KAY GRANGER

It's the first time in history that the four leaders of the two congressional spending committees are women.

Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas, remembers that men would avoid asking her questions, addressing other men in the room instead. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., recalls being seated on the far edge of the committee dais, with the more senior men making the decisions in the middle. Granger is chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee, while DeLauro is the top Democrat; Murray is Senate Appropriations chairwoman and Collins is the top Republican. When they were elected, Collins says, men were automatically accepted once they came to Congress but women still had to prove themselves. As one of the only women in the Senate, Murray immediately won the coveted seat.

It’s the first time the four leaders of the two congressional spending committees are women.

House Republicans are promising aggressive oversight of the Biden administration once they assume the majority next year.

Home-district projects for members of Congress are back, sprinkled across the government-wide $1.5 trillion bill that President Joe Biden signed recently.

The House has approved legislation financing federal agencies for another month.

Scott Applewhite) (J. Scott Applewhite)WASHINGTON — (AP) —The House overwhelming passed a bill Thursday to provide $1 billion for Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system as Democrats moved to quash criticism from Republicans that their party is wavering in support of Israel. Democrats initially sought to put the Iron Dome funding in legislation this week to fund the government past Sept. 30, but removed it after some members of the caucus objected. The U.S. began financially supporting Israel’s development of the Iron Dome system about a decade ago and has provided about $1.6 billion for its production and maintenance, according to the Congressional Research Service. The system is designed to intercept and destroy short-range rockets fired into Israel. She said the money represented an “absurd and unjustifiable” increase in funding for the Iron Dome.

The House has overwhelming passed legislation to provide funding for Israel’s missile defense system.

Rushing to prevent that dire outcome, the Democratic-led House passed the measure Tuesday night by a party-line vote of 220-211. Backed by the White House, the Democratic leaders pushed the package to approval at a time of great uncertainty in Congress. There has been a flurry of outreach from the White House to Democrats on Capitol Hill, and Biden himself was given a call sheet of lawmakers to cajole. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., according to a White House official familiar with the calls and granted anonymity to discuss them. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has promised a Sept. 27 vote on the companion $1 trillion bill of public works projects that has already passed the Senate.

The federal government faces a shutdown if funding stops on Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year, midnight next Thursday. Backed by the White House, Democratic congressional leaders pushed ahead at a time of great uncertainty in Congress. He said since Democrats control the White House and Congress, it's their problem to find the votes. “The debt ceiling will be raised as it always should be, but it will be raised by the Democrats,” McConnell said. Joe Manchin, D-W. Va., and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., two key centrist votes, according to a White House official familiar with the calls and granted anonymity to discuss them.

The House has approved legislation to fund the government, suspend its borrowing limit and provide federal disaster and refugee aid.

Fort Worth’s three Panther Island bridges span dry land. How soon until we see water flowing under them?

“This might be one of the best opportunities we have to actually begin receiving money from government funding.”

Jeff Ricchetti, the brother of longtime Biden advisor and White House counselor Steve Ricchetti, started lobbying the White House in the first quarter.

(Bonnie Cash/Pool via AP)WASHINGTON The chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee said Saturday he tested positive for the coronavirus days after he sat close to another member of the panel, Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert, who also tested positive. Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., said in a statement that he has the virus but, like Gohmert, has no symptoms. He is at least the 11th member of Congress known to have tested positive for the coronavirus. Grijalva went into isolation after Gohmert tested positive on Wednesday, since the two had sat close to each other at a Natural Resources hearing the day before. The White House tests anyone who will be in close proximity to the president, which is how Gohmert found out he had the virus.

On Friday, the House passed a $259 billion funding bill for foreign aid and the Interior, Agriculture, and Veterans Affairs departments along party lines. The measure is the first annual spending measure to pass either the House or Senate this year, but it has scant chance of becoming law, serving instead as a springboard for negotiations down the line. And if Trump loses the election, Democrats are likely to wait until the Biden administration is in place before wrapping up the annual bills, which fund the annual operations of federal Cabinet agencies. The Senate Appropriations panel canceled plans for drafting its 12 annual bills after Democrats served notice they would offer amendments on COVID relief and policing reform that Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., deemed too politically troublesome. As a result, Congress is likely to return to Washington in September to handle a stopgap funding bill that would last until December to prevent a campaign season government shutdown.