Congress

Mar 18, 2009 9:57 AM CDT

AIG Chief: I'm Angry About Bonuses, Too

Liddy blames 'cold realities of competition,' legal issues

(Newser) - Lawmakers read Edward Liddy the riot act today over AIG’s recent bonuses, CNNMoney reports, and the company’s CEO was expected to say he, too, found them “distasteful,” but felt he had to disperse them. “We have to continue managing our business as a business, taking...

Angry Congress Threatens Big Taxes on AIG Bonuses

Mar 17, 2009 11:55 AM CDT

Angry Congress Threatens Big Taxes on AIG Bonuses

(Newser) - Outraged lawmakers threatened today to impose new taxes to recoup at least some of the $165 million in bonuses that insurance giant AIG awarded executives and traders after getting billions in federal bailout money. "What is the highest excise tax we can impose that will stand up in court?"...

Nine Senators Hold Key to Health Reform

Mar 16, 2009 10:50 AM CDT

Nine Senators Hold Key to Health Reform

Baucus leads 'Board of Directors' in tough bipartisan negotiations

(Newser) - If Barack Obama succeeds in overhauling America's health care system by the end of 2009, he'll have to thank a bipartisan group of nine senators charged with developing a bill that can muster 60 votes. The "Board of Directors"—named by Max Baucus, Obama's go-to figure for health...

Sick of Booming Ads?
Help's on the Way From DC

Mar 16, 2009 7:07 AM CDT

Sick of Booming Ads? Help's on the Way From DC

Calif. rep introduces law for balanced volume

(Newser) - If you’re tired of being blasted by a loud commercial right after a quiet scene in your favorite TV show, a California representative hears you loud and clear—and wants to do something about it, Advertising Age reports. US Rep. Anna Eshoo introduced legislation in June to bar commercials...

Cuomo Wants to Link Wall St. Pay to Performance

Mar 13, 2009 6:32 AM CDT

Cuomo Wants to Link Wall St. Pay to Performance

'Heads I win, tails I break even' must stop

(Newser) - New York’s attorney general is teaming with Washington lawmakers to develop a plan to link Wall Street pay to long-term company performance, the Wall Street Journal reports. Details are skimpy, but Andrew Cuomo is looking into spreading cash and stock payments over several years so that if firms do...

Waters Helped Get Funds
for Bank With Family Ties

Mar 12, 2009 6:00 PM CDT

Waters Helped Get Funds for Bank With Family Ties

Critics see major conflict of interest

(Newser) - Maxine Waters is getting lots of unwanted attention about her role in helping a bank with family ties get a helping of TARP money. Both the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal have stories raising questions about whether the California congresswoman used undue influence to get aid for...

Lawmakers Sour on Governors Filling Senate Vacancies

Mar 12, 2009 12:23 PM CDT

Lawmakers Sour on Governors Filling Senate Vacancies

Post-Blago, some push special elections

(Newser) - Soured by the taint of the Rod Blagojevich scandal on a US Senate seat, members of congressional judiciary subcommittees considered a Constitutional amendment that would fill interim vacancies in the body by election, rather than by gubernatorial appointment, the Washington Post reports. The selection by governors is “not only...

Dems Keep Distance From Possible 2nd Stimulus

Mar 12, 2009 10:00 AM CDT

Dems Keep Distance From Possible 2nd Stimulus

GOP says talk of new bill is admission of failure

(Newser) - Nancy Pelosi said this week “we have to keep the door open” to the possibility of a second stimulus bill—but most lawmakers, including fellow Democrats, are allergic to the idea, Politico reports. “If there’s appetite, there’s not in my office,” said one. “Enough...

TARP Manager: Let's Not Micromanage

Mar 11, 2009 3:15 PM CDT

TARP Manager: Let's Not Micromanage

Banks can't make bad loans for lending's sake, says Kashkari

(Newser) - Neel Kashkari, the man who manages the Troubled Asset Relief Program, doesn’t think the government ought to try to make decisions for the banks it helps, he told lawmakers today. “However well-intended, government officials are not positioned to make better commercial decisions than lenders,” he insisted. He...

