Page 2 - Us Congress

US Sen Menendez convicted of taking bribes & acting as an agent for Egypt

US Sen. Bob Menendez was convicted on Tuesday of all the counts he faced at his corruption trial, including accepting bribes of gold and cash from three New Jersey businessmen and acting as a foreign agent for the Egyptian government. The jury's verdict followed a nine-week trial in which prosecutors said the Democrat abused the power of his office to protect allies from criminal investigations and enrich associates, including his wife, through acts that included meeting with Egyptian intelligence officials and helping that country access millions of dollars in US military aid. As the verdict was read in court, Menendez, 70, looked toward the jury at times as he appeared to mark a document in front of him. Afterward, he sat resting his chin against his closed hands, elbows on the table. He and his lawyers vowed to appeal as they left the courthouse. I have never been anything but a patriot of my country and for my country. I have never, ever been a foreign agent, Menendez ...

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu set to address US Congress on July 24

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to address a joint meeting of Congress on July 24, setting the stage for what is expected to be a contentious speech at a crucial moment for the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. Congressional leaders confirmed the date of the address late Thursday after formally inviting Netanyahu to come speak before lawmakers last week. It is the most recent show of wartime support for the longtime ally despite mounting political divisions over Israel's military assault on Hamas in Gaza. The existential challenges we face, including the growing partnership between Iran, Russia, and China, threaten the security, peace, and prosperity of our countries and of free people around the world, House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, along with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, said in the letter. "To build on our enduring relationship and to highlight ..

TikTok, ByteDance sue to block US law seeking divestiture or ban of app

Driven by worries among U.S. lawmakers that China could access data on Americans or spy on them with the app, the measure was passed overwhelmingly in Congress just weeks after being introduced

Senate passes $95.3 bn package for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and Indo-Pacific

The Senate has passed USD 95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars. The bill passed the Senate on an overwhelming 79-18 vote late on Tuesday after the House had approved the package on Saturday. Biden, who worked with congressional leaders to win support, said in a statement immediately after passage that he will sign it on Wednesday and start the process of sending weapons to Ukraine, which has been struggling to hold its front lines against Russia. "Tonight, a bipartisan majority in the Senate joined the House to answer history's call at this critical inflection point," Biden said. The legislation would also send USD 26 billion in wartime assistance to Israel and humanitarian relief to citizens of Gaza, and USD 8 billion to counter Chinese threats in Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific. US officials said about USD 1 billion

'Key provisions of CAA may violate certain Articles of Indian Constitution'

Key provisions of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) which came into law this year may violate certain provisions of India's Constitution, a report issued by an independent research wing of the US Congress has claimed. CAA, which amends India's 1955 Citizenship Act, came into force in March this year. The CAA's key provisions allowing immigrants of six religions from three countries a path to citizenship while excluding Muslims may violate certain Articles of the Indian Constitution, said a brief 'In Focus' report of Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS is an independent research wing of the US Congress that prepares reports on issues of interest to the members of Congress so that they can make informed decisions. CRS reports are not considered to be an official report of views of the Congress. The Indian government and other proponents of the CAA have asserted that the aim is purely humanitarian. India has also trashed the criticism against the CAA and said "vote-bank ...

Pak sustained its nuclear programme despite economic turmoil: US official

Pakistan sustained its nuclear modernisation efforts last year despite its economic turmoil as its contentious relationship with India continues to drive its defence policy, the top US intelligence official has told Congress. The remarks by Lt Gen Jeffrey Kruse, Director of the Defence Intelligence Agency came during a Congressional hearing on China on Monday???. Kruse told lawmakers that Pakistan has sought international support, including from the UN Security Council, to resolve its dispute with India about Kashmir. Separately, Islamabad and New Delhi have maintained an uneasy ceasefire along the shared Line of Control since February 2021, he said. Pakistan has sustained its nuclear modernisation efforts despite its economic turmoil. Terrorist violence against Pakistani security forces and civilians also rose last year, he said. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Pakistan is reported to have 170 nuclear warheads as of January 2023. Cash-strapped .

Boeing CEO to testify on jetliner safety after whistleblower charges

A Senate subcommittee has summoned Boeing CEO David Calhoun to testify about the company's jetliners in an inquiry prompted by new safety-related charges from a whistleblower. The panel said it will hold a hearing next week featuring a Boeing quality engineer, Sam Salehpour, who is expected to detail safety concerns involving the manufacture and assembly of the 787 Dreamliner. The subcommittee said in a letter that those problems could create potentially catastrophic safety risks. Boeing would not say whether Calhoun plans to attend the April 17 hearing. In response to a query from The Associated Press, a spokesperson said only that the company is cooperating with the subcommittee's inquiry and has offered to provide documents, testimony and technical briefings. The Federal Aviation Administration has also been investigating Salehpour's allegations since February, according to the subcommittee. The FAA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Salehpour, whose concerns

