Congressional and Public Affairs
Maria Machuca
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New York Eyes Textalyzer to Bust Drivers Using Cell Phones Police in New York state may soon have a high-tech way of catching texting drivers: a device known as a textalyzer that allows an officer to quickly check if a cellphone has been in use before a crash.

Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday directed the Governor's Traffic Safety Committee to examine the technology and the questions about privacy and civil liberties its use would raise.

"Despite laws to ban cellphone use while driving, some motorists still continue to insist on texting behind the wheel - placing themselves and others at substantial risk," Cuomo said in a statement first reported by The Associated Press.

House Joins Senate in Offering Dreamers a Path to Citizenship

Two members of the U.S. House of Representatives have introduced a bill that would give undocumented immigrants who were brought to the country as children a chance to earn permanent residency.

Democratic Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard and Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen announced Wednesday the legislation that would protect the group of people known as DREAMers by also giving them a path to U.S. citizenship.

The bill mirrors the bipartisan effort introduced in the Senate last week by Democrat Dick Durbin and Republican Lindsey Graham.

California Again Rejects Request for Voter InformationCalifornia's secretary of state says he won't comply with a second request for voter data from President Donald Trump's commission investigating alleged voter fraud.

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, the commission's vice chairman, sent a letter to California Secretary of State Alex Padilla on Wednesday asking again for voters' names, party affiliations, addresses and voting histories if state law allows that information to be public.

In June, the commission requested the data for voters in all 50 states.

More Health Care Headaches for US Senate RepublicansOne day after getting a green light to debate health care in America, Senate Republicans struggled Wednesday to put forth a politically viable plan to repeal former U.S. president Barack Obama's health care law, despite continuing pressure from the White House.

Nine Republicans joined a unified Democratic caucus late Tuesday to vote down a plan Republican leaders crafted behind closed doors to repeal Obamacare and replace it with a system that pares back the federal government's role in health care.