By Miriam Raftery

January 6, 2021 (Washington D.C.) – The balance of power in the U.S. Senate is posed to shift to Democratic control following apparent victories in two Georgia Senate runoff races yesterday.

 Democrat Rev. Raphael Warnock has been declared the winner over incumbent Senator Kelly Loeffler by more than a 36,000 vote margin, with only about 65,000 votes remaining to be tallied and the outstanding votes in heavily Democratic areas. Warnock, an African-American is pastor at the Ebeneezer Baptist Church where Martin Luther King, Jr. once preached.

Republican Senator David Perdue appears to be defeated by Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff, with a lead currently of around 17,000 votes. Both Democratic candidates appear likely to win by enough of a margin to avoid a recount.

"The House GOP is spending this holiday season trying to block $2,000 survival payments for families struggling to keep food on the table."

By Jake Johnson, staff writer

Originally published by Common Dreams under a Creative Commons license 

December 24, 2020 (Washington, D.C.) - On the morning of Christmas Eve, the House Republican leadership blocked Democratic legislation that would provide $2,000 relief checks to Americans struggling to stay afloat amid the coronavirus pandemic and economic crisis, obstructing direct payments long supported by progressives and endorsed earlier this week by President Donald Trump.

By Miriam Raftery

July 28, 2017 (Washington D.C.) – John McCain, an 80-year-old war hero and former prisoner of war who recently underwent brain cancer surgery, has had more than his share of serious health conditions in his lifetime. 

Late last night, the Arizona maverick cast the deciding vote to kill the Senate’s latest and likely final effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act—standing up and giving a visual thumbs down to the so-called “skinny repeal” bill with no replacement plan. 

September 22, 2012 (Washington, D.C.) -- The Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs on Wednesday has approved a package of bills, including legislation (S 3313) that would expand access to assisted reproductive technologies for veterans with combat-related infertility conditions and their spouses, CQ Today reports (Fuller, CQ Today, 9/12).

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide coverage for in vitro fertilization and other ART procedures. Since 2003, more than 1,830 veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq sustained pelvic or genital injuries that could affect their fertility, according to Department of Defense figures released by Murray's office.