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DeJoy defends Postal Service reforms in raucous House hearing

Mon., Aug. 24, 2020

WASHINGTON – Postmaster General Louis DeJoy assured House lawmakers Monday the Postal Service will handle election mail the way it has in past years, while trying to correct what he called "many inaccuracies" about the changes that have taken place under his brief tenure as the agency's chief.

News >  WA Government

Inland Northwest tribes race to avoid undercount after Census Bureau cuts door-to-door outreach by a month

UPDATED: Sun., Aug. 23, 2020

Tribal communities in the Inland Northwest face the prospect of a severe undercount in the 2020 census after the Census Bureau announced Aug. 3 that it would cut door-to-door counting short by a month.

News >  Nation/World

In Senate testimony, USPS chief says ballots are top priority, admits cost-cutting measures caused mail delays

UPDATED: Fri., Aug. 21, 2020

WASHINGTON – Postmaster General Louis DeJoy told senators Friday that election mail remains the U.S. Postal Service’s highest priority, while defending cost-cutting measures that he conceded have caused mail delays.

News

USPS ending outgoing mail processing in Wenatchee and Yakima, redirecting to Spokane

UPDATED: Sun., Aug. 23, 2020

The U.S. Postal Service is ending outgoing mail processing in its facilities in Wenatchee and Yakima, rerouting nearly all mail originating east of the Cascades to Spokane in a move union officials say will exacerbate delays and could actually increase costs as the agency faces intense scrutiny over changes implemented in the run-up to November’s election.

News >  WA Government

As battle over mail-in voting heats up, Washington offers example of how to avoid the disaster many states fear

Sun., Aug. 16, 2020

With an unprecedented number of Americans expected to vote by mail in November, sweeping changes at the U.S. Postal Service have raised concerns about voters receiving their ballots before Election Day, but election watchers say returning ballots on time could be a bigger problem.

News >  ID Government

Senators seek clarity on Postal Service’s treatment of election mail

UPDATED: Thu., Aug. 13, 2020

WASHINGTON – Amid growing concern about the impact of changes at the U.S. Postal Service on Americans’ ability to vote by mail, Democratic senators on Wednesday called on the agency’s chief to clarify how it will handle ballots and other election-related mail.

News >  WA Government

‘She’s a forceful advocate’: Harris pick gets high marks from many Washington Democrats

UPDATED: Tue., Aug. 11, 2020

The selection of U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris to be the Democratic nominee for vice president delighted some, encouraged others and disappointed a few party members Tuesday after presumptive presidential nominee Joe Biden made his announcement.

News >  WA Government

Inslee announces $40 million pandemic relief fund for Washington immigrants

UPDATED: Tue., Aug. 11, 2020

Immigrants in Washington who have not been eligible for federal COVID-19 relief programs, despite paying taxes and working in many of the essential jobs that have kept the state running amid the pandemic, will be getting some support from a $40 million fund Gov. Jay Inslee announced Monday.

News >  Nation/World

Washington’s top elections official warns of ‘very concerning’ changes at Postal Service that could impact voting

UPDATED: Mon., Aug. 10, 2020

Washington election officials are worried that attempts to cut costs at the U.S. Postal Service could impact the November election amid growing bipartisan concerns about the agency’s ability to handle a surge of mail-in ballots across the country.

News >  Nation

With new bill, Jim Risch seeks to redefine U.S.-China relations, critical for Northwest

UPDATED: Wed., Aug. 5, 2020

Idaho Republican Sen. Jim Risch, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, unveiled sweeping legislation July 22 that aims to counter China's trade practices and military build-up, invest in U.S. competitiveness, and bolster alliances and international organizations.

News >  ID Government

Washington, Idaho lawmakers from both sides of the aisle challenge Trump suggestion of election delay

UPDATED: Thu., July 30, 2020

Washington lawmakers and elections officials from both sides of the aisle challenged President Donald Trump’s Thursday morning tweet suggesting the United States should delay the November election, saying the president does not have the power to push back an election and that the vote-by-mail system is secure.

News >  Nation/World

‘We’re getting farther apart’: Murray, Risch weigh in on COVID-19 relief negotiations as deadlines loom

UPDATED: Wed., July 29, 2020

WASHINGTON – With key pieces of the federal government’s COVID-19 response set to expire at the end of July, time is running out for Congress to negotiate another round of pandemic relief spending, and lawmakers remain far apart on what a compromise bill should look like.

