Bush administration

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Bush Asks Congress for $700B Bailout Fund

President urges swift action, 'and the cleaner the better'

(Newser) - The Bush administration today formally asked Congress to authorize a $700 billion fund, administered by the Treasury Department, to help troubled financial institutions unload bad debt, the Washington Post reports. The figure is $200 billion higher than legislators were led to expect yesterday, and the national debt limit would be...

Cox Has Neutered SEC's Watchdog Role
Cox Has Neutered SEC's Watchdog Role
ANALYSIS
Sep 17, 2008 4:37 PM CDT

Cox Has Neutered SEC's Watchdog Role

Critics say agency has gotten soft, especially against big business

(Newser) - Under chairman Christopher Cox, the US Securities and Exchange Commission has drastically reduced the power of its enforcement division, Portfolio reports. Cox was brought in to “chill it out” after his predecessor was perhaps too zealous for White House tastes. Congress chided Cox for essentially turning down more funding,...

US May Seek World's Emergency Fuel

Feds still gauging disruption to supplies from Gulf hurricanes

(Newser) - The Bush administration may ask the International Energy Agency to release emergency fuel stocks into the domestic market to cushion losses from hurricane-battered oil refineries, Reuters reports. Gustav and Ike temporarily closed a dozen Gulf Coast refineries, though all are in "reasonably good shape" according to an official, resulting...

Battle Lines Drawn in Freddie, Fannie Fight

Making mortgage giants public, breaking them up or nursing them to health seen as options

(Newser) - What Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae look like in the future—and whether they continue to exist in a recognizable form at all—depends on how Washington looks next year, the New York Times reports. The battle already has begun, with the White House and congressional Democrats blaming each other...

US Must Strike Fine Balance on Mortgage Bailout
US Must Strike Fine Balance on Mortgage Bailout
Analysis
Sep 8, 2008 11:34 AM CDT

US Must Strike Fine Balance on Mortgage Bailout

Deficit makes coordinated response economically, psychologically crucial

(Newser) - A global storm continues to threaten the world’s economies, and the US government takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is just one step, albeit a major one, toward recovery. Whether the latest attempt to right the ship succeeds "ultimately boils down to two big issues," writes...

GOP: Incumbents in Opposition Clothing
GOP: Incumbents in Opposition Clothing
ANALYSIS
Sep 5, 2008 7:02 AM CDT

GOP: Incumbents in Opposition Clothing

Establishment party adopts anti-establishment stance

(Newser) - The Republican National Convention was so full of calls for change and vows to clean up Washington that it was almost easy to forget that the GOP has been in power for the last 8 years, writes Peter Baker in the New York Times. John McCain is seeking to distance...

US 'Spied on Iraqi Leaders'
 US 'Spied on Iraqi Leaders'
Sep 5, 2008 4:21 AM CDT

US 'Spied on Iraqi Leaders'

Woodward book reveals finds 'detached' Bush 'often failed to lead' on Iraq

(Newser) - The Bush administration conducted an extensive spying operation on Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and other Iraqi leaders even while seeking to win their trust, according to a new book from the Washington Post's Bob Woodward. The book portrays an administration hamstrung by indecision as its Iraq strategy fell apart in...

Gonzales Mishandled Secret Docs, Regrets Lapse

Government report expected to examine DoJ management

(Newser) - Lawyers for Alberto Gonzales admit in a memo released today that he mishandled highly classified notes about a secret counterterrorism program, but say it was unintentional and didn't result in leaks, the AP reports. A government report due out tomorrow is expected to criticize Gonzales's handling of the notes, which...

Ranks of Uninsured Drop by 1M
 Ranks of
 Uninsured
 Drop by 1M
Aug 26, 2008 1:11 PM CDT

Ranks of Uninsured Drop by 1M

Poverty rate unchanged, median incomes rise

(Newser) - There were a million fewer uninsured Americans last year, the first annual decrease under the Bush administration, according to Census Bureau data released today. Median household incomes also rose slightly for the third consecutive year, while the nation’s poverty rate held steady at just over 12%, AP reports. The...

Top-Secret Woodward Tome Gets a Name
Top-Secret Woodward Tome Gets a Name
Aug 19, 2008 11:20 AM CDT

Top-Secret Woodward Tome Gets a Name

White House braces for debut of Iraq-centric The War Within

(Newser) - Bob Woodward’s fourth book on the Bush White House, originally a mere 352 pages, has ballooned into 496 pages of inside dope and is due in stores Sept. 8, Politico reports. And the mystery-shrouded volume, which focuses on the Iraq conflict, officially has a name: The War Within: A ...

