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But unspent COVID aid is a small target, with less than $80 billion unspent as of January, White House budget figures show. CARPENTERS, VETERANS AND MEDICAL RESEARCHReclaiming unspent COVID funds would have real-world repercussions. A clawback could also affect veterans' healthcare, as the Department of Veterans Affairs has yet to spend $4.6 billion of the money it received for COVID-19 related care. Republican governors of Nebraska and Arkansas last year rejected a second round of aid for people behind on their rent. Republican Senator Rick Scott in January urged governors and mayors to voluntarily return that money to help pay down federal debt.

☆ Biden seeks $1.6 bln to tackle COVID relief fraud ahead of Republican probes
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Jarrett Renshaw | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] President Joe Biden speaks before signing two bills aimed at combating fraud in the COVID-19 small business relief programs at the White House in Washington, U.S., August 5, 2022. Evan Vucci/Pool via REUTERSMarch 2 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden plans to ask Congress to provide $1.6 billion in new funding to tackle fraud tied to U.S. pandemic relief programs and help victims of identity theft, the White House said. In addition, Biden wants Congress to increase the statute of limitations on serious pandemic unemployment insurance fraud to 10 years, the White House said. In one case, an investigation by the task force recovered $286 million in stolen pandemic relief funds, and investigators have identified several equally important cases, according to the White House. Sperling, who oversees the COVID aid response for the White House, told reporters the renewed focus on pandemic fraud has nothing to do with coming Republican investigations.

WASHINGTON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Republicans on Thursday ousted Democrat Ilhan Omar from a high-profile committee over remarks widely condemned as antisemitic, two years after Democrats removed two Republicans from committee assignments. The deeply divided House voted 218-211 along party lines to remove Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee with Republicans citing the 2019 remarks for which she later apologized. She was in line to be the top Democrat on the foreign affairs panel's Africa subcommittee. [1/6] U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) walks to her office after being ousted by the Republican-lead House of Representatives to serve on the Foreign Affairs Committee, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February 2, 2023. McCarthy previously rejected assignments of Democrats Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

WASHINGTON, Jan 27 (Reuters) - The White House on Friday launched a fresh attack against U.S. oil companies, accusing them of using profits to pay shareholders instead of boosting supply, after Chevron Corp (CVX.N) said its annual profit doubled for 2022. Other oil companies are expected to follow suit. "Companies clearly have everything they need – record profits and thousands of approved permits – to increase production," White House spokesperson Abdullah Hasan said in a statement. "The only thing getting in the way is their own decision to keep plowing windfall profits into the pockets of executives and shareholders instead of using them to boost supply." Hasan's comments mark the latest set of attacks from the White House lambasting oil companies for funneling a windfall of profits to investors.

REUTERS/Adrees Latif/File PhotoWASHINGTON, Jan 23 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden will veto a bill by U.S. House of Representatives Republicans on the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) if it passes Congress, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said on Monday. In a letter last week, Granholm warned Republicans that limiting the Democratic president's authority to tap the nation's oil reserves would undermine national security, cause crude oil shortages, and raise gasoline prices. "He will not allow the American people to suffer because of the backwards agenda that House Republicans are advancing" Granholm, speaking to reporters at a White House briefing, said of Biden. The House, which Republicans control by a narrow margin, is expected to vote on the bill as soon as this week. She said the administration would soon announce how it will buy back some initial replenishment oil for the reserve.

☆ Analysis: Debt ceiling: White House bets Republicans will blink under pressure
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Trevor Hunnicutt | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

House Republicans want cuts to government programsbefore they will approve a higher ceiling; a similar demand sparked a 2011 credit rating downgrade and chaos in financial markets. But we similarly should not blindly increase the debt ceiling," Representative Chip Roy, a leading conservative, told Reuters. 2024 CAMPAIGN FOCUS ON EXTREMISMThe game of chicken comes as the White House prepares Biden's expected re-election campaign. Democrats are planning to deploy that theme in the 2024 election even if an agreement is reached quickly on the debt ceiling. A failure to raise the debt ceiling could have the opposite effect.

WASHINGTON, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Embattled U.S. Representative George Santos said he had no plans to heed fellow New York Republicans' calls to step down, a plea they made on Wednesday due to what they called "lie after lie after lie" about his career and history. The New York Republicans made their plea at a news conference two days after a nonpartisan watchdog accused Santos of breaking campaign finance laws in a filing with the Federal Election Commission. "It's just lie after lie after lie. Republican Representative Nick Langworthy from western New York and Representative Anthony D'Esposito, who represents a district next to that of Santos, were also among those calling on the first-term congressman to step down. During the news conference, officials said they would direct Santos' constituents to Representative D'Esposito in some cases, who had agreed to help residents of Santos' district.

☆ U.S. House Republicans who bucked McCarthy are powered by small-dollar donors
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Jason Lange | Joseph Ax | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives Republicans who tried to block Kevin McCarthy’s leadership bid last week share more than far-right political views. That’s about twice the share reported by the rest of the Republican House conference. Trump raised massive amounts of cash from small donors, thanks to a supply of controversial statements that drew him constant media attention. Close to 60% of his funding came from small donors. Both Gaetz and Boebert were in the top 15 House Republican campaigns ranked by funds raised.

☆ McCarthy's dream of being U.S. House speaker faces a political nightmare
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( David Morgan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

McCarthy has spent his adult life in politics, first as a congressional staffer and then state legislator before being elected to the House in 2006. At the same time, McCarthy, who has been House minority leader since 2019, would need to work with a Democratic Senate and the Biden White House on must-pass legislation. House Republicans and Democrats will then move quickly to a floor election for speaker, at which McCarthy will need support from a majority of members present to obtain the top congressional post. But already there is speculation that incoming House Majority Leader Steve Scalise or conservative leader Jim Jordan could emerge as a Republican compromise candidate. The House Freedom Caucus is pushing for rule changes that would make it easier to control the speaker and enhance the hard-line group's influence within the Republican conference.

[1/2] U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner, who was detained at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport and later charged with illegal possession of cannabis, is escorted before a court hearing in Khimki outside Moscow, Russia July 27, 2022. Griner arrived at the medical center last Friday after U.S. officials secured her freedom from Russia in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. Griner, 32, was arrested on Feb. 17 at an airport outside Moscow for carrying vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage. U.S. officials pressed for the release of both Griner and Whelan, who is being held on what Washington called "sham" espionage charges, a Biden administration official said. "(I) encourage everyone that played a part in bringing me home to continue their efforts to bring all Americans home," said Griner.

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