In the News

Listen: Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) sits down with Chuck Todd to talk about the "Internet Bill of Rights" his trip to rural America, and why he sometimes has a kind word for President Trump

Rep. Ro Khanna, a Democrat from Silicon Valley, has introduced an ambitious new bill that would offer work to virtually any American struggling with a long spate of unemployment—but whatever you do, don't call his plan a job guarantee.

Even with record low unemployment and corporate profits increasing, workers are not feeling the love. Nearly three quarters of American workers are making less money this year than last, inflation adjusted median incomes have declined over the last 50 years, and housing prices have skyrocketed. Toss robots and automation into the mix, and it creates a recipe for economic insecurity that raises fundamental questions about the long-term sustainability of pay.

Progressive Democrats' embrace of some kind of federal jobs guarantee program—harkening back to a policy prescription issued in President Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1944 State of the Union address—got a boost on Tuesday in the form of a new House bill.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), a freshman member who recently also joined the "Medicare for All" caucus, will introduce the Job Opportunities for All Act on Tuesday with nine additional co-sponsors, including Reps. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), Mark Pocan (D-WI) and Yvette Clarke (D-NY).

Across the country, people are increasingly anxious about election meddling. On July 13, Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, announced that special counsel Robert Mueller had indicted 12 members of Russia's military-intelligence agency for their roles in the alleged hacking of the Democratic National Committee. While indictments are not evidence, it's clear that the United States has much work to do in order to make its election system free, fair, and secure.

A massive group of House Democrats—totaling at least 70 members in all—signed onto the establishment of a Medicare for All caucus Thursday morning, signaling the increasing feasibility of the policy among members.

The caucus, co-chaired by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) and Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI), is intended to help "build the evidence base" for a Medicare for All proposal, Jayapal said at a press conference announcing the formation of the group.

A bill meant to clear the way for public access to reports submitted to Congress is in danger of hitting a roadblock, government transparency advocates warned Thursday.

The bipartisan Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act was approved without objection by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Administration Committee in February and April, clearing the way for consideration on the House floor.

Leading Democratic lawmakers have begun proposing several moonshot policies to address economic problems related to technological advances and automation, from large cash transfers to jobs guarantees. The debate swirling around these potential policies has already become oddly heated considering there is little research into how these major reforms would impact the whole American economy, let alone how they could be implemented effectively.