White House Forced to Rethink Russian Relationship

Georgia action prompts US to reconsider Moscow ties

(Newser) - Russia's military action in Georgia was a rude awakening for the White House, forcing the Bush administration to reconsider the relationship it thought they had, the New York Times reports. President Bush has famously touted Vladimir Putin a reliable friend and diplomatic partner, despite policy differences, but cooperation across a...

Greenspan: Housing Will Hit Bottom in 2009

Skilled immigrants would help end slump, he says

(Newser) - Alan Greenspan said housing prices could continue to edge lower through 2009, but should “stabilize or touch bottom” in the first six months of the year, reports the Wall Street Journal. And, the former Fed chief says, while a government bailout of Freddie Mac and Fannie May was the...

Court Tosses Lawsuit Over CIA Leak
Court Tosses Lawsuit Over CIA Leak
Aug 12, 2008 5:13 PM CDT

Court Tosses Lawsuit Over CIA Leak

It uphholds dismissal of Plame's case against Cheney, others

(Newser) - A federal appeals court today threw out former CIA spy Valerie Plame's lawsuit against Dick Cheney and a group of former Bush White House officials for leaking her identity to the public. The court ruled that Cheney, Karl Rove, Scooter Libby, and former State Department official Richard Armitage were acting...

Bush Forged Evidence for War: Book

Bribed Saddam official $5M to write letter

(Newser) - The Bush administration forged a letter linking Saddam Hussein to the 9/11 attacks, author Ron Suskind alleges in his new book. In December 2003, a letter surfaced from Saddam’s intelligence chief, describing a meeting between Saddam and one 9/11 hijacker. The letter was actually drafted by the White House,...

US, Iraq Inch Closer to Pact
 US, Iraq Inch Closer to Pact
Jul 30, 2008 11:00 AM CDT

US, Iraq Inch Closer to Pact

'Time horizon' greases wheels in negotiation

(Newser) - The Bush administration has made serious strides in its efforts to forge a security pact with Iraq, the Wall Street Journal reports. Just a month ago Nouri al-Maliki said talks had hit a “dead end,” but now that Bush has agreed to set up a flexible withdrawal timetable,...

In Switch, Bush Will Sign Bill Overhauling Fannie, Freddie

Measure that would allow feds to insure $300B in mortgages expected soon

(Newser) - President Bush will support a housing package being considered in the Senate, the Wall Street Journal reports. Bush threatened to veto the bill, which includes as much as $300 billion of insurance for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but decided, given market turmoil, that now “is not the time...

EPA Forecasts Longer, Smoggier Summers for US

Agency warns of effects from global warming

(Newser) - Climate change will bring longer, hotter, smoggier summers in the coming decades across the US, a new EPA reports says. Expect more wildfires and hurricanes, too, along with water problems in the West, the Washington Post reports. The federal report is noteworthy because it refutes the Bush administration's rosier outlook...

AK-47s Flooding US Cities
 AK-47s Flooding US Cities 
ANALYSIS
Jul 17, 2008 3:03 PM CDT

AK-47s Flooding US Cities

Gun dealers skirt import ban, as assaults with semiautomatics skyrocket

(Newser) - At least one of America’s borders is wide open: Gun manufacturers are selling imported semiautomatic weapons with ease ever since the Bush administration allowed 1994's assault weapons ban to lapse, writes Bruce Falconer for Mother Jones. “We’re being flooded with these AK-47s,” said Miami’s police...

US Closer to Establishing Diplomatic Outpost in Iran

Interest section, to be announced next month, first presence since 1979

(Newser) - The Bush administration is moving forward with plans to establish a US interest section—precursor to a formal embassy—in Iran, the Guardian reports. An announcement will come in the next month about the office, which will put US diplomats in Iran for the first time since the hostage crisis...

Bush Pays Respects to Snow
 Bush Pays Respects to Snow 
Jul 17, 2008 12:05 PM CDT

Bush Pays Respects to Snow

President hails late former spokesman's 'record of accomplishment'

(Newser) - President Bush fondly remembered Tony Snow today, telling mourners at his funeral that the conservative commentator-turned-White House press secretary "amassed a rare record of accomplishment." "He knew the job of a reporter was vigorous. He understood the profession and always treated it with respect," Bush said...

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