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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday voted to join Democrats in ending their self-imposed ban on earmarks and resume the controversial practice of allowing lawmakers to add pet projects to spending bills.
FILE PHOTO: The U.S. Capitol dome is pictured in Washington, U.S., April 21, 2020. REUTERS/Tom Brenner/
The move comes as Congress prepares to take up a number of spending bills, as well as an expected infrastructure package sought by Democratic President Joe Biden that could be worth as much as $2 trillion over 10 years.
The decision signals a Republican willingness to negotiate with Democrats on the details of a massive infrastructure package and the federal budget.
By Reuters Staff
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FILE PHOTO: Aerial view of state oil company Petrobras Urucu oil and natural gas plant in Brazil s Amazon jungle, December 6, 2004. REUTERS/Jamil Bittar
SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil’s lower house approved a new regulatory framework for the natural gas sector in the early hours of Wednesday, a move the government hopes will increase competition in the industry.
The bill, which garnered support from industrial consumers, will now be signed into law by President Jair Bolsonaro.
“In this difficult moment, this approval bodes well for the economy,” said Paulo Pedrosa, president of Abrace, an industry group of large energy users.
By Reuters Staff
3 Min Read
(Reuters) - The leader of the Texas House of Representatives on Tuesday signaled he would not support requiring the state’s grid operator to cut billions of dollars from electricity pricing during a cold snap that upended the state’s power market.
FILE PHOTO: An electrical substation is seen after winter weather caused electricity blackouts in Houston, Texas, U.S. February 20, 2021. REUTERS/Go Nakamura
On Monday, the state Senate approved a proposal to order the state Public Utility Commission (PUC) to reduce electricity costs on power marketers during a February deep freeze. The proposal would reduce charges by about $5.1 billion including $900 million in fee cuts already approved by the PUC.
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to remove a decades-old deadline for adopting the Equal Rights Amendment, in hopes of finally formally protecting women’s rights in the U.S. Constitution.
Congress approved the ERA in the early 1970s and set a 1982 deadline for it to be enacted if 38 state legislatures voted to approve.
The drive for the amendment initially attracted widespread support but fell short after a conservative backlash led by activist Phyllis Schlafly, who said the ERA would actually erode women’s standing and lead to homosexual marriages, women in combat, government-funded abortions and loss of alimony.
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ATLANTA (Reuters) - Georgia authorities charged a man with the fatal shootings of eight people, including six Asian women, at Atlanta-area spas, and the violence heightened fears among Asian Americans already rattled by a rise in hate crimes directed at them since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
The 21-year-old suspect, Robert Aaron Long, told investigators that a sex addiction drove him to commit Tuesday’s killings and indicated he frequented spas in the area, law enforcement officials said.
However, authorities did not discount the possibility that the attacks were inspired at least in part by an anti-immigrant or anti-Asian sentiment, or some personal grievance.