Author: Reilly Lowery

A Senator from North Dakota wants the Biden administration to withdraw a final rule on the importation of sheep and goats. Republican Kevin Cramer made the request in a letter to the Department of Agriculture this week, asking the rule be withdrawn until its impact on current market conditions can be fully evaluated. The rule, finalized on January 14, would remove brain disorder-related import restrictions on sheep, goats, and most of their products. Cramer says the existing import restrictions function as a necessary protection against the introduction of other brain disorders, such as scrapie or mad cow disease. Republican Senators

U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) recently reintroduced a bipartisan bill to allow the interstate sale of state-inspected meats and poultry. “Our bill would allow these high-quality products that pass state inspection standards to be sold across state lines,” Sen. Rounds said, “opening up new markets for our producers and giving consumers greater choice at the grocery store.” Sen. Rounds on Jan. 28 sponsored the New Markets for State-Inspected Meat and Poultry Act, S. 107, with 10 cosponsors including U.S. Sens. Steve Daines (R-MT), Joe Manchin III (D-WV), and Angus King (I-ME). Sen. Rounds and several of his colleagues previously introduced

Nearly all of the Republicans in the U.S. Senate have united to warn the Democratic leadership they will oppose any effort to overturn long-standing bans on federal funding of abortion. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., and 47 other GOP senators promised Majority Leader Charles Schumer in a Feb. 5 letter that they will vote to block attempts to eradicate or diminish the Hyde Amendment and other pro-life protections. The Hyde Amendment, first adopted in 1976, bars federal funds in the Medicaid program from paying for abortions. The 48-member commitment is a promising development in efforts to maintain federal pro-life policies. As

After speaking with Rep. Deb Haaland, Sen. Steve Daines on Friday said in a statement that he is “deeply concerned with the Congresswoman’s support on several radical issues” and threatened to “block her confirmation.” If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Haaland will be the first Native American to hold the position. A Democratic representative from New Mexico, Haaland is a member of the Laguna Pueblo Tribe. When Biden announced her nomination on Dec. 17 tribal members in Montana celebrated the historic pick. Daines cited Haaland’s support of the Green New Deal and President Joe Biden’s oil and gas moratorium as

Rep. Deb Haaland’s confirmation hearing has yet to even be scheduled, but already at least one Senate Republican is pledging to block her nomination to serve as secretary of the Interior. Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) announced Friday he would take steps to prevent Haaland, a New Mexico Democrat, from leading the agency with jurisdiction over activities on public lands — one direct result of the backlash against President Biden’s executive orders to halt construction of the Keystone XL pipeline and pause new federal oil and gas leasing. “After our conversation, I’m deeply concerned with the Congresswoman’s support on several radical

The top Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is prepared to oppose Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) to serve as President Biden’s nominee to lead the Interior Department, the latest in an ongoing confrontation between oil-friendly lawmakers and the new White House over its climate priorities on federal lands. “Representative Haaland’s radical views are squarely at odds with the responsible management of our nation’s energy resources,” Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming said in a statement to E&E News today. “Her vocal opposition to oil and gas production on federal lands will only encourage President Biden along the illegal

As the U.S. Senate is about to be weighed down with the second impeachment of Donald Trump, a bi-partisan push is quietly underway in both chambers to make the U.S. Postal Service profitable again. “This is the kind of common-sense bipartisan legislation that I came to Congress to try and introduce and I’m proud to be one of the folks who helped introduce and write this bill,” said U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, in an interview on Sunday’s Inside Texas Politics. The bill is called the U.S. Postal Service Fairness Act, and, if passed, would wipe away a massive financial