News >  Nation

Murray pushes Senate Democrats’ bill seeking to address racial inequity in COVID-19 and beyond

UPDATED: Wed., July 29, 2020

WASHINGTON – COVID-19 has spared no demographic group as it has swept across the United States, but far from the “great equalizer” it was once made out to be, mounting evidence shows that the pandemic has hit communities of color especially hard.

News >  Nation/World

Inland Northwest lawmakers push for House vote on bills to protect Native women

Sun., July 26, 2020

WASHINGTON – Lawmakers from the Inland Northwest are calling on leaders in the House of Representatives to allow votes on two bills to address violence against Native American women and girls, which despite bipartisan support have stalled as COVID-19 has thrown the legislative schedule into disarray.

News >  Washington

Spokane Tribe receives $1.8 million federal grant for roadway improvements

UPDATED: Fri., July 24, 2020

The Spokane Tribe of Indians will receive $1.8 million through a grant from the U.S. Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration for road infrastructure improvements, the department announced Friday.

Sports >  Outdoors

Landmark conservation bill with big implications for Inland Northwest passes House, heads to president for signature

UPDATED: Wed., July 22, 2020

WASHINGTON – Help is on the way for America’s neglected national parks after the House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a landmark conservation package to address a nearly $20 billion maintenance backlog on public lands and pour $900 million a year into a fund used to maintain and acquire new land for parks.

News

Congress debates controversial amendments to annual defense bill

UPDATED: Tue., July 21, 2020

WASHINGTON – House and Senate lawmakers returned to the Capitol on Monday after a two-week break to debate a military spending package with hundreds of amendments that could include provisions to limit the transfer of military equipment to police, rename bases named after Confederates and restrict the use of federal agents against protesters.

News >  Agriculture

As COVID-19 strains U.S. agriculture, Newhouse says immigration reform more urgent than ever

UPDATED: Mon., July 20, 2020

WASHINGTON – Last December, before COVID-19 upended Americans’ lives, the House of Representatives accomplished something that had long eluded lawmakers, passing an immigration reform bill with significant support from both Democrats and Republicans that could give legal status to hundreds of thousands of unauthorized farm workers.

News >  ID Government

Northwest lawmakers pursue different priorities in new COVID relief package

UPDATED: Sat., July 18, 2020

WASHINGTON – Lawmakers are set to return to the Capitol on Monday after a two-week break, facing a de facto deadline at the end of the month to pass another round of coronavirus relief, but Republicans and Democrats will first need to reconcile dramatically different visions for what the legislation should include.

News >  WA Government

Murray plan would create $50 billion child care fund as part of next COVID-19 relief package

UPDATED: Thu., July 16, 2020

A new bill from Sen. Patty Murray would create a $50 billion fund to support child care, a critical sector of the economy that has been hit hard by COVID-19 and will be essential to efforts for parents to return to work.

News >  Nation/World

Nomination of public lands critic to lead Bureau of Land Management could lead to tight Senate vote

UPDATED: Thu., July 16, 2020

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s nomination of a controversial lawyer who has advocated selling off public lands to lead the Bureau of Land Management has drawn the ire of conservationists and put a spotlight on an issue with major implications for the West.

News >  Business

As nationwide coin shortage hits Spokane, business owners say it’s time for change

Wed., July 15, 2020

Ever since he opened the Super Wash in Spokane in 2005, Steve Cada said, he never needed to replace the quarters that cycled between the rows of washers and dryers and the change machine customers feed bills into.

News >  ID Government

Idaho lawmakers’ bill would let tribes, counties collect revenue from timber sales in Forest Service partnerships

UPDATED: Thu., July 16, 2020

New legislation introduced by two Idaho Republicans would expand a controversial federal program that lets states partner with the U.S. Forest Service for forest management projects, allowing tribes and counties to collect revenue from timber sales from public lands.

News >  Nation

Inland Northwest tribal leaders, lawyers praise key Supreme Court decision on tribal sovereignty

UPDATED: Thu., July 9, 2020

WASHINGTON – In a decision hailed by Native American leaders in the Inland Northwest as a victory for tribal sovereignty, the Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that a large part of eastern Oklahoma is an Indian reservation, affirming that Congress never officially “disestablished” the Muscogee (Creek) Nation when it divided tribal land into private property at the end of the 19th century.

News >  Nation

Washington lawmakers react to Supreme Court ruling that lets employers opt out of birth control coverage

UPDATED: Wed., July 8, 2020

WASHINGTON – In a ruling issued Wednesday, the Supreme Court upheld a Trump administration policy that lets employers opt out of a requirement under the Affordable Care Act to provide health insurance that includes contraceptive coverage.