GOP: Spare Us
Stimulus Sequel

Mar 11, 2009 2:04 PM CDT

GOP: Spare Us Stimulus Sequel

Republicans court Blue Dog Dems to fight further spending

(Newser) - Talk of a second stimulus proves the first one isn't working, Republican leaders said today in blasting the possibility. “We don't even know what was in the first stimulus yet,” one senator said, while Minority Leader Mitch McConnell noted that Congress had spent “$1 billion an hour”...

Obama Loses High-Level
Intel Pick

Mar 10, 2009 7:26 PM CDT

Obama Loses High-Level Intel Pick

Freeman, criticized as anti-Israel, withdraws from NIC post

(Newser) - Relentless criticism has forced another of President Obama's high-level appointees to drop out, the Hill reports. Charles Freeman, in line to be head of the National Intelligence Council, drew strong opposition for perceived anti-Israel views and financial ties to Saudi and Chinese governments. Freeman dropped out just hours after his...

Senate Clears
$410B Spending Bill

Mar 10, 2009 6:40 PM CDT

Senate Clears $410B Spending Bill

(Newser) - Senate Democrats tonight finally got the votes they needed to pass a $410 billion appropriations bill to keep the government running through September, Politico reports. The measure passed 62-35 over strenuous GOP arguments that it had too much pork for such dire times. President Obama is expected to sign the...

Pelosi Says Another
Stimulus Is Possible

Mar 10, 2009 4:36 PM CDT

Pelosi Says Another Stimulus Is Possible

(Newser) - These days, $787 billion just doesn't go as far as it used to. A meeting of House Democratic leaders and their economic advisers today has raised the prospect of a second stimulus package, the Hill reports. “We have to keep the door open,” Nancy Pelosi said after the...

Earmarks?
No, 'Crank' Mac
Warrants Earplugs

OPINION

Mar 10, 2009 3:06 PM CDT

Earmarks? No, 'Crank' Mac Warrants Earplugs

(Newser) - Most also-ran candidates slip off quietly once the presidential campaign is over, and yet the media is still interested in what John McCain has to say. The attention is undeserved, Paul Waldman writes in the American Prospect. McCain’s signature issue, earmarks, is “as substantively empty as could be,...

Top Dem Dogs Ready to Retool Obama's Budget

ANALYSIS

Mar 10, 2009 10:00 AM CDT

Dems Hit With Revolt in the Ranks

Line-by-line lawmaking drives wedge into plans

(Newser) - Congressional Democrats figured Obama's aggressive legislative agenda would face challenges from the GOP, but they've been surprised by squabbling within their own party that's broken out even before they've gotten to the new initiatives, the Washington Post reports. Among the people holding up the $410 billion spending bill leftover from...

Event Planners Slam Kerry's Bank-Party Ban

Mar 9, 2009 12:34 PM CDT

Event Planners Slam Kerry's Bank-Party Ban

Killing big bashes would zap jobs, complain critics

(Newser) - Event planners say Sen. John Kerry's legislative push to prevent bailed-out banks from throwing big bashes could end up bashing the economy even more, the New York Post reports. It could "hurt a lot of the people the government is trying to help," says an industry rep of...

Obama Stem Cell Order Won't Cover All Embryo Research

Mar 9, 2009 4:33 AM CDT

Obama Stem Cell Order Won't Cover All Embryo Research

Stem cell order will not tell Congress to allow creation of new lines

(Newser) - Barack Obama is set to lift the Bush administration's restrictions on federally funded embryonic stem cell research, but his announcement today won't cover all such experiments, the New York Times reports. The president's action will allow scientists to do research using existing stem cell lines, and those embryos left over...

Decisions Make Obama
'Abortion President': Rep

Mar 7, 2009 10:50 AM CST

Decisions Make Obama 'Abortion President': Rep

(Newser) - A Republican congressman who fiercely opposes abortion and embryonic stem-cell research has called Barack Obama the “abortion president” for decisions affecting both issues, Fox News reports. Obama will lift the federal ban on new stem-cell research along with a Bush edict allowing caregivers to refuse abortion on moral grounds....

'Dealmaker' Role Suits Reid

profile

Mar 7, 2009 9:24 AM CST