Schumer mulls obscure procedural maneuver to pass Biden's infrastructure bill
CBSN
Washington — As Congress pursues President Biden's ambitious legislative agenda, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is mulling the use of an obscure procedural maneuver that would allow for the president's massive infrastructure bill to pass without any Republican votes. Mr. Biden introduced the first part of his two-pronged infrastructure package on Wednesday.
Although Democrats control both chambers of Congress and the White House, their hold on the Senate in particular is tenuous with a 50-seat majority. Most legislation requires 60 votes to advance in the Senate, and Democrats are unlikely to get Republican support for their more ambitious and expensive proposals. Absent of eliminating the filibuster, which would allow legislation to advance with a simple majority, Democrats have few options for passing their priorities without any Republican votes. One such path is budget reconciliation, a procedural maneuver which allows for budget-related items to pass with a simple majority. Congress used budget reconciliation to pass Mr. Biden's $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan earlier this month without any Republican votes.Billions of cicadas are emerging across about 16 states in the Southeast and Midwest. Periodical cicadas used to reliably emerge every 13 or 17 years, depending on their brood. But in a warming world where spring conditions arrive sooner, climate change is messing with the bugs' internal alarm clocks.
Senate Democrats to unveil package to protect IVF as party makes reproductive rights push this month
Washington — A group of Senate Democrats is set to unveil a new package to protect access to IVF on Monday, as the party makes a push around reproductive rights this month — two years after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.