The U.S. House cleared a $1.2 trillion physical infrastructure bill and took a major step toward passage of a landmark $1.85 trillion social spending and climate bill late Friday, following months of wrangling between Democrats’ progressive and moderate wings. Read more»

Republican U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz of Texas joined GOP senators to block a federal voting rights bill that would have restored protections for voters of color and helped override some of Texas’s new elections restrictions and redistricted political maps. Read more»

President Joe Biden will arrive at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, without new federal programs in hand to fight climate change, after Democrats in Congress failed to reach an agreement to pass his revised $1.75 trillion spending plan. Read more»

President Joe Biden’s sprawling social spending and climate package has been slimmed down into a $1.75 trillion plan that he and top congressional Democrats are attempting to wrestle through after months of negotiations. Read more»

Hundreds of protesters, including several from Arizona, gathered on Capitol Hill Wednesday to demand that Democrats fulfill promises on childcare, healthcare and immigration reform by taking action on President Joe Biden’s “Build Back Better” plan. Read more»

As negotiations get underway at the United Nations’ climate conference, COP26, where world leaders will be discussing how their countries will reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that are driving climate change, here’s what to watch for. Read more»

Time is running out for Senate Democrats to deliver millions of undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship that their families nationwide have been clamoring for years, and business leaders in Arizona are emphasizing the economic benefits of a path to legalization. Read more»

A UA researcher has just come up with the 974,238th reason why human civilization should seriously do something about greenhouse gasses. U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema needs to take heed. Read more»

Two Arizona lawmakers, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema and Rep. Tom O’Halleran, were among the House and Senate moderates who met with President Joe Biden this week, as negotiations on the administration’s Build Back Better plan heated up. Read more»

Progressives upset with Sen. Kyrsten Sinema took their protests directly to the Arizona Democrat this weekend, ambushing her in public spaces three times to get answers on immigration reform and spending on social programs. Read more»

People around the world know that West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin is the essential 50th vote in the U.S. Senate that President Joe Biden needs to pass his climate agenda into law - which doesn’t bode well, given Manchin’s longstanding opposition to ambitious climate action. Read more»

Nearly a fifth of the $3.5 trillion “Build Back Better” plan is dedicated to boost spending on universal pre-K - but how the states implement their programs, or whether they even decide to accept the cash - would have an effect on the quality of education the children receive. Read more»

Congress may have kept the federal government operating with an 11th-hour flurry of votes on Thursday, but several key pieces of the Democratic agenda remain in limbo - here are some questions and answers on where negotiations stand with two massive bills. Read more»

Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s refusal to back the Biden administration’s spending package has made her a target for Democrats – but it has also landed her numerous meetings with the president this week and led to surprisingly high support for her among Arizona Republicans. Read more»

Congress made a last-minute dash to avert a government shutdown on Thursday, with members on both side of the aisle in the U.S. Senate and House approving a short-term spending bill just hours ahead of a midnight deadline. Read more»