u s senate committee on appropriations

Tough new regulations to protect chicken growers on the Eastern Shore were quietly rolled back in a massive federal spending bill last month — enraging advocates for the mom-and-pop farms and straining their already rocky relationship with Salisbury-based Perdue.

Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski on Monday again urged the Internal Revenue Service to "get to the bottom of allegations" that AccuPay, a payroll servicer based in Harford County, cheated businesses by failing to pass tax payments on to state and federal collection agencies.

Food safety groups are ramping up pressure on Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski over language included in a government funding bill that would make it harder for courts to block the planting of genetically engineered crops.

Scientists at the nation's leading research institutions are warning that continued uncertainty over federal funding for biomedical research in the U.S. could lead to a brain drain that will eventually undermine development of new treatments.

Five regional and local airports could see their control towers close on April 1 if across-the-board spending cuts take effect next Friday, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Friday.

The Baltimore office of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the nation's worst performer in processing disability claims, will receive more employee training, an influx of senior staff and a new digital processing system ahead of schedule.

Baltimore County Republican Rep. Andy Harris was appointed to serve on the powerful House Appropriations Committee on Thursday, giving the state another voice in how federal dollars are spent.

Sen. Ben Cardin had a simple request of researchers at the National Institutes Health looking for ways to defend their funding from looming budget cuts: "Put a face on this."

Maryland communities affected by Super Storm Sandy will receive $8.6 million in federal funding under an emergency spending measure approved by Congress last month.

President Barack Obama arrived in Annapolis on Wednesday to speak privately with Senate Democrats who are holding their annual strategy session at the Westin Hotel.

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats will hold their annual retreat beginning Tuesday in Annapolis — giving lawmakers a chance to strategize about gun control, immigration and the latest fiscal crisis.

Calling the failures at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Baltimore inexcusable, Maryland's congressional leadership on Monday demanded the beleaguered agency develop an immediate action plan to fix the local problems and assign a senior official to ensure progress is made.

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama began his second term Monday by calling for an end to the rigid ideologies of modern politics but laying out a broad policy agenda more likely to stoke partisan confrontation than avoid it.

Crisfield, Md., is just now beginning to rebuild from the floods that accompanied Sandy — the worst experienced here in 80 years — but the Eastern Shore city faces big challenges as its leaders embark on the far more difficult task of preparing for future storms.

Mikulski and her ilk spend, they don't 'invest'

WASHINGTON — In an unexpected move that could have significant implications for Maryland, Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski will be named the first female chair of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday.

Behind-the-scenes jostling for committee chairmanships in the U.S. Senate has left Maryland Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski poised to take over the Senate Intelligence Committee — a move experts said Tuesday could bolster the role cyber security plays in the state's economy.

As many as 240 AmeriCorps members will relocate from Perryville to Baltimore's Graceland Park in the coming months, as a division of the national service organization establishes its first urban campus.

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta has agreed to provide $1.3 million to fund affordable housing projects in Baltimore and Cecil County, Maryland's U.S. senators announced Wednesday.

Fourteen years after truck bombs ripped through two U.S. embassies in East Africa, a Maryland lawmaker is reviving efforts to compensate families of the 12 Americans killed in the Nairobi attack — the most recent attempt in a years-long struggle that has left many survivors feeling betrayed.

Many of the councilmen demurred, citing work schedules and other responsibilities. So Richard B. "Dick" Ladd, a retired career Army man and first-time elected official, volunteered to be chairman.

A Doctors Without Borders physician describes the good American anti-AIDS programs are doing, and the risks posed by 'supercommittee' cuts.

Congress must protect contract farmers from abusive poultry industry practices