In a pair of January confirmation hearings, senators considered President Donald Trump’s nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for secretary of Health and Human Services.
U.S. Congress
Radio Interview: American politics and two-party dominance
As the United States prepares to swear in a new president, Catholic Review Editor Christopher Gunty takes a look at the state of politics and elections.
Republicans secure majority of U.S. House seats and expected to control U.S. Senate
Republicans secured a majority of the U.S. House of Representatives, according to a Nov. 12 projection by data provider Decision Desk HQ, giving President-elect Donald Trump GOP majorities in both chambers of Congress as he begins his second term in January.
Harris backs ending filibuster for law to codify a national right to abortion
In one of her strongest statements on restoring a national right to abortion as it existed under the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade ruling of 1973, Vice President Kamala Harris has said she would support eliminating the filibuster in the U.S. Senate in order to bring back federal protections for a woman’s right to an abortion as they existed under Roe.
Bill to establish a right to IVF fails in Senate
A bill that aimed to establish a right to in vitro fertilization failed on a procedural vote in the U.S. Senate Sept. 17.
Senate fails to advance bipartisan tax bill with poverty-fighting child tax credit
The U.S. Senate on Aug. 1 failed to advance a bill that would have expanded the child tax credit, a provision some Catholic organizations have long sought as a pro-family and anti-poverty effort.
Senate passes major online child safety legislation, but future in House uncertain
The U.S. Senate passed two major online child safety reforms July 30, but the bills face an uncertain future in the House.
USCCB backs legislation that aims to help religious groups develop affordable housing
Legislation under consideration in Congress would help faith-based organizations respond to a shortage in affordable housing by easing restrictions on the use of their land to develop affordable housing, supporters say.
CRS calls House version of foreign spending bill ‘inconsistent’ with U.S. ‘values, interests’
Catholic Relief Services, the international relief and development agency of the Catholic Church in the U.S., criticized funding legislation recently passed by the U.S. House as “inconsistent with American values and interests” over cuts to humanitarian funding.
Bill making contraception a federal right fails to advance in Senate
Legislation to protect access to contraception nationwide failed to advance in the U.S. Senate on June 5 in an expected outcome.
Lawmakers spar over women’s health care in Senate hearing on state abortion laws
The Senate June 4 held a hearing on the impact of post-Dobbs abortion restrictions, with lawmakers alternately criticizing or defending them with respect to women’s health care concerns.
Catholic aid group weighs in on House, Senate committees’ dueling farm bills
Lawmakers on the House and Senate agriculture committees released differing frameworks for the 2024 farm bill, with one version praised by a Catholic aid group.