U.S. Congress

The vote in the U.S. House of Representatives fell mostly along party lines and failed by a handful of votes, 212-219.

Community members and small businesses around the Tri-Cities are rallying around MBS International Airport’s air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration staff as they’re put at risk for missing out on their paychecks due to the ongoing shut down of the Department of Homeland Security.

U.S. Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet, D-Bay City, joined 114 sitting House Democrats in unveiling what they're calling "a roadmap to affordability" for American families Thursday. The plan targets five main categories of expenses: housing, healthcare, childcare, energy and household essentials like groceries.

Slotkin, a Democrat, introduced her National Housing Emergency Act last week. In addition to declaring a housing emergency, it aims to alleviate a national housing shortage by boosting "domestically produced materials to support the construction and rehabilitation of housing, [and] push states and localities to cut red tape currently standing in the way of building middle class housing."

The federal funding package to reopen the government included a one-year extension of certain 2018 Farm Bill programs. Several expired Sept. 30 or would have been null by the end of the year.

U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Caledonia) said in an email that the town hall will be an opportunity for people to ask him questions about how federal agencies are being impacted by the shut down.

Moolenaar says hackers with connections to the Chinese government pretended to be him by sending emails to officials working on trade negotiations with China.

Three nonprofit organizations joined U.S. congressional candidate Callie Barr (D-Traverse City) to discuss the rise of food and housing insecurities in northern Michigan. Barr says she hopes to have similar meetings in the future.

Supporters of the EPA's work in Michigan and the U.S. to protect the environment urged Congress to rein in a plan to roll back multiple pollution regulations.

Democrat Michael Lynch said he hasn't officially decided if he's going to run again for Michigan's 2nd Congressional District seat. Lynch ran against incumbent U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Caledonia) in 2024 and lost after receiving only 31% of the vote.