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Controversy follows changes to federal debt relief program for farmers of color

Aug 22, 2022
A federal program to aid farmers of color has been changed to omit references to race.
A federal program to provide aid to farmers of color was broadened by the recently-passed climate bill and now omits references to race.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Should the U.S. try to restrict high-tech American companies from investing in China?

Aug 2, 2022
The proposal is part of a larger competition package being considered in Congress.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai explains why addressing economic coercion from China is a challenge.
cbarnesphotography/Getty Images

The promise and compromise of Senate Democrats' climate change legislation

Jul 29, 2022
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.., announced that he would back the package Thursday after previously raising inflation concerns.
Sen. Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, said Thursday that he had agreed to support the Biden administration's climate change package.
Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images

Crypto's growth spawns a Washington debate: Who should regulate it?

Jun 8, 2022
A bill would put the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in charge. Some consumer advocates back the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has more people to oversee cryptocurrency than the smaller Commodity Futures Trading Commission, but other factors are involved.
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

Pickleball is growing fast, with pros, prize money and business opportunities

Apr 11, 2022
Sponsors have opened their checkbooks, and Washington state, where it was invented, named pickleball its official sport.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee takes a turn on the pickleball court on Bainbridge Island, the  birthplace of the sport, after he signed a bill to make pickleball the official state sport on March 28.
Courtesy Office of Gov. Jay Inslee

Pressure mounts on Biden to use Defense Production Act, but it's not a "magic wand"

Mar 14, 2022
Those bipartisan calls from Congress follow the president's ban on Russian oil and other energy imports.
Though pressure is building for President Joe Biden to invoke the Defense Production Act to boost domestic oil production, some say the situation is not a national emergency — a requirement for tapping the act.
Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images

When will we see the economic impact of new infrastructure spending?

Nov 8, 2021
There are shorter- and longer-term projects in Biden's $1 trillion plan. State and local governments will influence how it’s spent.
President Biden's $1 trillion plan invests in long-term infrastructure change, although state and local officials will have plenty of say in how the money is spent.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds via Getty Images

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What kind of jobs could the infrastructure bill lead to?

Aug 2, 2021
If passed into law, it could create hundreds of thousands of jobs — and not just in construction.
Hundreds of thousands of jobs could be created by the infrastructure bill, but filling them all may be easier said than done.
Tim Sloan/AFP via Getty Images

Washington apple farmer is "optimistic" as workers get vaccinated

“They are on the front lines of the food production industry in this country," said Patrick Smith, who runs Loftus Ranches.
"I’m really hopeful that when we get to our harvest season, globally, things are really looking up," says Patrick Smith, whose family runs Loftus Ranches, an apple and hops farm in Yakima, Washington.
Photo by Johannes Simon/Getty Images

Congress isn't just wrestling with a coronavirus relief package — it has a budget to pass, too

Aug 5, 2020
Congress has to fund the government for the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1 — and it's slow going.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell after the funeral of Rep. John Lewis in Washington, D.C.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images