RALEIGH, North Carolina, July 31 -- The North Carolina Office of the State Auditor issued the following news release on July 30, 2025: * * * DAVE Act Passes Legislature, State Auditor Boliek "Fully On Board" Today, the North Carolina General Assembly passed House Bill 125, "Continuing Budget Operations." The bill includes "The DAVE Act" provision, which requires the North Carolina Office of the State Auditor to establish a "Division of Accountability, Value, and Efficiency." The division will  more

WASHINGTON, July 30 -- Sen. Richard J. Durbin, D-Illinois, issued the following news release: * * * Durbin Delivers Opening Statement At Spotlight Forum Examining Trump Administration's Voter Suppression Efforts * July 30, 2025 Today's spotlight forum comes after Durbin and Padilla led all Senate Democrats in reintroducing the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today de  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 1 -- Sen. Richard J. Durbin, D-Illinois, ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued the following news release on July 30, 2025: * * * Durbin Delivers Opening Statement At Spotlight Forum Examining Trump Administration's Voter Suppression Efforts U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today delivered an opening statement at his and U.S. Senator Alex Padilla's (D-CA) spotlight forum entitled "Protecting t  more

PATUXENT RIVER, Maryland, July 31 -- The U.S. Naval Air Systems Command issued the following news release: * * * FRCE legal team earns recognition from Navy * The Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) Office of General Counsel recently earned recognition from the Department of the Navy Office of General Counsel for its development of an innovative tracking system that helps focus legal efforts on high-priority mission requirements and improve outcomes for the command. The FRCE team received t  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 1 -- Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island, ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, issued the following news release: * * * ICYMI: Senate Democrats Expose Methane Threat, Highlight Progress Despite Trump Rollbacks As the Trump Administration rolls back methane standards, an EPW forum warns methane pollution endangers health, raises energy costs, and worsens climate risks * Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ranking Member of the Senate Enviro  more

WASHINGTON, Aug. 1 -- Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Louisiana, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, issued the following news on July 31, 2025: * * * ICYMI: Senate HELP Committee Advances Legislation to Strengthen Americans' Health Care, Retirement This week, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee voted to favorably report six bipartisan pieces of legislation to strengthen Americans' access to quality health care and retirement benefits.   more

RALEIGH, North Carolina, July 30 -- The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality issued the following news release: * * * NC Oil and Gas Commission to meet August 5 * The North Carolina Oil and Gas Commission will meet at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025, in Raleigh. Members of the public may attend in-person, online or join the meeting by phone. An agenda and supporting documents will be posted on the Commission website prior to the meeting. Oil and Gas Commission Meeting:   more

RALEIGH, North Carolina, July 31 -- The North Carolina Department of Commerce issued the following news release on June 30, 2025: * * * North Carolina's June County and Area Unemployment Figures Released Unemployment rates (not seasonally adjusted) increased in 92 counties in June 2025, decreased in four, and remained unchanged in four. Edgecombe County had the highest unemployment rate at 5.8 percent while Currituck County had the lowest at 3.1 percent. All fifteen of the state's metro areas  more

WASHINGTON, July 31 -- Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, issued the following news release: * * * Sen. Moran Questions USDA Leadership on Proposed Agency Reorganization Plan * WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) - member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry - questioned U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Stephen Alexander Vaden on USDA's reorganization plan. Under USDA's proposed plan, which was announced last week, the agency  more

WASHINGTON, July 31 -- Sen. Ted Budd, R-North Carolina, issued the following news release: * * * Senators Budd, Gillibrand, Lummis Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Stop Illegal Use of Digital Assets by Criminals and Terrorists * Washington, D.C. --U.S. Senator Ted Budd (R-N.C.) was joined by Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) in reintroducing the Financial Technology Protection Act. The bipartisan bill aims to address the illegal use of financial technologies and di  more

WASHINGTON, July 31 -- Sen. Ted Budd, R-North Carolina, issued the following news release: * * * Senators Budd, Scott, Colleagues Introduce Bill to Stop Federal Government Overreach in Small Business Lending * Washington, D.C. -- U.S. Senator Ted Budd (R-N.C.) joined Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.) in reintroducing the Protecting Access to Credit for Small Businesses Act to protect community banks and credit unions from competing with the federal government. The bill does so by prohibiting a Bide  more

WASHINGTON, July 31 -- Sen. Ted Budd, R-North Carolina, issued the following news release: * * * Sens. Budd, Heinrich Introduce Amendment to Crack Down on Illicit Anti-Obesity Drugs Entering the U.S. from China * Bipartisan amendment would help ensure FDA can utilize existing statutory authority to protect Americans from counterfeit, unapproved drugs from unregistered facilities in China Washington, D.C. -- U.S. Senators Ted Budd (R-N.C.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) recently introduced an  more

WASHINGTON, July 30 -- Sen. Thom Tillis, R-North Carolina, issued the following news release: * * * Tillis, Colleagues Introduce Framework to Combat Foreign Online Piracy, Protect American Copyright Holders * WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC), Chris Coons (D-DE), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and Adam Schiff (D-CA) introduced a discussion draft of the Block Bad Electronic Art and Recording Distributors (Block BEARD) Act of 2025 bipartisan legislation that would allow copyright  more

WASHINGTON, July 31 -- The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has submitted a public comment letter to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) urging the agency to retain the preferential rate for the Green and Energy Efficient Housing Mortgage Insurance Premium (MIP) category. The organization expresses strong support for this initiative, recognizing its potential to enhance housing affordability and mitigate risks associated with mortgage defaults. In its correspondence, U  more

WASHINGTON, July 30 -- Sen. Alex Padilla, D-California, issued the following news release: * * * WATCH: Padilla Exposes Alarming Surge in Voter Suppression, Republican Push for Racial Gerrymandering in Texas During Spotlight Forum * Padilla: "Instead of running on a record of clawing away health care coverage to pay for tax cuts for billionaires, they're trying to rig the rules of the game." WATCH : Padilla: "The Trump Administration is not focused on protecting your right to vote. They're  more

WASHINGTON, July 30 -- Sen. Alex Padilla, D-California, issued the following news release: * * * WATCH: Padilla Questions Former AG Eric Holder on Republican Push for Racial Gerrymandering in Texas During Spotlight Forum on Voter Suppression * Office of Special Counsel Confirms Hatch Act Investigation Following Padilla Letter Holder: "It's both a sign of weakness and a sign of fear... The President and his party are afraid of the voters, and they are trying to manipulate the maps in Texas   more

WASHINGTON, July 30 -- Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, issued the following news release: * * * Welch Grills Trump Admin on How So-Called 'Reorganization Plan' of USDA Hurts Vermont * WASHINGTON, D.C. - During a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing today, U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Rural Development, Energy, and Credit, grilled U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden on the Trump Administration's reorga  more