In the News
A group of congressional Democrats is asking President Joe Biden on Tuesday to fulfill a campaign promise and use his executive authority to mandate the inclusion of a gender-neutral "X" marker on federal IDs.
Ro Khanna, the dynamic progressive US representative from California, was inspired to enter politics by the legacy of his grandfather, Amarnath Vidyalankar (1901–1985), the legendary Indian trade unionist, independence campaigner, and parliamentarian.
With millions of lives at stake amid a rapid spread of COVID-19, Indian-American Congressman Ro Khanna said he hoped President Joe Biden would call the Pfizer CEO to let India produce its vaccine at least for six months or a year.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
How much more can the United States help India? The U.S. is now sending oxygen for COVID patients, raw materials for vaccines and other supplies for a country now leading the world in daily new infections. Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna of California joins us. He is vice chair of the Congressional India Caucus.
Congressman, good morning.
Hopes were high for the Endless Frontier Act when it was first introduced in 2020. The bipartisan, bicameral bill promised to boost U.S. efforts to compete against China by sending $100 billion to the National Science Foundation, refocusing its efforts on emerging technology like semiconductors and AI and even changing its name to the National Science and Technology Foundation.
Swedish climate advocate Greta Thunberg urged a House subcommittee on Thursday to end tax breaks for fossil fuel producers, saying their existence was a "disgrace," and she accused lawmakers who have failed to remove them as "proof that we have not understood the climate emergency."
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg will testify Thursday to a U.S. congressional hearing on fossil fuel subsidies, which the committee's progressive chairman is pressuring President Joe Biden to end.
A group of Republicans and Democrats are putting forward a new plan aimed at bolstering the nation's economic competitiveness against China. It represents a big test of whether Republicans and Democrats can still collaborate on key issues in Congress.
Congress is moving with increasing urgency on bipartisan legislation to confront China and bolster U.S. competitiveness in technology and critical manufacturing with the Senate poised to act within weeks on a package of bills.
Congressman Ro Khanna of California was the first House Democrat to speak out Friday against President Joe Biden's request for a $715 billion Pentagon budget for Fiscal Year 2022, an increase from the current $704 billion level approved under former President Donald Trump.