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VA proposes more services for veterans in Spokane and Richland, fewer in Walla Walla under sweeping plan

Wed., March 16, 2022

WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs on Monday unveiled a sweeping set of recommendations that would expand health care services in Spokane, Richland and Yakima while downsizing the VA hospital in Walla Walla, if Congress and an independent commission accept the proposal.

News >  Nation/World

Government funding bill passed by Congress includes millions for Inland Northwest projects

Mon., March 14, 2022

WASHINGTON – After kicking the can down the road for half a year with stopgap measures, Congress last week finally did its most fundamental job and passed a $1.5 trillion bill to fund the federal government.

News >  Health

Official overseeing VA records system that crashed last week in Spokane says she’s confident problem won’t repeat

UPDATED: Tue., March 8, 2022

WASHINGTON – The troubled computer system that forced Spokane’s Veterans Affairs hospital to stop admitting patients Thursday has been restored and all patient data that was “jumbled” by an error should be fixed by the end of this week, the official in charge of implementing the system said in an interview Monday.

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News

Congress passes bipartisan Postal Service reform bill, dividing Northwest Republicans

UPDATED: Tue., March 8, 2022

WASHINGTON – The Senate on Tuesday passed a long-awaited bill to overhaul the finances of the U.S. Postal Service, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden’s desk after it passed the House a month earlier.

News

Bipartisan pressure grows in Congress to ban U.S. imports of Russian oil, risking higher gasoline prices

Tue., March 8, 2022

WASHINGTON – Bipartisan momentum is building on Capitol Hill to ban U.S. imports of Russian oil that help fund Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, but Democrats and Republicans disagree on what should be done to minimize the impact of such a move on gasoline prices.

News >  Health

‘Absolutely unacceptable’: Lawmakers demand answers after Spokane VA hospital restores critical computer system following outage

UPDATED: Fri., March 4, 2022

WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs confirmed Friday a critical computer system had been restored after corrupted patient data caused Spokane’s VA hospital and clinics across the Inland Northwest to stop admitting patients a day earlier, though employees said problems with patient records persisted throughout the day.

News >  Health

Spokane VA hospital grinds to a halt after computer system corrupts patient data

UPDATED: Sat., March 5, 2022

Work ground to a halt at Spokane’s Veterans Affairs hospital Thursday after an update to a troubled computer system left patient data corrupted and unusable, according to patients and internal emails.

News >  Pacific NW

After Biden emphasizes unity in State of the Union, Northwest lawmakers’ reactions reflect ongoing division in Congress

UPDATED: Tue., March 1, 2022

WASHINGTON – After President Joe Biden delivered a message of unity to Congress in his first State of the Union address Tuesday night, reactions from Northwest lawmakers suggested partisan division will persist even as the COVID-19 pandemic wanes and Americans rally behind Ukraine in the face of Russia’s invasion.

News >  Nation/World

Northwest Republicans call on Biden to boost U.S. oil and gas production, sanction Russian exports amid Ukraine crisis

Sun., Feb. 27, 2022

WASHINGTON – As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine roils global energy markets, Northwest Republicans are calling on President Joe Biden to boost U.S. oil and gas production and impose sanctions on Russian fossil fuel exports in an effort to weaken the Kremlin’s leverage over Europe.

News >  Nation/World

‘The actions of a madman’: Northwest lawmakers condemn Russian assault on Ukraine as Biden ramps up sanctions

UPDATED: Thu., Feb. 24, 2022

WASHINGTON – Northwest lawmakers in Congress joined in global condemnation of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Thursday after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the assault overnight.

News >  Nation

With prices rising at the pump, Schrier and other Democrats propose suspending federal gas tax

UPDATED: Wed., Feb. 23, 2022

WASHINGTON – With fuel prices rising amid record inflation and the crisis in Ukraine, some Democrats in Congress are pushing for a temporary pause on the federal gas tax. But critics warn saving Americans at the pump could cost the country in the long run.

News >  Nation/World

‘Tantamount to an invasion’: Northwest lawmakers denounce Russian incursion into Ukraine as tensions rise

UPDATED: Wed., Feb. 23, 2022

WASHINGTON – Northwest lawmakers in Congress decried Russian President Vladimir Putin’s move Monday to recognize two provinces in eastern Ukraine as independent “republics” and order Russian troops into the region, testing a U.S. commitment to respond harshly to an invasion.

News >  Pacific NW

Idaho Democrats worried about extremism face tough choice: Stick with their party or register as Republicans so they can vote in the GOP primary?

UPDATED: Sun., Feb. 20, 2022

As soon as the 2020 election was over, the chair of the Kootenai County Democratic Central Committee registered as a Republican.

