Erica Werner
Washington Post
Washington, DC, United States
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Recent articles by Erica:
California lawmakers push to ban new drilling in wake of massive oil spill
California lawmakers demanded a stop to oil drilling off their state’s coast Tuesday as outrage grew over an enormous oil spill, and questions emerged about the timing and reporting of its detection. → Read More
Hollywood faces new crisis in strike threat from off-screen workers who keep productions running
The union, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, began voting Friday morning on whether to authorize a strike, with electronic balloting continuing through Sunday night and an announcement expected Monday. A vote to authorize a strike doesn’t guarantee a walkout, but would hand union leaders a powerful tool to try to exact better terms in negotiations with the Alliance of… → Read More
Climate change lets mosquitoes flourish — and feast — in Los Angeles
Warmer weather has allowed the pesky bugs to multiply and thwart attempts to slow their spread. → Read More
In Los Angeles, price for admission at nation’s second-largest school district is a negative covid test — every single week
Los Angeles Unified’s mandatory mass testing program seen as model for nation → Read More
Southern California cities rebel against new mask mandate, hinting at delta variant drama to come
Regional rebellion shows how government response to Delta variant is dividing even liberal Southern California, a brawl that could play out all over the country. → Read More
Democrats’ messaging shifts as they pass Biden relief bill: From economic crisis rescue to poverty relief
Democrats hail legislation as the furthest-reaching social welfare bill since the Great Depression, topping even the Affordable Care Act. → Read More
Biden $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill nears finish line in Congress
Democratic leaders expressed confidence they would have the votes to approve the wide-ranging relief bill despite their slim majority and unified GOP opposition. → Read More
Senate to move forward on $1.9 trillion virus relief bill; Schumer says ‘we’ll have the votes’
Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the Senate will move forward as soon as Wednesday on President Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill and pledged, “We’ll have the votes we need to pass the bill." → Read More
Minimum wage increase imperiled in covid relief bill by Senate official’s ruling
The guidance from the parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, was communicated privately to key Senate offices and confirmed by aides in both parties. It could be a major setback for liberals hoping to use Biden’s $1.9 trillion relief bill as the vehicle for their long-sought goal of raising the federal minimum wage from its current level of $7.25 an hour. → Read More
Focus on fate of $15 minimum wage in Senate as House prepares to take up Biden’s $1.9 trillion relief bill
Top Senate aides from both parties huddled with the Senate parliamentarian Wednesday morning to advance arguments about whether the minimum wage increase would be allowable under the complex Senate rules that will govern consideration of the legislation. → Read More
Schumer pledges final passage of $1.9 trillion relief bill ahead of March 14 unemployment insurance deadline
“The Senate is on track to send a robust $1.9 trillion package to the president’s desk before the March 14 expiration of Unemployment Insurance benefits. We will meet this deadline,” Schumer wrote in a Friday letter to Senate Democrats. The House is prepared to take up the bill next week and pass it and send it to the Senate late in the week, perhaps Friday or Saturday. That would allow the… → Read More
Focus on Capitol Hill turns to passing Biden’s $1.9 trillion covid relief bill
Biden is participating in a CNN town hall Tuesday night to discuss the coronavirus, the economy and other issues. He is likely to use the opportunity to promote his relief plan, which includes a new round of $1,400 stimulus checks as well as hundreds of billions of dollars for schools, city and state governments, coronavirus testing and vaccine manufacture and distribution. The proposal would… → Read More
Republican Sen. Richard C. Shelby of Alabama announces he will retire in 2022
The longtime senator, who chaired the Appropriations Committee, becomes fourth GOP senator to announce retirement plans. → Read More
Biden is open to mandating paid family leave in future legislation, Yellen says
The House is expected to pass the relief bill by the end of February, with the Senate to follow. Democrats want to get the relief package signed into law by mid-March, because that’s when enhanced unemployment benefits will expire without congressional action. Biden has already said he intends to announce his next major initiative in his first address to a joint meeting of Congress, which is set… → Read More
Ten Senate Republicans propose compromise covid relief package, request meeting with Biden
“We want to work in good faith with you and your administration to meet the health, economic and societal challenges of the covid crisis,” they wrote. Their move comes as Democrats prepare to move forward on Monday to set up a partisan path forward for Biden’s relief bill, which Republicans have dismissed as overly costly given some $4 trillion Congress has already committed to fighting the… → Read More
Biden to begin presidency pushing emergency relief, other ambitious economic plans
President-elect Joe Biden will arrive in Washington with an ambitious economic agenda topped with plans to prod Congress to pass a multi-trillion-dollar coronavirus relief bill aimed at stabilizing the teetering economy and halting the pandemic’s spread. → Read More
House Democrats vow new effort on economic aid as 117th Congress begins
Congress is back in session and House Democrats vow that their first order of business is stimulus, including $2,000 checks to individuals. → Read More
Democrats allege GOP refusal to accept election results is imperiling U.S. coronavirus response as cases, deaths spike
President-elect Joe Biden joined congressional Democratic leaders on Thursday and demanded a new economic relief package to address the dramatically worsening coronavirus pandemic before the end of the year. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) flatly rejected such a proposal, while Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) implored both sides to begin negotiating as the virus appeared to be… → Read More
Stimulus talks set to resume in Washington, but Pelosi and McConnell are at odds again
McConnell dug in Friday on his call for a narrow relief bill, pointing to a new jobs report that showed the unemployment rate had fallen to 6.9 percent in October, down from nearly 15 percent in April. McConnell said this is evidence that only limited additional federal intervention is needed. McConnell looks likely to maintain his role as majority leader in the new Congress after Democrats… → Read More
Democrats’ ambitious agenda for 2021 runs into unexpected obstacle — McConnell’s resilience
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was so confident that Democrats would get unified control of Washington that she began publicly discussing how the party would move forward to implement an ambitious agenda on multiple fronts, from health care to economic relief to infrastructure. She was eyeing a legislative maneuver called “budget reconciliation” to push extensive legislation through the… → Read More