Republicans invite Prez Biden to testify as impeachment inquiry stalls

House Republicans on Thursday invited President Joe Biden to testify before Congress as part of their impeachment inquiry into him and his family's business affairs. Rep James Comer, chair of the House Oversight Committee, sent a letter to the Democratic president, inviting him to sit for a public hearing to "explain, under oath", what involvement he had in the Biden family businesses. "In light of the yawning gap between your public statements and the evidence assembled by the Committee, as well as the White House's obstruction, it is in the best interest of the American people for you to answer questions from Members of Congress directly, and I hereby invite you to do so," the Kentucky Republican wrote. While it is highly unlikely that Biden would agree to appear before lawmakers in such a setting, Comer pointed to previous examples of presidents' testifying before Congress. "As you are aware, presidents before you have provided testimony to congressional committees, including ..

US Congress rushes to approve package of spending bills to prevent shutdown

Lawmakers are racing on Friday to pass the final spending package needed for the current budget year, a long overdue action that will set funding for federal agencies and push any threats of a government shutdown to the fall. With spending set to expire for several key federal agencies at midnight on Friday, the House and Senate are expected to take up to spare a USD 1.2 trillion measure that combines six annual spending bills into one package. More than 70 per cent of the money would go to defence. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is bringing the bill up under a streamlined process that requires two-thirds support for approval. It will pass. We're whipping the bill and I expect a good number," Johnson said, referring to how leadership rallies support for a bill. While lawmakers could miss the midnight deadline for funding the government action in the Senate could take time the practical impact would be minimal. With most federal workers off duty over the weekend, and many government

Nearly 8 in 10 AAPI adults in US think abortion should be legal: Poll

With abortion rights poised to be one of the major issues in the 2024 election, a new poll shows that Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders in the United States are highly supportive of legal abortion, even in situations where the pregnant person wants an abortion for any reason. The poll from AAPI Data and The Associated Press-NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research finds that nearly 8 in 10 Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders think abortion should be legal in all or most cases. They're also supportive of federal government action to preserve abortion rights: Three-quarters of AAPI adults say Congress should pass a law guaranteeing access to legal abortions nationwide. By comparison, an AP-NORC poll conducted last June found that 64 per cent of US adults think abortion should be legal in all or most cases, and 6 in 10 US adults overall say Congress should pass a law guaranteeing access. AAPI adults are more likely than Americans overall to ...

Modi is going to be PM again, is highly popular: US Congressman McCormick

Describing Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a popular leader, a US congressman has exuded confidence that he would be re-elected in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Prime Minister Modi is incredibly popular. I was just over there. I actually had lunch with Prime Minister Modi and several other congressmen, and to see his popularity across party lines really. Somebody who I think is around 70 per cent popular. He is going to be prime minister again, Congressman Rich McCormick, a Republican from Georgia, told PTI in an interview. To see his progressive outlook on economy, on development, on goodwill towards all people, to see his application and positivity to the Indian people in the diaspora worldwide is going to affect the global economy, their strategic relationships. I look forward to his influence in a very positive way, he said in response to a question. India's economy, under Modi's leadership, he said, is expanding anywhere from four to eight per cent per year. If you look at

Can't find work records related to door panel that blew out in Jan: Boeing

Boeing has acknowledged in a letter to Congress that it cannot find records for work done on a door panel that blew out on an Alaska Airlines flight over Oregon two months ago. We have looked extensively and have not found any such documentation, Ziad Ojakli, Boeing executive vice president and chief government lobbyist, wrote to Sen. Maria Cantwell on Friday. The company said its working hypothesis was that the records about the panel's removal and reinstallation on the 737 MAX final assembly line in Renton, Washington, were never created, even though Boeing's systems required it. The letter, reported earlier by The Seattle Times, followed a contentious Senate committee hearing Wednesday in which Boeing and the National Transportation Safety Board argued over whether the company had cooperated with investigators. The safety board's chair, Jennifer Homendy, testified that for two months Boeing repeatedly refused to identify employees who work on door panels on Boeing 737s and faile

US Congress comes out with 6 spending bills to avoid partial shutdown

Congressional leaders on Sunday came out with a package of six bills setting full-year spending levels for some federal agencies, a step forward in a long overdue funding process beset by sharp political divisions between the two parties as well as infighting among House Republicans. The release of the text of legislation over the weekend was designed to meet the House's rule to give lawmakers at least 72 hours to study a bill before voting. And it's a promising sign that lawmakers will avoid a partial shutdown that would kick in at 12:01 am Saturday for those agencies covered under the bill, such as Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Transportation, Justice and others. Congressional leaders hope to complete votes on the package this week and continue negotiations on the remaining six annual spending bills to pass them before a March 22 deadline. House Speaker Mike Johnson highlighted some key policy and spending wins for conservatives, even as many of his GOP colleagues consider the ..

