Congress

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The 50 Richest Lawmakers
 The 50 Richest Lawmakers 
Aug 31, 2010 6:47 PM CDT

The 50 Richest Lawmakers

John Kerry, Darrell Issa, Jane Harman lead list

(Newser) - Financial disclosure forms from 2009 are in, and the Hill has ranked the 50 wealthiest lawmakers (27 Democrats and 23 Republicans) from the House and Senate. Here's the top 5:
  1. John Kerry, $188.6 million: Kerry's wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, is the source of his wealth, though the $188.6
...

Are Reps Abusing House Travel Funds?
 Are Reps 
 Abusing House 
 Travel Funds? 



investigation
Aug 31, 2010 8:09 AM CDT

Are Reps Abusing House Travel Funds?

House members failed to return leftover travel allowances

(Newser) - Another day, another House ethics investigation: This time, watchdogs are investigating a half-dozen lawmakers believed to have kept or misspent federal funds meant to pay for overseas travel, insiders say. Members of Congress are given a daily allowance—anywhere from $25 in Kabul to $250 in parts of Japan—when...

Congress Spends Its Time Naming Post Offices
Congress Spends Its Time Naming Post Offices
analysis
Aug 24, 2010 11:21 AM CDT

Congress Spends Its Time Naming Post Offices

You'd imagine they had something better to do

(Newser) - You might think the most pressing issue facing Congress is the economy, or terrorism, or global warming, or immigration. But you’d be wrong. “Nope, the biggest problem facing America today is … the desperate lack of appropriately named post offices,” writes John Merline for AolNews . He combed...

Defiant Maxine Waters: I'm Innocent

Congresswoman denies ethics charges

(Newser) - Maxine Waters made her position very clear today: "I did not violate any House rules," the California congresswoman insisted at a Washington press conference, reports ABC News . "No benefit, no improper action, no failure to disclose, no one influenced: no case." The House ethics panel has...

Ex-Congressman Dan Rostenkowski Dead
 Ex-Congressman 
 Dan Rostenkowski Dead 
obituary
Aug 11, 2010 12:24 PM CDT

Ex-Congressman Dan Rostenkowski Dead

Chaired tax committee but got ensnared in scandal

(Newser) - Former Rep. Dan Rostenkowski, the Chicago Democrat who became the leading architect of congressional tax policy in the Reagan era but later went to federal prison for corruption, died today at age 82. As House Ways and Means Committee chairman, Rostenkowski was known as a consensus builder and a master...

House Approves $26B in Jobs Aid

Republicans criticize it as another bailout

(Newser) - The House today approved $26 billion in emergency funding intended to protect the jobs of teachers and other government employees across the country, the Washington Post reports. Nancy Pelosi called the House back from August recess for a 1-day session to approve the bill, which she thinks will save 300,...

10 Failed Celeb Political Bids
 10 Failed Celeb Political Bids 
Aug 10, 2010 10:47 AM CDT

10 Failed Celeb Political Bids

Wyclef Jean will be in good company if he loses

(Newser) - Wyclef Jean is running for president of Haiti , but already things aren’t going well for the controversy-plagued singer. If he loses, he won’t be the first celebrity to suffer a failed political campaign: Time lists 10 others:
  • Norman Mailer: Despite being a literary giant, the Pulitzer Prize- and
...

Companies Fund College Endowments to Woo Lawmakers

It's easy to stroke an ego in Congress

(Newser) - Surprise, surprise: Charlie Rangel's troubles prompted the New York Times to look into the ties between academia and politics, and things don't come off squeaky clean. At least a dozen current or former lawmakers have had endowments or chairs set up in their name, and those endowments were funded (usually...

No Love Lost Between Tea Partiers and Their Caucus

Republicans co-opting the brand, they complain

(Newser) - The tea party has a voice in Congress now, and it’s not thrilled about it. To many activists, Michelle Bachmann’s new 49-member Tea Party Caucus looks like an attempt to co-opt the movement, Politico reports. “Ultimately, I worry it destroys the tea party—which started out as...

Rangel Could Have Skated With Reprimand

He rejected offer, though he may get another chance

(Newser) - As Charlie Rangel's case continues its high-profile path , this much is clear: He could have avoided this public trial phase by agreeing to receive a relatively modest reprimand. That's what a House panel recommended, but Rangel rejected the settlement offer over disagreements on just how much wrongdoing he would admit,...

