Free Republic

Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., on Friday introduced legislation that would allow congressional employees to carry legally possessed weapons in self-defense to and from Capitol Hill and safely store them while at work. The Safe Storage Lockers for House Office Buildings Act would require Capitol Police to install and operate lockers at the entrances of House office buildings where workers could store their weapons. In Washington, D.C., individuals are allowed by law to carry and use certain weapons for self-defense, including self-defense sprays, stun guns and concealed firearms. However, both D.C. and federal law prohibit individuals from carrying these weapons inside...

A video of her announcement.

Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesday voted against legislation that would permanently classify both fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances (FRS) as Schedule 1 drugs that carry the toughest penalties for trafficking and possession. Republicans say the growing fentanyl problem in America means the U.S. should permanently treat those drugs as Schedule 1 substances in the hopes of boosting penalties and stopping their spread. In 2018, the Trump administration temporarily scheduled FRS as a Schedule 1 drug in light of the growing number of fentanyl-related deaths, and Congress has extended that temporary status a few times since then....

A group of squatters that occupied a home in Washington state returned just one day after 30 sheriff's deputies carried out a SWAT raid on the property. The land is part of an unincorporated area in the suburbs of Seattle and owned by Laleh Kashani, 49, whose husband died a couple of years ago, she told KIRO7. On Wednesday, county officials raided the property, which had been occupied since the beginning of the pandemic, and discovered 52 cars, some stolen, as well as drugs and guns. Five out of around a dozen squatters were arrested, but just a day some...

BARTOW, Fla. — A man was arrested after he drove through a cemetery in Bartow, Florida. He damaged some headstones of some graves and ultimately crashed into a house. Police saw Timothy David Adams, 40, recklessly driving and witnessed him run a stop sign just after midnight Thursday, according to WFLA. Officers attempted to stop Adamas but he fled the area. Officers tried to chase Adams but he turned off his lights which made it harder to follow him, according to WTVT. Adams ended up driving through a fence near Stuart Street which was on the side of Wildwood Cemetary,...

Proposed measures at the Illinois statehouse could require electric vehicle charging stations in the garage of new homes, a change one builder says would increase costs. House Bill 2206 and Senate Bill 40 require a new single-family residence or a small multifamily residence to have at least one electric vehicle charging station for each residential unit with dedicated parking. Dean Graven of the Home Builders Association of Illinois said neither measure considers the added costs. "This is a mandate with no funding behind it, a mandate that every new house, single-family duplex, then it gets into the multi-family, would have...

House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-KY) expressed “a sense of urgency” on Sunday to find out whether President Joe Biden is compromised by his family’s foreign business dealings in China, Russia, and Ukraine. “There’s a sense of urgency for our investigation to be able to determine whether or not this administration is compromised,” Comer told the Wall Street Journal. Comer, who is investigating the Biden family for nine violations, including tax evasion, money laundering, and wire fraud, has sent out demand letters to Hunter and James Biden, demanding their financial records and communications with business associates to ascertain whether...

China steals billions worth of U.S. intellectually property and maintains a "massive spy ring" in U.S. institutions, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said Sunday. Comer argued during an appearance on ABC's "This Week" that the problem of Chinese surveillance was "a lot bigger" than spy balloons floating over the country. Comer bashed President Biden for allowing China's craft to cross the continental U.S., but said the failure of the Biden administration to combat intellectual property theft was the true issue. "You know, China continues to steal our intellectual property. They continue to steal our patents. They manipulate their...

President Biden tried Wednesday to downplay House Republican investigations of his embattled son Hunter and the rest of the first family — claiming that voters just won’t be interested. In an interview with “PBS NewsHour” host Judy Woodruff, Biden was asked how he planned to deal with the House Oversight Committee’s investigation into his son’s shady business interests in China and Ukraine. “The public is not going to pay attention that,” Biden, 80, insisted. “They want these guys to do something. If the only thing they can do is make up things about my family, it’s not going to go...

Leadership of House Committees of the 118th Congress have announced plans to investigate previously unchecked Administration activities or inactivity, including the Administration’s handling of the border crisis. The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) reported in August 2022 that nearly 4.9 million immigrants had entered the United States since Joe Biden took office. At that rate, at least 11 million immigrants will pour into the into the country during this administration’s four-year term. This is compared to the 12 million that passed through Ellis Island in its full 152 years (1802-1954) of operation.The House leadership is also acting to investigate...