News

Immigration reform advocates hope Newhouse-backed proposal could spur bipartisan deal

UPDATED: Wed., Feb. 16, 2022

WASHINGTON – After a year in which Democrats did all they could with razor-thin majorities in the House and Senate, some Northwest Republicans hope a recent turn toward bipartisan legislating could help solve one of the nation’s most intractable policy puzzles: immigration reform.

News >  Nation

How Northwest Republicans in Congress responded after RNC called Jan. 6 riots ‘legitimate political discourse’

UPDATED: Thu., Feb. 10, 2022

WASHINGTON – In a week when some Republicans on Capitol Hill denounced a resolution passed by national party officials legitimizing the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol, most GOP lawmakers from the Northwest sought to move past the controversial statement and focus instead on the upcoming elections.

News >  Pacific NW

First train pulled by Amtrak’s new, more efficient locomotive headed to Spokane

UPDATED: Tue., Feb. 8, 2022

WASHINGTON – The first train pulled by Amtrak’s cleaner and more fuel-efficient locomotives pulled out of Chicago’s Union Station on Tuesday en route to Spokane, where it was scheduled to arrive early Thursday before splitting into separate trains bound for Seattle and Portland.

News >  Nation

Sen. Patty Murray’s new bill aims to learn COVID-19 lessons, prepare for future pandemics

Mon., Feb. 7, 2022

Murray's legislation could complement another bipartisan bill – introduced last June by Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and his Democratic counterpart Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey – aimed at improving international coordination in response to future pandemics.

News >  Health

McMorris Rodgers calls for VA to delay troubled computer system’s launch in Walla Walla

UPDATED: Thu., Feb. 3, 2022

WASHINGTON – Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers on Thursday asked the head of the Department of Veterans Affairs to delay the March 26 launch in Walla Walla of a troubled computer system that has caused numerous problems since it was rolled out in Spokane more than a year ago.

News >  Health

Northwest tribes could benefit from $590 million opioid settlement to combat ‘domino effect of addiction’

Thu., Feb. 3, 2022

WASHINGTON – Nearly four years after the Nez Perce Tribe joined a lawsuit against makers and distributors of opioid pain medications, a $590 million settlement reached Tuesday could send much-needed funds to Northwest tribes to combat the ongoing addiction crisis.

News >  Nation

With new calls to ban members of Congress from stock trading, here’s where Northwest lawmakers stand

UPDATED: Sat., Jan. 29, 2022

WASHINGTON – As a wild week on Wall Street served as a reminder of how quickly money can be gained or lost in a volatile market, a growing number of lawmakers across the political spectrum are pushing for new restrictions on stock trading by members of Congress and their families.

News >  Business

Washington restaurant owners testify about omicron’s toll as Cantwell tells them she’s fighting for more aid money

UPDATED: Tue., Jan. 25, 2022

WASHINGTON – When the COVID-19 pandemic devastated the restaurant industry nearly two years ago, Congress came to the rescue with billions in aid. But with those funds dried up amid a surge in cases driven by the omicron variant, a bipartisan group of senators is working to extend restaurants another lifeline.

News >  Nation/World

New Idaho mine could mark beginning of cobalt boom as demand for climate-friendly minerals skyrockets

UPDATED: Tue., Jan. 25, 2022

In Lemhi County, about 25 miles west of the town Salmon, the Australian firm Jervois Mining is on track to open later this year what would be the only underground cobalt mine in the United States. The metal is an important component of the lithium-ion batteries that power everything from next-generation cars to smartphones and power tools.

News >  Washington

Former BPA chief cautions lawmakers about cryptocurrency’s impact on Northwest hydropower

Fri., Jan. 21, 2022

WASHINGTON – The former head of the Bonneville Power Administration and Chelan County Public Utility District cautioned a House oversight panel Thursday about the effect of cryptocurrency operations that have flocked to the Northwest in recent years in search of cheap hydropower.

News >  Nation/World

Anesthesia doctors warn VA secretary new national standards could hurt veterans’ care

UPDATED: Wed., Jan. 19, 2022

WASHINGTON – In a letter to the head of the Department of Veterans Affairs on Wednesday, hundreds of VA anesthesia doctors warned a proposal to let nurses practice anesthesiology without a doctor’s supervision could jeopardize patient safety.

News >  Health

White House launches website where Americans can request free rapid COVID-19 tests

UPDATED: Tue., Jan. 18, 2022

WASHINGTON – The White House on Tuesday launched a new website that lets Americans request free rapid COVID-19 tests, a day earlier than the site was scheduled to go live.