Author

Jennifer Shutt

Jennifer Shutt

Jennifer covers the nation’s capital as a senior reporter for States Newsroom. Her coverage areas include congressional policy, politics and legal challenges with a focus on health care, unemployment, housing and aid to families.

Lucy McBath

U.S. House passes ‘red flag’ gun control bill

By: and - June 9, 2022

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House on Thursday passed a “red flag” gun control bill that would allow federal courts to temporarily remove a firearm from an individual who is adjudged to pose a threat to themselves or others. In a 224-202 nearly party line vote, the House passed Georgia Democratic Rep. Lucy McBath’s bill, known […]

Bipartisan U.S. Senate bill aiding veterans exposed to burn pits edges toward passage

By: - June 8, 2022

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate is set to approve a sweeping bill in the coming days steered by the bipartisan duo of Montana’s Jon Tester and Kansas’ Jerry Moran that would expand health care and benefits for veterans exposed to burn pits overseas — though a few final details linger. Democrats and Republicans on Capitol […]

A healthcare professional organizes a tray of COVID-19 vaccine vials. The professional is carrying out research on COVID-19 vaccine in laboratory. (Getty Images)

COVID vaccine for kids under 5 could be available as soon as June 21

By: - June 2, 2022

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is preparing to ship out to the states millions of COVID-19 vaccines for children under 5 in the coming weeks, likely ending months of waiting for parents and caregivers.   White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Ashish Jha said Thursday that if the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorizes emergency use of […]

Dem campaign chief says GOP congressional moderates try to avoid talking abortion, guns

By: - June 1, 2022

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House Democrat in charge of keeping the chamber blue in November’s midterm elections said Tuesday that Republicans running in suburban swing districts are trying to “hide” their views on abortion and gun legislation from voters.  Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Sean Patrick Maloney said during a call with regional reporters that […]

Fort Bragg entrance sign

Commission recommends new names for 9 Army bases to end ties to Confederacy

By: - May 24, 2022

WASHINGTON — The group in charge of renaming military installations that have continued to honor Confederates released its recommendations for nine bases on Tuesday. The Naming Commission, created by Congress in a defense authorization bill, is set to give its final report to the U.S. House and Senate Armed Services committees before Oct. 1, though […]

Housing shortage is 'single greatest concern' in Louisiana, governor says

Summer hurricanes, wildfires and storms loom as FEMA faces pressure to step up

By: - May 24, 2022

WASHINGTON — Another grueling summer disaster season is arriving, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency is under intense pressure even as its portfolio balloons, it pleads for more money from Congress and criticism comes on several fronts. The agency manages more than 300 disaster declarations a year, a dramatic increase from the average of 108 […]

A person crosses Canal Street in New Orleans during Hurricane Ida on Aug. 29, 2021.

NOAA forecasts busy Atlantic hurricane season, with at least 3 major storms

By: - May 24, 2022

WASHINGTON — The 2022 Atlantic hurricane season is predicted to be the seventh in a row with an above-normal number of storms, according to a forecast the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released Tuesday.  NOAA administrator Rick Spinrad said the agency expects there will be between 14 and 21 named storms, with six to 10 […]

An immigrant mother from Cuba sits with her sons after crossing the border from Mexico, as they await processing by the U.S. Border Patrol, on May 19, 2022 in Yuma, Arizona.

Federal judge allows continued Title 42 migrant expulsions at the border

By: - May 20, 2022

WASHINGTON — A federal judge in Louisiana on Friday temporarily blocked the Biden administration from ending Title 42, a designation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that has allowed border patrol officials to turn migrants away at the border.  The order from U.S. District Court Judge Robert Summerhays for a preliminary nationwide injunction […]

baby formula 2

Under fire from Congress, FDA chief says baby formula shortage will improve soon

By: - May 19, 2022

WASHINGTON — U.S. Food and Drug Commissioner Robert Califf told Congress Thursday that the infant formula shortage will likely begin to improve in the coming days, though he declined to explain to unhappy lawmakers why his agency didn’t act sooner on a whistleblower report that detailed safety issues at an Abbott Laboratories facility in Michigan.  […]

U.S. Capitol

U.S. House Judiciary Committee debates abortion in advance of landmark court ruling

By: - May 19, 2022

WASHINGTON — The national debate over abortion rights raged in the U.S. House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, as Democrats warned of the dangers of a potential end to the constitutional right and Republicans argued that legislatures should determine abortion laws.  The hearing came just weeks after a leaked draft opinion from Associate Justice Samuel Alito […]

A woman mixing infant formula in a bottle

Congress, White House scramble to ease baby formula shortage

By: and - May 19, 2022

WASHINGTON — Both the Biden administration and Congress moved Wednesday to try to relieve a national infant formula shortage, as the White House invoked the Defense Production Act and the U.S. House approved $28 million for the Food and Drug Administration. President Joe Biden said he would use the law to address the formula shortage, […]

A woman mixing infant formula in a bottle

U.S. House to vote on $28 million for FDA to relieve infant formula shortage

By: - May 17, 2022

WASHINGTON — Democratic appropriators in the U.S. House unveiled a $28 million emergency spending bill Tuesday intended to address a nationwide infant formula shortage that has left parents and caregivers struggling to find food for babies. The U.S. House is expected to vote this week on the bill, which would provide funding to the U.S. […]