US Cong okays short-term extension to buy more time for final spending deal

Congress passed another short-term spending measure Thursday that would keep one set of federal agencies operating through March 8 and another set through March 22, avoiding a shutdown for parts of the federal government that would otherwise kick in Saturday. The bill now goes to President Joe Biden to be signed into law. The short-term extension is the fourth in recent months, and many lawmakers expect it to be the last for the current fiscal year. House Speaker Mike Johnson said negotiators had completed six of the annual spending bills that fund federal agencies and had almost final agreement on the others. We'll get the job done, Johnson said as he exited a closed-door meeting with Republican colleagues. The House acted first Thursday. The vote to approve the extension was 320-99. It easily cleared the two-thirds majority needed for passage. Democrats overwhelmingly voted to avert a partial shutdown. But the vote was much more divided with Republicans, 113 in support and 97 ...

Congress reaches tentative deal to avoid govt shutdown, Ukraine aid stalls

Days before a possible partial government shutdown, negotiators in Congress worked furiously Wednesday to finish up a federal spending plan as Washington joined Ukraine and other American allies around the world in watching and waiting for House Speaker Mike Johnson's next move. The new Republican leader is facing the test of his career trying to keep the U.S. government open by Friday's midnight deadline for several federal departments. At the same time, emergency funding for Ukraine, Israel and Indo-Pacific allies remains stubbornly stalled. President Joe Biden convened leaders Tuesday in hopes of pushing them toward a deal. We are very close to getting it done, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said as he opened his side of the Capitol on Wednesday. Republicans are also are optimistic that a deal can be reached. Congress is in what has become a familiar cycle of threatened shutdowns and disruptions as Johnson's hard-right Republicans in his GOP majority strive for ..

US Congress praises Taiwan in visit that's certain to draw China's scrutiny

A group of United States Congress members met with Taiwan's president Thursday in a show of support that's certain to draw scrutiny from China, which opposes such visits and sees them as a challenge to its claim of sovereignty over the island. A visit by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan two years ago resulted in China dispatching warships and military aircraft to all sides of the self-governing island democracy, and firing ballistic missiles into the waters nearby. In a meeting Thursday with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, Representative Mike Gallagher, the Republican chair of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, highlighted the bipartisan support for the US-Taiwan partnership, which he described as "stronger and more rock-solid than ever now. The US, like most countries, doesn't formally recognize Taiwan as a country but maintains robust informal relations with the island and is bound by its own laws to provide it with the weapons it needs to defend

US warned allies about Russian space, nuclear capabilities: Report

The new capabilities, related to Russian attempts to develop a space-based weapon, do not pose an urgent threat to the United States, the source said

Gallagher won't run for US Congress after he angered fellow Republicans

US Representative Mike Gallagher, a key Republican Congressman who has spearheaded House pushback against the Chinese government, announced on Saturday that he won't run for a fifth term. The announcement comes just days after he angered his fellow Republicans by refusing to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The GOP has been looking to oust Mayorkas as a way to punish the Biden administration over its handling of the US-Mexico border. A House impeachment vote on Tuesday fell just one vote short. Gallagher was one of three Republicans who opposed impeachment. His fellow Republicans surrounded him on the House floor in an attempt to change his mind but he refused to change his vote. Record numbers of people have been arriving at the southern border as they flee countries around the globe. Many claim asylum and end up in US cities that are ill-prepared to provide for them while they await court proceedings. The issue is potent line of attack for Donald Trump as he

US envoys write to Congress to pass emergency aid for Ukraine, Israel: WH

American envoys in nine countries, including India and Japan, wrote to the Congress Tuesday urging it to act quickly to pass the President's National Security Supplemental Funding request, including the aid it contains for Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific, the White House said. John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council in the White House, told reporters that nine US ambassadors to countries across the Indo-Pacific have sent the letter. "The ambassadors wrote about how... 'many countries in the Indo-Pacific are intently focused on the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East'," Kirby said quoting from the letter. The ambassadors signing the letter included Philip Goldberg of South Korea, Rahm Emanuel of Japan, Caroline Kennedy of Australia, MaryKay Carlson of the Philippines, Eric Garcetti of India, Nicholas Burns of China, Tom Udall of New Zealand, Edgard Kagan of Malaysia and Marc Knapper of Vietnam. "Governments are watching what we

Biden tells Congress to 'show some spine' as Ukraine aid faces defeat

President Joe Biden on Tuesday acknowledged that a bill to provide security funding for Ukraine and for the US border with Mexico is stalled in Congress. The Democratic president blamed the situation on former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential front-runner and told Congress to show some spine and stand up to Trump. A bipartisan Senate deal intended to curb illegal crossings at the US border with Mexico faced almost certain defeat Tuesday as Senate Republicans signalled their opposition, stranding President Joe Biden with no clear way to advance aid for Ukraine through Congress. The Democratic president has urged lawmakers to embrace a bipartisan Senate deal that pairs border enforcement measures with USD 60 billion in wartime aid for Ukraine, as well as tens of billions of dollars more for Israel, other US allies in Asia, the US immigration system and humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza and Ukraine.