National Institutes of Health Bethesda facility needs $1.5 billion for repairs

WASHINGTON – The National Institutes of Health has a repair backlog of $1.5 billion at its Bethesda facility, and some help may be coming from Congress, where Maryland lawmakers have urged increased spending for the agency. An Aug. 26 study…

Washington Bullpen: Inside the District’s fight for voting representation in Congress

WASHINGTON – When the colonies broke off from British control to become the United States, one of their rallying cries was “no taxation without representation.” Now, 243 years later, license plates in the nation’s capital city bear the same message…

Hoyer calls April Fools on Trump’s health care reform plan

WASHINGTON — House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer expressed his doubts Tuesday that a new Republican healthcare bill will come any time before the 2020 election cycle, despite Trump administration claims that a plan is coming. The House is scheduled to…

House Democrats launch effort to strengthen equal pay law

WASHINGTON – House Democrats on Wednesday introduced legislation to strengthen a decade-old equal pay law to ensure women are paid the same as men for the same jobs. The bill has the support of every Democrat in the House, according…

Maryland’s Hoyer says another shutdown is “off the table”

WASHINGTON – House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland said Tuesday that a bipartisan group of lawmakers is working on a bill that would prevent the federal government from shutting down again. President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats decided on…

Maryland legislators pleased with shutdown deal, but Democrats hit Trump

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump announced Friday that he has come to an agreement with Democrats to reopen the government for three weeks. Several Maryland lawmakers quickly responded that they hoped to find a path to avoiding another shutdown. Minutes…

Chesapeake farmers target runoff reduction, lawmakers seek conservation funds

MIDDLETOWN, Maryland — A gaggle of excitable white turkeys gobbled and clucked in their pen at Open Book Farm on a chilly afternoon in late October. Most days, the birds roamed free in one of the farm’s pastures, scratching and…

Congressional staffers show off speed and humor in bipartisan fun run

WASHINGTON — When it comes to running in the nation’s capital, most think of running for the Senate or the House, especially with the 2018 midterms in November looming. But on a crisp Sunday morning, the Capitol Hill Competition within…