President Biden sought to contrast his administration's accomplishments with House Republicans' agenda Friday night during the Democratic National Committee's winter meeting in Philadelphia Friday... On the economy, the president particularly highlighted his administration's focus on manufacturing jobs, and on buying American products, before shifting gears in an effort to contrast his administration with House Republicans. "Jobs are up, wages are up, inflation is down," he said. "COVID no longer controls our lives. But now, the extreme MAGA Republicans in the House of Representatives have made it clear they intend to put it all at risk...These aren't conservatives. These aren't conservatives....

The House on Thursday approved a resolution denouncing socialism in a bipartisan vote that fractured the Democratic caucus. The resolution overwhelmingly cleared the chamber in a 328-86-14 vote. The majority of Democrats - 109 of them - voted with all Republicans for the resolution, while 86 voted against it and 14 voted “present.” The measure, which runs three pages, says “socialist ideology necessitates a concentration of power that has time and time again collapsed into Communist regimes, totalitarian rule, and brutal dictatorships.” It argues that “many of the greatest crimes in history were committed by socialist ideologues” - mentioning Vladimir...

The House of Representatives is expected Wednesday to pass legislation requiring hundreds of thousands of federal workers to return to federal offices and shutter many of the telework arrangements permitted amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Though the measure is unlikely to be passed into law, the proposal raises new debate over whether telework by public employees is squandering taxpayer money or is preventing a shortfall of the civil servants needed to operate the sweeping U.S. government. Republican Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said services at the Internal Revenue Service, Social Security Administration and Department of...

An organizational meeting of the House Judiciary Committee turned into a bitter debate over a proposed amendment to committee rules that would require the recitation of the pledge of allegiance at the beginning of committee meetings, allowing members to bring in constituents to lead it if they wish. The amendment, put forth by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., was met with a challenge and another amendment by Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., who said anyone who supported an insurrection against the United States should be barred from leading the pledge. .. Several Republicans were dismayed that the matter was being debated at...

A video is going viral of White House Correspondent Simon Ateba confronting Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre over President Joe Biden’s mishandling of classified documents. She is accused of refusing to answer questions on the issue. Ateba, who works for Today News Africa, is a foreign reporter from Cameroon. Ateba argued that Jean-Pierre wasn’t fit for the job after she repeatedly refused to answer questions about Biden’s scandal. Ateba said, “Karine, since you don’t have any answers to the classified documents, you don’t seem a good fit for this job. We do not seem to have any answers from you.”Ouch! Are...

The House Oversight Committee on Wednesday will hold its first hearing on wasteful pandemic-era spending. Rep. James Comer (R-KY), committee chairman, announced the hearing last week in an effort to investigate the “rampant waste” of taxpayer dollars on pandemic relief programs. Those set to testify are Michael Horowitz, Chair of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, Gene Dodaro, Comptroller General, U.S. Government Accountability Office, and David M. Smith, Assistant Director, Office of Investigations, U.S. Secret Service.

As members of Congress debate whether lawmakers and their spouses should play the stock market, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband, Paul Pelosi, a venture capitalist, continues to regularly buy and sell stocks and stock options. Pelosi has access to confidential intelligence and the power to affect - with words or actions - the fortunes of companies in which her husband invests and trades. When asked in December 2021 whether members of Congress should even be allowed to trade stocks, Pelosi answered in the affirmative. "We are a free-market economy. They should be able to participate in that," she said. This...

Shortly after it was made public that Joe Biden was embroiled in a classified document scandal, that the Department of Justice seemed to handled quite differently than they had with former President Donald Trump; U.S. House Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, announced he was launching an investigation into the Biden classified document scandal. “We are conducting oversight of the Justice Department’s actions with respect to former Vice President Biden’s mishandling of classified documents, including the apparently unauthorized possession of classified material at a Washington, D.C., private office and in the garage of his Wilmington, Delaware,...

A federal jury convicted a Lawrence man Thursday for threatening to kill U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner. Chase Neill faces up to 10 years in federal prison for one felony count of threatening a public official. The charge stems from voicemails he left in June for LaTurner, a second term Republican congressman who represents much of eastern Kansas, including part of Wyandotte County.... ...In the June voicemails, Neill threatened to kill LaTurner and all other members of congress but said it would happen by an “act of God.” In the voicemail, left on June 6, Neill declared himself “son of God,”...

Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) sustained multiple injuries following an accident at his home on Wednesday afternoon, his office announced in a statement on Twitter. The Twitter statement did not provide additional details about the nature of the accident but urged people to “ pray for the Congressman and his family.” According to a report by Florida Politics, Steube was carrying out “routine home maintenance” when he fell nearly 25 feet from his roof to the ground....