video, “Democrats and Republicans voted for it, it’s over in the House of Representatives, I expect it to be voted...
House passes gun safety legislation with almost all Republicans voting against it
The House of Representatives passed a package of gun safety legislation Wednesday night in an attempt to address the rise of gun violence following the recent mass shooting incidents in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas. The Protecting Our Kids Act, H.R. 7910, is a package of multiple bills that would raise the age limit for purchasing certain semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21, require safe...
Candidate backed by GOP House caucus chair called for ‘inspirational’ leader like Hitler
Carl Paladino, the Republican congressional candidate endorsed on June 6 by House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik in his run for New York’s 23rd Congressional District, praised Adolf Hitler during a radio appearance in 2021. Paladino, a former Buffalo Board of Education official, said in comments unearthed by Media Matters for America that the United States needed someone like...
Meet an anti-LGBTQ Senate candidate: Mehmet Oz
After a razor-thin victory in the May 17 primary and a lengthy recount, television personality-turned-Pennsylvania Republican Senate candidate Mehmet Oz officially became his party’s nominee after opponent Dave McCormick conceded the race on June 3. Though he once espoused political positions supported by the majority of Americans on issues like abortion rights, climate action, and...
Four states receive $500 million from Rescue Plan to expand high-speed internet access
On Tuesday, the U.S Department of the Treasury announced it would award $582.8 million in American Rescue Plan funds to four states — Louisiana, New Hampshire, Virginia, and West Virginia — to provide affordable, high-speed internet to underserved communities. The federal funds will come out of the $10 billion Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund, which was designed to fund infrastructure...
South Dakota voters reject GOP effort to block Medicaid expansion
Voters in South Dakota on Tuesday overwhelmingly rejected a Republican-led attempt to make it more difficult to pass ballot initiatives in the state. In an effort to block an expansion of Medicaid coverage for low-income residents, Republican lawmakers had put an initiative on the ballot that, if approved, would have required that future ballot initiatives earn 60% of the vote to pass rather than...
Most Michigan GOP candidates silent on mass shootings
The Republican-controlled Michigan Legislature has repeatedly refused to take action to reform gun safety laws, even in the wake of a mass shooting in its state: Following a school shooting in Oxford on Nov. 3, 2021, in which four students were killed, Democratic state lawmakers introduced four separate gun safety bills. Republicans prevented all of them from getting a vote. Following the...
12 GOP senators oppose bill to expand health care to veterans exposed to toxic burn pits
The Democratic-controlled Senate on Tuesday advanced a bill aimed at providing adequate medical care for veterans exposed to toxic chemicals during their service. But 12 Senate Republicans voted against even considering this bipartisan proposal. By an 86-12 margin, the Senate voted for cloture on a motion to begin consideration of the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to...