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News >  Nation/World

Republicans stoke fears of auditor ‘army’ after Democrats boost IRS funding to crack down on tax-dodging

Sun., Sept. 4, 2022

The Biden administration has said the IRS will use the funds to crack down on tax-dodging by corporations and the wealthiest Americans, with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen directing IRS chief Charles Rettig in an Aug. 10 letter not to increase audit rates "relative to historical levels" on those earning under $400,000 a year.

News >  Nation/World

Murray and Inslee conclude breaching Snake River dams ‘not an option right now,’ while calling status quo unsustainable for salmon

UPDATED: Thu., Aug. 25, 2022

WASHINGTON – Gov. Jay Inslee and Sen. Patty Murray have concluded that the Lower Snake River dams should not be breached before the financial and environmental benefits they provide are replaced, work that would cost an estimated $10 billion to $31 billion, according to a report commissioned by the two Washington Democrats.

News >  Nation/World

Dan Newhouse, lone Republican to survive Trump-backed primary challenge after impeachment vote, represents dying breed in GOP

Mon., Aug. 22, 2022

WASHINGTON – When Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming lost her primary last week, it gave Central Washington Rep. Dan Newhouse the distinction of being the sole GOP lawmaker to survive a challenge from a candidate endorsed by Donald Trump after voting to impeach the former president for his role in the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.

News >  Nation/World

House Democrats send Biden landmark bill to lower health care costs, combat climate change and cut deficits with corporate tax hikes

UPDATED: Fri., Aug. 12, 2022

WASHINGTON – House Democrats on Friday passed a landmark bill to lower health care costs, combat climate change and cut budget deficits by raising taxes on corporations, giving President Joe Biden and his congressional allies a much-needed win as the midterm election season heats up.

News >  Nation/World

Flanked by Cantwell and Boise mayor, Biden signs bipartisan science and semiconductor bill to boost U.S. competition with China

UPDATED: Tue., Aug. 9, 2022

With Sen. Maria Cantwell looking on, President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed into law a bipartisan bill that will invest $280 billion in scientific research and manufacturing, including $52.7 billion in subsidies to boost domestic production of semiconductor chips, to bolster U.S. competition with China.

News

Murray, Cantwell help Senate pass Biden’s signature bill to lower medical costs, combat climate change and cut deficit

UPDATED: Mon., Aug. 8, 2022

After months of uncertainty and infighting among Democrats, the Senate on Sunday passed a sweeping bill designed to reduce health care costs, combat climate change and reduce the federal deficit. It is a pared-down version of legislation President Joe Biden has long sought to bolster his economic agenda.

News

With Culp telling supporters not to back Newhouse, can Democrat Doug White pull off an upset?

Sun., Aug. 7, 2022

Just after 9 p.m. Tuesday, as Loren Culp was leaving his election night party at Rick’s Eatery in Moses Lake, one of the restaurant’s patrons wanted to make it clear not everyone in the Central Washington’s 4th congressional district agrees with far-right candidates like Culp who have come to dominate the Republican Party.

News >  WA Government

With Newhouse and White poised to survive primary, Culp blames ‘spoiler candidates’ for dividing Trump-aligned voters

Thu., Aug. 4, 2022

As incumbent Rep. Dan Newhouse was poised to advance through the 4th congressional district primary despite voting to impeach former President Donald Trump, on Wednesday his fellow Republican Loren Culp, who was endorsed by Trump, blamed his third-place finish on a crowded field of Trump-aligned candidates.

News >  WA Government

Dan Newhouse, despite impeachment vote, appears to survive contentious primary for Central Washington congressional seat

UPDATED: Tue., Aug. 2, 2022

MOSES LAKE – After a crowded and contentious race that saw eight candidates vie to represent Central Washington’s 4th district in Congress, four-term Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Sunnyside, appeared poised to emerge from Tuesday’s top-two primary along with Yakima businessman Doug White, the only Democrat in the race.

News >  WA Government

Candidates make their final pitches in drama-filled primary for Central Washington’s 4th congressional district

UPDATED: Tue., Aug. 2, 2022

SELAH, Wash. – On Sunday, Jerrod Sessler stood at the pulpit of the Bible Baptist Church in this Yakima County farming town and explained what may be the craziest race in Washington’s primary election that concludes Tuesday.

News >  WA Government

Loren Culp doesn’t care about GOP unity. What will it mean if he’s the party’s nominee for Congress?

Sun., July 31, 2022

MOXEE, Washington – At a meeting in Moses Lake held by the Republican Women of Grant County last December, county GOP chairman Mike McKee asked a leading candidate for Congress what he would do to unify a “splintered and fractured” party.

