Congress | Voter.org

House Democrats introduce Taxpayer Data Protection Act in response to Musk’s actions

February 7, 2025 protection, data, actions, taxpayer, Musk's, Democrats, House, Response, introduce0 comment

House Democrats are making a push to secure data at the Treasury Department. A group of lawmakers have introduced the Taxpayer Data Protection Act. The bill seeks to add a layer of protection against anyone seeking to access the agency’s systems. The legislation would bar anyone with conflicts of interest or without a security clearance from getting into the Treasury Department’s data. The bill comes after billionaire Elon Musk and some of his employees gained access to Treasury Department data. House Democrats said they’re expecting a Senate companion bill for…

USAID takeover is unconstitutional, lawmakers say

February 3, 2025 Lawmakers, unconstitutional, Takeover, USAID0 comment

The Trump administration’s move to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development is illegal and unconstitutional, a group of House and Senate Democrats told a large crowd of people protesting outside of the organization’s headquarters on Monday in Washington, D.C. “USAID was established by an act of Congress, and it can only be disbanded by an act of Congress,” said Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.). USAID personnel at the agency’s Washington headquarters were instructed overnight not to come into the office and to work remotely, except for employees with essential on-site…

Unions, lawmakers urge federal employees to be cautious, stay in their jobs

January 30, 2025 unions, Jobs, urge, Their, Lawmakers, federal, employees, stay, cautious0 comment

Democratic lawmakers, as well as many federal unions and organizations, are urging federal employees to exercise extreme caution in response to the Trump administration’s request for voluntary resignations from the career federal workforce. Many organizations, including the National Treasury Employees Union, are encouraging federal employees to remain in their jobs and reject the Trump administration’s offer of what it called a “deferred resignation program” to the majority of the roughly 2.2 million career federal employees. “The so-called ‘deal’ is a hostile effort to disparage federal employees, weaken agencies and disrupt…

Trump proposes ‘getting rid of FEMA’ while touring disaster areas

January 26, 2025 FEMA, touring, Getting, proposes, disaster, Trump, Areas0 comment

LOS ANGELES (AP) — President Donald Trump surveyed disaster zones in California and North Carolina on Friday and said he was considering “getting rid of” the Federal Emergency Management Agency, offering the latest sign of how he is weighing sweeping changes to the nation’s central organization for responding to disasters. In fire-ravaged California, the state’s Democratic leaders pressed Trump for federal assistance that he’s threatened to hold up, some setting aside their past differences to shower him with praise. Trump, in turn, pressured local officials to waive permitting requirements so…

The Trump opening agenda is taking most of Congress’ time now

January 22, 2025 opening, Taking, agenda, Trump, Congress, Most, Time0 comment

Two horses of the so-called government trifecta — the House and Senate — find themselves deep in the business of the new Trump administration. Bloomberg Government deputy news director Loren Duggan joined the Federal Drive with Tom Temin to discuss what’s immediately ahead. Interview transcript: Tom Temin: And really, the agenda of Congress is different than it would have been had a different election outcome occurred. So what can we expect in the immediate future? Let’s talk about confirmations. That seems to be all the Senate is really doing right…

9 GOP bills for federal employees to track in the new Congress

January 18, 2025 Congress, Track, federal, employees, bills0 comment

At the start of the 119th Congress, lawmakers were quick to introduce a flurry of bills that would have lasting consequences for the federal workforce. Much of the GOP-led legislation will be familiar to federal employees — a majority of the bills have been reintroduced for at least the last couple of years. But now that Republicans hold a majority in both chambers of Congress, and with the incoming Trump administration, the prospects for the legislation may be shifting. Here are just a handful of bills from Republican lawmakers in…