Donnelly hopes Senate gets to vote on an Obama nominee
U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly, a Democrat from Indiana, says he hopes the Senate will get the chance to vote on whoever President Barack Obama nominates to replace Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
Congress
Articles
Slave-labor loophole closed by US Senate after 8 decades
For 85 years, the U.S. government has turned a blind eye to companies that import goods derived from slavery – so long as domestic production couldn’t meet demand for those goods. That’s about to change.
Zoeller testifies at US House panel on small loan regulation
Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller testified before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Thursday in opposition to new rules proposed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that would preempt state authority to regulate small loan lending and consumer access to credit.
Selby, Ong nominated for federal bench
Even before a confirmation hearing has been gaveled to order or a floor vote scheduled, one nominee to an Indiana vacancy on the federal bench is facing opposition as a home state senator renews his call for a nominating commission.
House vote to send health law repeal to Obama for first time
After dozens of failed attempts to undo President Barack Obama's health care law, the GOP-led Congress will finally put a bill on the president's desk Wednesday striking at the heart of his signature legislative achievement.
Floyd County judge to be Donnelly’s guest at State of the Union
U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly announced Wednesday that he has invited Floyd Superior Court 3 Judge Maria Granger as his guest to President Barack Obama’s final State of the Union speech Jan. 12. Granger established Indiana’s first veterans court in 2011.
Mike Oxley, congressman behind anti-fraud law, dies at 71
Mike Oxley, the former U.S. congressman who co-sponsored the landmark Sarbanes-Oxley Act requiring corporate executives to vouch for company financials in the wake of the Enron and WorldCom accounting scandals, has died at age 71.
Poverty calculation causes Indiana Legal Services’ funding to drop
Although Legal Services Corp. will receive a $10 million bump in funding for fiscal year 2016, Indiana Legal Services will see its appropriation from the national organization decrease.
Hamilton, Ruckelshaus receive Medal of Freedom for public service
As young men, Lee Hamilton and William Ruckelshaus followed their passion for public life to Washington, D.C., where they left their imprint on the legislative and executive branches at a time the country and its attitudes were changing.
Ex-Indiana lawmaker seeks to challenge US Rep. Bucshon
An attorney and former state legislator is seeking the southwestern Indiana congressional seat now held by Republican Larry Bucshon.
Rep. Susan Brooks helps put spotlight on civil legal aid
Civil legal aid providers got a boost Tuesday with the announcement of the formation of a Civil Legal Services Caucus in the U.S. Congress.
House staff told by judge to obey insider probe subpoenas
The U.S. House Ways and Means Committee and a former top staff member must obey subpoenas in a Securities and Exchange Commission insider-trading investigation tied to health-care legislation, a federal judge ruled, rejecting their claims of immunity from such an inquiry.
Congress OKs bill banning Guantanamo detainees from US
Congress sent President Barack Obama a $607 billion defense policy bill Tuesday that bans moving Guantanamo Bay detainees to the United States — something Obama has been trying to do since he was sworn in as president.
House passes defense bill that still hampers closing Gitmo
The House of Representatives on Thursday overwhelmingly passed a revised $607 billion defense policy bill that restricts President Barack Obama's efforts to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Senate blocks legislation to undercut EPA clean water rules
Democrats have blocked a Senate bill that would have forced the Obama administration to withdraw new federal rules to protect smaller streams, tributaries and wetlands from development and pollution.
Court rejects ACLU’s request to stop phone record collection
A federal appeals court in New York has rejected the American Civil Liberties Union's effort to stop bulk collection of its phone records while a more limited collection system is put in place.
Dennis Hastert pleads guilty, acknowledges hush-money scheme
Dennis Hastert pleaded guilty Wednesday to evading banking laws in a hush-money scheme, averting a potentially lurid trial that could have dredged up sexual allegations by agreeing to a deal with prosecutors that recommended he serve no more than six months in prison.
Hastert attorney says former speaker intends to plead guilty
Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert intends to plead guilty in a multimillion-dollar hush-money case linked to allegations of sexual misconduct from decades ago, a defense attorney told a federal judge Thursday.
Zoeller, other attorneys general urge OK of addiction law
Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller and 37 other attorneys general are urging the Senate to pass the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2015.
Congress passes bill easing small business health law rules
Congress approved bipartisan legislation Thursday aimed at preventing premium increases that some smaller businesses were expecting next year under President Barack Obama's health care law.