Rep. Weiner Wigs Out on Republicans

 Rep. Weiner 
 Wigs Out on 
 Republicans 
'the gentleman will sit!'
Jul 30, 2010 8:34 AM CDT

Rep. Weiner Wigs Out on Republicans

He blasts them on House floor over aid to 9/11 responders

(Newser) - Anthony Weiner's temper on the House floor has yielded another YouTube moment, this time as he lashed out at Republicans for blocking a measure to provide $7.4 billion in aid to 9/11 responders. As Sam Stein of the Huffington Post explains, the New York congressman was incensed that Republicans...

Surprise: Finance Bill Forces Diversity on Wall Street

Wording makes firms prove 'fair inclusion' of women and minorities

(Newser) - Turns out that hidden inside the massive financial reform bill that was signed into law last week were a few words that appear to give the government new leverage to push Wall Street firms to hire more women and minorities. The bill gives the government the right to terminate contracts...

Obama's Afghan Troop Surge Clears Congress

He gets money for increase of 30,000

(Newser) - The House today sent President Obama a major war-funding increase of $33 billion to pay for his troop surge in Afghanistan, unmoved by the leaking of classified documents that portray a struggling military effort. The House voted 308-114 to approve the spending boost for the additional 30,000 US troops...

Beware Lame-Duck Dems' Dirty Tricks
 Beware Lame-Duck 
 Dems' Dirty Tricks 
Charles Krauthammer
Jul 23, 2010 12:40 PM CDT

Beware Lame-Duck Dems' Dirty Tricks

With nothing to lose, they could jam through legislation

(Newser) - It's looking more certain by the day that Democrats will lose lots of congressional seats in November, and that's precisely why Republicans have reason to worry, writes Charles Krauthammer. Consider this scenario: Democrats call a lame-duck Congress into session after the midterm elections and pass a slew of controversial measures—...

My That's a Big Cigar You Have, Congressman

Lobbyists may have set up networking group in violation of rules

(Newser) - The Huffington Post is blowing smoke in the eyes of a congressional networking group that the blog contends is backed by lobbyists, possibly in violation of congressional rules. Tough to get your maduro lit when you poke around like that. According to HuffPo: "Lobbyists for major banks, insurers, pharmaceutical...

House Extends Jobless Benefits

Measure now goes to President Obama for his signature

(Newser) - Congress has approved legislation to restore unemployment insurance to people who have been out of work for six months or more, ending a seven-week interruption that caused 2.5 million people to lose benefits averaging about $300 a week. The 272-152 House vote sends the measure to President Obama, who...

Congress Spends $1B on Own Expenses
Congress Spends $1B on Own Expenses
Jul 21, 2010 12:48 PM CDT

Congress Spends $1B on Own Expenses

Taxpayers pay for coffee, plane tickets, oh, and drapes

(Newser) - Congress spends a whole lot of taxpayer money keeping itself stocked with paperclips. According to figures assembled by the nonpartisan Sunlight Foundation, Congress spent $1,013,162,955 on its own expenses from June 2009 to March 2010. Aol News pored over the findings, and pulled out some choice expenditures....

Bachmann Forms Tea Party Caucus

It poses a tricky question for Republican leaders

(Newser) - Tea Party favorite Michele Bachmann has formed an official Tea Party Caucus in the House of Representatives, a development that forces GOP leaders to answer what Politico terms an "existential question: Are you in or are you out?" For some, like Mike Pence, it's an easy call to join....

Pelosi Calls Robert Gibbs 'Politically Inept'

Speaker slams press chief for saying GOP could retake House

(Newser) - Nancy Pelosi isn't happy with Robert Gibbs' forecast about the midterms. At a House Democratic Caucus meeting this week, she described him as "politically inept" for acknowledging that Republicans could regain the House in November, reports CQ Politics . “It was bad,” said one source. “She was...

Wacky Tea Party Candidate Loses Ala. Runoff

No more 'founding father' call to arms

(Newser) - Decidedly odd Alabama Tea Party candidate Rick Barber has lost his bid for Congress even though his "aw-shucks racism and incoherent rantings" turned him into an internet sensation, notes Gawker. Barber lost the runoff election to his far more traditional GOP rival Martha Roby, who faces Dem Bobby Bright...

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