Washington, July 22 (IANS) US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins warned Congress that Chinese ownership, foreign dependence and corporate consolidation had created national-security vulnerabilities across the US food system.Rollins said America had weakened its farms and rural communities by moving food production overseas and allowing control of agricultural processing, fertiliser and seed production to become concentrated among a small number of businesses.“As long as we are beholden to fo…
Latest US Senate News & Updates
Washington, July 22 (IANS) The Trump administration faced bipartisan scrutiny in the US Senate over whether it was circumventing congressional war powers by restarting a statutory 60-day deadline after a temporary ceasefire with Iran collapsed.Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski raised the issue during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on President Donald Trump’s $87.6 billion supplemental funding request. She said hostilities began on February 28 without specific congressional authorisa…
Washington, July 16 (IANS) A bipartisan group of US senators has unveiled legislation to increase scrutiny of foreign ownership in America’s pharmaceutical industry, warning that growing dependence on China for critical medicines and drug ingredients poses risks to US national security and public health. The proposed Pharmaceutical Investment Oversight and Accountability Act, introduced by Senate Special Committee on Aging Chairman Rick Scott along with Ranking Member Kirsten Gillibrand and Sena…
Washington, July 10 (IANS) Former Maine Centre for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr Nirav Shah, an Indian-American physician who became a familiar public face during the Covid-19 pandemic, announced his candidacy for the US Senate, launching a campaign aimed at unseating long-serving Republican Senator Susan Collins.Shah also announced a statewide “Defeat Susan Collins Town Hall Tour”, saying he would travel across Maine to build support for his campaign. A schedule for the tour will b…
Washington, June 24 (IANS) The US Senate passed a war powers resolution on Iran, restricting President Donald Trump from launching further military operations in Iran without congressional approval.The passage of the resolution on Tuesday marked the first time such a measure has cleared both chambers of Congress since the conflict began in February and signaled growing opposition to Trump’s handling of the war.The Iran War Powers Resolution passed in Senate by a vote of 50 to 48, with four Repub…
Washington, June 23 (IANS) A bipartisan bill aimed at tightening US transparency rules for foreign lobbying and influence operations advanced in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, with lawmakers arguing that adversaries such as China, Russia and Iran have exploited loopholes in existing laws to shape American policy.The legislation, known as the Preventing Adversary Influence, Disinformation and Obscured Foreign Financing (PAID OFF) Act, would amend provisions related to the Foreign Agents …
Washington, June 6 (IANS) The US Senate has passed the Secure America Act, a Republican-backed immigration enforcement measure, which would provide roughly $70 billion in additional funding for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), setting up a high-stakes battle in the House of Representatives. The legislation, among other things, proposes to fund ICE and CBP through the remainder of President Donald Trump’s second term and expand immigration e…
Washington, June 2 (IANS) US Secretary of State Marco Rubio faced sharp criticism from Senate Democrats on Tuesday over foreign aid cuts, Congressional oversight and the administration’s handling of a growing Ebola outbreak in Africa.During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the State Department budget, Ranking Member Jeanne Shaheen accused the US administration of repeatedly failing to respond to Congressional requests for briefings and information on a range of foreign policy issu…
Washington, May 23 (IANS) The US Senate has passed bipartisan legislation aimed at stopping the smuggling of advanced American semiconductors into China, amid growing concerns in Washington that the chips could be used for Chinese military and artificial intelligence applications.The legislation, titled the “Stop Stealing our Chips Act,” was introduced by Republican Senator Mike Rounds and co-sponsored by Democratic Senator Mark Warner. The bill would create a whistleblower incentive program…
Washington, May 22 (IANS) A key US Senate intelligence panel has advanced a sweeping intelligence authorisation bill that includes provisions to sustain American intelligence support for Ukraine, deepen cooperation with Indo-Pacific allies including India, and tighten oversight of artificial intelligence exports amid rising concerns over China and Russia.The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on Thursday approved the Intelligence Authorisation Act (IAA) for Fiscal Year 2027, with several am…