News >  WA Government

At campaign stop in Moxee, Loren Culp promises to ‘send Newhouse to the outhouse’

UPDATED: Fri., July 29, 2022

MOXEE, Wash. – On Friday night, just four days before Washington’s primary election, Loren Culp stood in the middle of a restaurant in this Yakima suburb and told his supporters exactly what they wanted to hear.

News >  WA Government

In Central Washington’s 4th district, Dan Newhouse’s re-election hopes rest on voters getting over impeachment vote

UPDATED: Wed., July 27, 2022

OKANOGAN, Wash. – After Rep. Dan Newhouse voted to impeach then-President Donald Trump for inciting the attack on the U.S. Capitol in January 2021, local GOP leaders in his Central Washington district called for the four-term Republican to resign.

News

McMorris Rodgers, House Democrats back compromise to pass historic privacy bill. But will Cantwell let it pass?

Mon., July 25, 2022

WASHINGTON – Congress appears closer than ever to passing sweeping legislation that would set national standards for how tech companies collect and use Americans’ personal data, but that won’t happen unless two Washington lawmakers can get on the same page.

News >  Nation/World

The Jan. 6 committee has made its case against Donald Trump. Does it matter to Republican voters?

Sun., July 24, 2022

WASHINGTON – The House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol held its eighth hearing Thursday evening, a prime-time television spectacle that capped off a series of presentations detailing former President Donald Trump’s actions before, during and after the riot.

News >  Health

VA delays computer system’s launch in Boise as Senate hearing spotlights harm, massive cost increase

UPDATED: Wed., July 20, 2022

WASHINGTON – In a last-minute decision Wednesday, the Department of Veterans Affairs delayed the planned Saturday launch of a troubled computer system in Boise after a watchdog report linked the system to 149 cases of harm at Spokane’s VA hospital.

News >  Health

Internal document reveals more frequent computer problems at Spokane VA than previously known

UPDATED: Wed., July 20, 2022

WASHINGTON – On the morning of July 13, health care providers at Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center in Spokane were greeted by a familiar message in their inboxes.

News >  Military

Washington lawmakers outraged after watchdog reports find computer system harmed nearly 150 Spokane veterans and VA leaders misled investigators

UPDATED: Tue., July 19, 2022

WASHINGTON – Washington lawmakers reacted with outrage after a report published by an internal Department of Veterans Affairs watchdog Friday confirmed a computer system at Spokane’s VA hospital has caused nearly 150 cases of harm, while another report found VA leaders in charge of training users on the new system misled investigators.

News >  Nation/World

District 4 congressional race: Newhouse faces seven challengers in test of Trump’s influence in Central Washington

UPDATED: Mon., July 18, 2022

The race to represent Washington's 4th congressional district may be the least predictable contest in the state's Aug. 2 primary, as four-term Rep. Dan Newhouse faces six other Republicans and a Democrat.

News >  Nation/World

Northwest tribes rally at Capitol as fight over Snake River dams reaches D.C.

UPDATED: Fri., July 15, 2022

WASHINGTON – Representatives from Northwest tribes gathered at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday to call on Congress to breach the Lower Snake River dams in an effort to restore salmon runs .

News >  Military

Murray leads Senate Democrats calling for equal rights to VA benefits for same-sex couples

UPDATED: Wed., July 13, 2022

WASHINGTON – A group of 41 Democratic senators, led by Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, sent a letter Wednesday calling on the Department of Veterans Affairs to ensure same-sex spouses have access to the same benefits as other couples.

News >  Washington

After visiting Spokane VA medical center, Patty Murray says she remains committed to fixing computer system that has harmed veterans

UPDATED: Tue., Dec. 20, 2022

Before visiting Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center in Spokane on Thursday, Sen. Patty Murray said she is committed to fixing a faulty computer system that has threatened patient safety since the Department of Veterans Affairs began piloting it in the Inland Northwest in October 2020.

News >  Health

No cuts for VA hospitals in Spokane and Walla Walla after proposal blocked by lawmakers including Tester, Murray

UPDATED: Wed., July 6, 2022

WASHINGTON – A proposal to cut services at Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals in Spokane and Walla Walla appears dead after a bipartisan group of senators withdrew their support last week.

News >  Health

‘We’ve got to fight back’: Patty Murray on Democrats’ response to Supreme Court abortion ruling

UPDATED: Sat., July 2, 2022

WASHINGTON – When Patty Murray got to the Senate in 1993, one of a then-unprecedented seven women in the 100-member body, she made access to abortion a top legislative priority.

News >  Nation/World

Inslee, Northwest lawmakers react after Supreme Court restrict EPA’s ability to regulate carbon emissions

UPDATED: Thu., June 30, 2022

While the decision was heralded by some Republican lawmakers as a victory for the separation of powers, Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee and state lawmakers said it should spur legislators to do more to address climate change at all levels of government.