In the News
Throughout our history, Americans have put aside their partisan differences and stood together in times of crisis. It is time for us to stand together again.
For the past 16 months, the American people have confronted an enemy unlike any in our lifetimes. The coronavirus pandemic has threatened Americans in every community around the country. It has disrupted our daily routines, ravaged our economy and taken far too many lives.
In another example of China driving Congress' agenda, a House task force will on Tuesday hold its second hearing in two weeks on a U.S. digital dollar, a technology that some lawmakers see as essential if the U.S. is to maintain its global economic dominance.
Tuition assistance, pandemic-related expenses and technology accessibility are among the things colleges and universities in the 6th and 11th congressional districts plan to use the combined $146 million they've received under the federal American Rescue Plan Act.
Coronavirus variants will pose a continuing threat to the United States, with the potential to spread quickly and blunt the effectiveness of vaccines, scientists told a House panel on Wednesday.
A new bill would ban mandatory arbitration agreements between aggrieved investors and advisors or broker/dealers. The Investor Choice Act, which was introduced in the Senate and House of Representatives by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Rep. Bill Foster (D-Ill.), would also ban any prohibitions on class action lawsuits, which are often embedded in clients' contracts.
Fintechs need to include strong consumer protections, diversity, and inclusion, Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), chair of the House Financial Services Committee's panel on consumer protection and financial institutions said at a hearing on banking innovation today.
"Most banks and credit unions have been a source of strength in the pandemic in part because of the stringent capital, liquidity, and other regulatory requirements we place on these financial institutions," he asserted.
(The Center Square) – Federal and state officials want to take a deeper dive into the future of digital currencies and the backbone of what makes them work.
Digital currencies like Bitcoin work on what's called the blockchain. That's a distributed digital ledger U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, D-Naperville, says is non-falsifiable.
"Something that you cannot go and make a counterfeit copy of something that's already been published on the blockchain," Foster said. "And so that will prevent a lot of document fraud."
If there's any group of young people who deserve student loan forgiveness, it's those young people who've made a career out of doing good.
It's an easy call, in our view, to cancel burdensome student debt held by teachers, doctors, nurses, nonprofit employees and others who chose a career in public service, most often forgoing a big paycheck in the process.
Both Democrats and a Republican representing Will County in Congress supported legislation to expand background checks on all gun sales.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed two bills last Thursday to require a background check for every gun sale or transfer and to close a "loophole" which allows for the sale of a firearm if a background check is not completed within three business day, according to a news release.
Rep. Bill Foster, D-Naperville, called the changes "commonsense" and cited gun violence near his district as an example of what the bill aim to prevent.
Democratic members of Congress representing the Will County area backed a sweeping bill meant to enhance voting rights.
The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives last week approved H.R. 1, the For the People Act, which proponents argued would address corruption and practices that hinder the right to vote.