United States Chamber of Commerce
Hiring signs are posted outside a gas station in Cranberry Township, Butler County, Pa., Wednesday, May 5, 2021. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is calling for Washington to immediately stop paying out-of-work Americans an extra $300 a week in unemployment benefits, Friday, May 7, saying the boost in government aid is giving some recipients less incentive to look for work. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
Weak jobs report spurs new arguments over big fed spending

By Josh Boak May. 07, 2021 01:05 PM EDT

Hiring signs are posted outside a gas station in Cranberry Township, Butler County, Pa., Wednesday, May 5, 2021. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is calling for Washington to immediately stop paying out-of-work Americans an extra $300 a week in unemployment benefits, Friday, May 7, saying the boost in government aid is giving some recipients less incentive to look for work. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
Chamber of Commerce seeks end to enhanced US jobless aid

May. 07, 2021 12:00 PM EDT

FILE - In this Feb. 18, 2021 file photo, a passenger wears a face mask to help prevent against the spread of the coronavirus as he waits for a Delta Airlines flight at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta. Top airline and business groups are asking the Biden administration to take a leading role in developing standards for credentials that would let travelers show they have been tested and vaccinated for COVID-19. Airlines hope such a document would allow countries to relax travel restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of the virus. More than two dozen airline and business groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce wrote to the White House about the matter on Monday, March 8, 2021. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
Airline industry pushes US to standardize health papers

By David Koenig Mar. 08, 2021 07:37 PM EST

Electric candles await a bipartisan group of members Congress for a moment of silence honoring the 500,000 U.S. COVID-19 deaths, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021, by the east front steps of the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Republicans test history in vote against pandemic relief

By Steve Peoples Feb. 27, 2021 01:49 PM EST

President Joe Biden signs a series of executive orders on health care, in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021, in Washington. The Democratic push to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour has emerged as an early flash point in the push for a $1.9 trillion COVID relief package, providing an early test of President Joe Biden's ability to bridge Washington's partisan divide in pursuing his first major legislative victory. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Biden, Democrats hit gas on push for $15 minimum wage

By Kevin Freking Jan. 30, 2021 12:54 AM EST

FILE - In this Jan. 28, 2017, file photo, demonstrators sit in the concourse at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Seattle, Wash., with a sign that reads "We are America," as more than 1,000 people gather to protest the order signed the day before by President Donald Trump that restricts immigration to the U.S. A federal judge on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020, temporarily lifted a visa ban on a large number of work permits, undercutting a measure that the Trump administration says will protect American jobs in a pandemic-wracked economy. (Genna Martin/seattlepi.com via AP)
Judge blocks large parts of temporary work visa ban

By Elliot Spagat Oct. 01, 2020 09:07 PM EDT

President Donald Trump signs an executive order during a news conference at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., Saturday, Aug. 8, 2020. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Business lobby raises concerns over Trump payroll tax break

By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar Aug. 12, 2020 06:01 PM EDT

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, listens during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, July 27, 2020, to highlight the new Republican coronavirus aid package. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Endangered GOP senators are driving force for virus deal

By Andrew Taylor Aug. 05, 2020 06:31 AM EDT

FILE - In this May 6, 2020, file photo, Sen. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., listens during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. Arizona will be in the national spotlight in November as a presidential battleground and the home of one of the most closely watched Senate contests in the country. But Tuesday's primary on Aug. 4 features few big-ticket contests. McSally faces a challenge from businessman Daniel McCarthy, who is running to her right with an anti-government message and an appeal to voters who think the response to the pandemic is infringing on individual freedoms. (Shawn Thew/Pool via AP, File)
Endangered GOP senators are driving force for virus deal

By Andrew Taylor Aug. 04, 2020 05:46 PM EDT

President Donald Trump, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows talk before Trump speaks with reporters on the South Lawn of the White House, Wednesday, July 29, 2020, in Washington. Trump is en route to Texas. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Trump offers, Democrats reject fix for $600 jobless benefit

By Andrew Taylor And Lisa Mascaro Jul. 30, 2020 12:49 PM EDT

FILE - In this May 1, 2020, file photo, people ride down an escalator at a shopping mall in Oklahoma City as it reopens from its closure since mid-March due to coronavirus concerns. Many businesses are requiring customers and workers to sign forms saying they won't sue if they catch COVID-19. Businesses are afraid they could face lawsuits even if they follow social distancing and other government guidelines as they reopen across the U.S. after coronavirus shutdowns. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)
Businesses ask patrons to waive right to sue if they get ill

By Tom Krisher And Mark Sherman Jun. 16, 2020 12:01 AM EDT

FILE - In this March 8, 2020, file photo Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY., speaks at a campaign rally for then-Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in Ann Arbor, Mich. Now it’s Ocasio-Cortez’s turn to defend her record and battle accusations that she’s lost touch with her district. In 2018, the New York Democrat ousted a veteran lawmaker in a primary. Now, the 30-year-old democratic socialist faces a primary challenge from a former Republican who says Ocasio-Cortez is a celebrity who isn't paying enough attention to her district in the Bronx and Queens(AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)
Tables turned, Ocasio-Cortez plays defense in primary fight

By Alan Fram Jun. 11, 2020 12:12 AM EDT

FILE - In this May 14, 2020, file photo House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. Republicans are brandishing the latest approach in their uphill fight for House control this November: battering moderate Democrats for backing a $3 trillion coronavirus relief bill promising benefits for immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
Virus, economy, Trump and cash hamper GOP's bid for House

By Alan Fram May. 23, 2020 10:34 AM EDT

FILE - This April 29, 2020 file photo, a passer-by wearing a mask out of concern for the COVID-19 coronavirus, background center, walks past mannequins in a clothing store in Boston. The nation’s small businesses slashed more than 11 million jobs in April as they were forced to close or suffered steep revenue losses amid the coronavirus outbreak. That report comes from payroll provider ADP, which counted the jobs lost at its business customers with under 500 workers. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)
Small businesses cut jobs while waiting for government loans

By Joyce M. Rosenberg May. 06, 2020 10:09 AM EDT