U.S. Rep. David Price of Chapel Hill relentlessly chanted “No bill, no break” alongside his fellow Democrats as they demanded a vote on gun control legislation. All three of North Carolina’s U.S. House Democrats – Price, Alma Adams and G.K. Butterfield – participated in the almost 26-hour sit-in on the House floor, calling for the Republican leadership to allow a vote on preventing suspected terrorists from buying guns. “Extraordinary situations call for extraordinary measures,” Price said. Abou... Read more

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday blocked two policy initiatives proposed by President Barack Obama to temporarily shield from deportation certain immigrants living in the United States without authorization, but a similar program he implemented four years ago remains in effect. The case is United States v. Texas. It involves Obama’s proposed Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents, or DAPA, and the expansion of the four-year-old initiative, known as Deferred Act... Read more

While North Carolina’s recently passed college transparency bill awaits the signature of Gov. Pat McCrory, similar federal legislation was approved on Wednesday by the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce. House Resolution 3178, the “Strengthening Transparency in Higher Education Act,” would increase access to information for all college applicants in the United States and streamline existing transparency efforts to ease confusion and boost efficiency when students apply for colle... Read more

Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), chairwoman of the House Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training, introduced a resolution Thursday under the Congressional Review Act to block the new overtime rule set by the Labor Department on May 18. The resolution, H.J. Res. 95, provides for congressional disapproval of the Labor Department’s overtime rule. The resolution is meant to protect workers, students, nonprofit organizations and small business owners from the consequences of the overtime ru... Read more

Two years ago, the Obama administration introduced an effort to update rules surrounding federal wage and hour standards incorporated into the Fair Labor Standards Act. The result of that effort will begin to be felt near the end of this year. It won’t stop there. First, some background: On Dec. 1, the final rule, which was released by the Department of Labor in May, will more than double the salary threshold for overtime pay eligibility from $455 per week to $913 per week — $47,476 per year. Ac... Read more

Currently in America there are more than five million people living with Alzheimer’s. In North Carolina, that number is well over 160,000. Alzheimer’s is not only devastating but fatal. Alzheimer’s disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S. and the only cause of death among the top 10 without a way to prevent, stop or even slow its progression. Alzheimer’s is also one of the most expensive conditions in the nation, with nearly one in every five Medicare dollars being spent on people... Read more

Ever since the Obama administration started temporarily shielding from deportation certain younger immigrants who had been living in the United States illegally, eligible immigrants have been able to access such benefits as a work permit and a driver’s license. But, for them, obstacles remain. Under the program, known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, there is no direct path to citizenship or the possibility of changing unauthorized immigration status — even while beneficiaries... Read more

House Republicans are looking to shut down an effort by the Obama administration to raise overtime pay for millions of workers. Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) on Thursday filled a motion of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act in an effort to repeal the Labor Department’s new overtime rule. “Our nation’s overtime rules need to be modernized, but the Department of Labor’s extreme and partisan approach will lead to damaging consequences that the American people simply cannot afford,” Foxx s... Read more

The Labor Department’s much-contested overtime rule is now facing a challenge from both chambers of Congress after Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-NC, introduced a resolution on Thursday to block its implementation. “Our nation’s overtime rules need to be modernized, but the Department of Labor’s extreme and partisan approach will lead to damaging consequences that the American people simply cannot afford,” Foxx said of her resolution (HJ Res 59). The Labor Department’s rule would expand overtime pay for ... Read more

Several key Republican lawmakers today pushed back against the Obama administration’s proposed regulations governing student loan debt relief and providing the Education Department with new tools to crack down on financially-troubled colleges. The proposed regulations are largely focused on the for-profit college industry. Rep. John Kline, chairman of the House Education and Workforce Committee, and Rep. Virginia Foxx, who heads the higher education subcommittee, said in a statement that the adm... Read more