MARK TAKANO

President Joe Biden is set to sign into law a bill that aims to help military veterans exposed to toxic burn pits.

U_S_ House Speaker Nancy Pelosi concluded her visit to Taiwan with a pledge that the American commitment to democracy on the self-governing island and elsewhere “remains ironclad.”.

The White House is criticizing Beijing’s rhetoric over an expected visit by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan and vowing the United States “will not take the bait or engage in saber rattling."

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has confirmed she will visit four Asian countries this week but made no mention of a possible stop in Taiwan that has riled Beijing, which claims the island as its own territory.

The House has approved a significant expansion of health care and disability benefits for millions of veterans who were exposed to toxic burn pits while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

President Joe Biden has signed a bill creating a commission to study establishing a national museum on the history of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States.

California lawmakers are considering a bill to make the standard workweek 32 hours instead of 40 hours for companies with 500 or more employees.

California lawmakers are considering a bill to make the standard workweek 32 hours instead of 40 hours for companies with 500 or more employees.

The House has passed legislation that would dramatically boost health care services and disability benefits for veterans exposed to toxic burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan.

A bill to cap Americans' work week at 32 hours, and pay overtime above that, is an idea gaining popularity globally.

Five U.S. lawmakers have met with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen during a surprise one-day visit intended to reaffirm the United States' support for the self-governing island.

Five U.S. lawmakers are in Taiwan in a surprise one-day visit, says the American Institute in Taiwan, the de facto embassy.

Some employers are starting to look at a four-day workweek to address employee mental health and combat the "Great Resignation."

President Biden and many Democratic lawmakers wanted the biggest social investment in history. Here's a look at what compromise could mean.

With President Joe Biden in office, advocates are pushing new campaigns and proposals to bring back immigrants they believe were unfairly deported from the U.S. One of them urges creating a centralized Department of Homeland Security office to consider requests from deported immigrants trying to reunite with their families in the United States.

The pictures always make it look so presidential.

(Jim Lo Scalzo/Pool photo via AP)WASHINGTON – The impeachment trial of Donald Trump is more than an effort to convict the former president of inciting an insurrection. It's a chance for a public accounting and remembrance of the worst attack on the U.S. Capitol in 200 years. Trump is long gone, ensconced at his Mar-a-Lago club, and Democrat Joe Biden is the new president in the White House. "A public trial serves a vital purpose," he said. Pelosi led Democrats in impeaching Trump, the only president twice impeached, and the first in history to face trial after leaving office.

FILE - In this July 7, 2020 file photo, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Richard Wilkie speaks at the National Press Club in Washington. Confronted with a sexual assault allegation at a veterans hospital, Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie repeatedly sought to discredit the female congressional staffer who made the complaint. The groups pressed Trump to act in the last weeks of his administration since Wilkie had refused to accept responsibility and was refusing to resign. Wilkie and other senior officials had declined to fully cooperate with the investigation by VA Inspector General Michael Missal. Wilkie is Trump’s second VA secretary after David Shulkin was fired in 2018.

“It is unfair to expect accountability from the nearly 400,000 VA employees and not demand the same from its top executive. Wilkie and other senior officials had declined to fully cooperate with the investigation by VA Inspector General Michael Missal. Wilkie is Trump’s second VA secretary after David Shulkin was fired in 2018. President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to rebuild trust in the VA when he takes office on Jan. 20. He has selected Denis McDonough, who served as President Barack Obama’s White House chief of staff, to be VA secretary.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie attempted to discredit a House aide who alleged she was sexually assaulted inside a VA hospital, the department's Office of the Inspector General found. Six of these witnesses in sworn testimony attributed the remarks to Secretary Wilkie himself," the report states. "In this shocking abuse of power, Secretary Wilkie publicly revictimized the very people that the agency that he leads is supposed to serve." According to the report, VA officials investigating the assault did not consider past complaints about the alleged perpetrator, a VA contractor. "VA officials did not examine this information, readily available in VA's files."

“The accountability, professionalism and respect that our veterans have earned, and quite frankly deserve, is completely lost in this current VA leadership team,” said B.J. Wilkie and other senior officials had declined to fully cooperate with the investigation by VA Inspector General Michael Missal. Wilkie is President Donald Trump’s second VA secretary after David Shulkin was fired in 2018. “VA can and must do better,” said Randy Reese, executive director of Disabled American Veterans’ Washington headquarters. He has selected Denis McDonough, who served as President Barack Obama’s White House chief of staff, to be VA secretary.

“The response of Secretary Wilkie and senior VA officials to the veteran’s complaint of sexual assault was troubling,” Missal said in a statement. “The tone set by Secretary Wilkie appears to have influenced aspects of the initial VA police investigation and the conduct of other VA employees,” the report said. Wilkie became VA secretary in 2018 after President Donald Trump fired David Shulkin amid ethics troubles and inner rebellion at the department over Shulkin’s leadership. On Thursday, Biden said he will nominate Denis McDonough, who served as President Barack Obama’s White House chief of staff, to be VA secretary. A study released by the VA last year found 1 in 4 female veterans using VA health care reported inappropriate comments by male veterans on VA grounds.

That law made it illegal for Chinese laborers to immigrate to America and limited the Chinese population in the U.S. for more than 60 years. Chinese Americans served in all major branches of the military, including the so-called Flying Tigers, the 14th Air Service that flew missions in the China-Burma-India Theater. For their service to the nation during the war, Chinese-American veterans were honored at a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony Wednesday. "With this honor, we are telling a more complete story of the people who fought for the United States during World War II and the personal and systemic challenges they faced.,'' Takano said. She and other Chinese Americans “answered the call to duty when our country faced threats to our freedom,″ Chin said in a videotaped presentation at Wednesday’s ceremony.

WASHINGTON – The House voted Thursday to condemn racism against Asian Americans tied to the coronavirus outbreak, approving a Democratic resolution on a mostly party-line vote. Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., called Republican opposition to the resolution “disgraceful.”“The president is fueling racism and inspiring violent attacks on Asian Americans and Asian immigrants,” Takano said. Republicans said Trump was turning his ire toward China's government and not Asian Americans. Trump in March insisted that Asian Americans were “amazing people” and not at fault for spreading the virus. Anti-discrimination groups have reported hundreds of actions against Asian Americans, especially in the early days of the outbreak.

(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)WASHINGTON Big gaps in federal oversight of long-term care facilities for aging veterans may have contributed to rampant coronavirus infections and more than 200 deaths at state-run homes, according to a congressional watchdog agency. Many of the COVID-19 outbreaks happened after asymptomatic staff unknowingly brought in the virus from hot-spot communities, underscoring the need for robust testing, said Melissa Jackson, president of the National Association of State Veterans Homes. Rep. Julia Brownley, D-Calif., who heads the House Veterans Affairs subcommittee on health, called the disparities unacceptable. But it's not known how many of these happened at state-run veterans homes because not all of them are required to report coronavirus infection and death rates to VA. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services provides oversight for about two-thirds of state-run veterans homes that receive Medicare or Medicaid payments.