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National Park Service renews mask mandate for all visitors
The National Park Service on Monday reinstated a mask mandate for all visitors, workers and volunteers at NPS buildings and crowded outdoor areas, regardless of vaccination status. In May, the agency said it would require only unvaccinated people to wear masks. Recently, as the delta variant of the coronavirus has led to a spike in […]
How Congress will attempt the biggest expansion of U.S. social programs since FDR
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate this week passed a massive bipartisan infrastructure bill and an even larger budget blueprint that would pave the way for historic changes in U.S. health, education, climate and tax policies. The two measures are roped to each other, reflecting Democrats’ strategy to pass what could be bipartisan with Republicans—and to […]
Whitmer calls bipartisan federal infrastructure deal a ‘game-changer’ for Michigan
The Senate on Tuesday passed a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that will help to restore the nation’s bridges and roads, expand broadband initiatives, and fund projects to help battle against climate change. Roughly $20 billion of the funding will go to Michigan, with about $8 billion for roads and bridges. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said during […]
U.S. Senate OKs $1.2T bipartisan infrastructure bill, with more than $8B going to Michigan
The U.S. Senate passed 69-30 on Tuesday a sweeping bipartisan $1.2 trillion infrastructure package, a milestone for one of President Joe Biden’s priorities after months of negotiation. Biden proposed an infrastructure plan in March that would have topped $2 trillion. A bipartisan group of senators led by Rob Portman, (R-Ohio), and Kyrsten Sinema, (D-Ariz.), worked […]
‘Big and bold’ infrastructure bill still falls short on helping states fight climate change
The Senate is poised to pass a massive $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that would upgrade state transportation networks, electric grids, water systems and more. It’s a major spending boost and potential job-creator that yet falls short of the administration’s goals to address climate change and reduce its effects in the states. The White House worked […]
BLM nomination set to advance to U.S. Senate after emotions run high at committee vote
In a contentious meeting that distilled a weeks-long fight, the U.S. Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee deadlocked 10-10 along party lines Thursday on approving Tracy Stone-Manning’s nomination as head of the Bureau of Land Management. That means an extra procedural vote will be forced before the full U.S. Senate takes up the nomination of […]
Dems unite around ‘climate corps’ that could employ youth, prevent fires
Updated, 11:31 a.m. 7/21/21 U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer pledged on Tuesday to include a Civilian Climate Corps in a $3.5 trillion infrastructure bill later this year, as a broad swath of Democrats rallied around a framework of employing thousands of young people to do conservation work. Schumer (D-N.Y.) appeared with a handful of […]
Manchin says he’ll back BLM nomination, as committee vote is set
The U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is expected to vote Thursday on the nomination of Tracy Stone-Manning to lead the Bureau of Land Management, with Chair Joe Manchin III planning to vote to approve her — a major step forward for her confirmation after weeks of aggressive Republican opposition. Manchin, a West Virginia […]
Conflicting versions of tree-spiking case overshadow BLM nomination
Updated, 1:14 p.m., 7/17/21 Tracy Stone-Manning and a former federal investigator during the past few days shared widely varying accounts of her involvement in a 1989 tree-spiking in an Idaho national forest, as the fight over the Montanan’s nomination to lead the U.S. Bureau of Land Management escalated. Stone-Manning’s confirmation remains stuck in a divided […]
Biden public lands nominee opposed by GOP over link to 1989 tree-spiking
Republicans in the U.S. Senate are ramping up opposition to President Joe Biden’s pick to lead the Bureau of Land Management after a right-wing news site and other news reports detailed her connection to an Idaho tree-spiking scheme three decades ago. Without GOP support, Montana’s Tracy Stone-Manning would need the votes of every Democrat in […]
Biden’s public lands pick wins backing by environmental advocates ahead of hearing
Environmental groups are lining up behind President Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the Bureau of Land Management prior to her Tuesday confirmation hearing. More than 100 organizations wrote to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, (D-N.Y.), and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, (R-Ky.), Monday asking that the Senate confirm Tracy Stone-Manning, a Montanan who led conservation and […]
National parks struggling with maintenance would get a boost under Biden budget request
Basic needs at the largest U.S. national parks top the Biden administration’s first proposed lists of projects to receive funding through public lands trust funds, showing how much maintenance is needed even as parks brace for record numbers of visitors this summer. The projects likely wouldn’t be visible to the usual tourist, but they are […]