Congress

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We Need 2nd Stimulus Bill: Pelosi

Struggling economy requires a $150 billion plug, Speaker says

(Newser) - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says a second economic stimulus plan is needed now because of the faltering economy, and she puts the price at $150 billion. President Bush, however, has promised a veto. The House passed a $61 billion economic aid proposal last month before lawmakers left Capitol Hill ahead...

Stevens Jurors Hear Tape of Plot to Hide Free Work

(Newser) - Two close friends of Sen. Ted Stevens schemed to conceal the fact that one was paying for extensive work done at the senator's cabin in Alaska, according to FBI audiotapes played today at Stevens' corruption trial. The pair, Bill Allen and Bob Persons, are heard on tape fretting in February...

AIG Execs Took Spa Week After $85B Bailout

Former CEOs appear before skeptical House to defend spending

(Newser) - After being bailed out by Washington, AIG executives engaged in some conspicuous consumption, and it’s still going on, Portfolio reports. Two former CEOs of the insurance giant testified before the House today, and lawmakers took them to task for reckless compensation and an executive retreat at a California spa...

How Much Will Wall Street Pay Itself Now?
How Much Will Wall Street Pay Itself Now?
OPINION
Oct 7, 2008 12:07 PM CDT

How Much Will Wall Street Pay Itself Now?

The banker bonus culture encourages CEOs to take big risks

(Newser) - Richard Fuld has made roughly $480 million since 2000 as he piloted Lehman Brothers to total ruin, according to one congressman at his testimony yesterday. “I have a very basic question,” he said. “Is this fair?” Many shareholders are wondering the same thing, writes Andrew Ross Sorkin...

Paulson Lost Some Cred
 Paulson Lost Some Cred 
ANALYSIS
Oct 4, 2008 5:01 PM CDT

Paulson Lost Some Cred

Demands and attitude have soured a once promising relationship between the administration and lawamakers

(Newser) - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson may have gotten what he wanted from Congress on the Wall Street bailout, but his performance in selling the deal left lawmakers with a sour taste, the Wall Street Journal reports. Many think his original proposal, which would have granted him virtually unlimited powers, and his...

Dow Reels on Economic Fears
 Dow Reels on Economic Fears   
MARKETS
Oct 2, 2008 3:43 PM CDT

Dow Reels on Economic Fears

Bailout progress fails to inspire confidence in equities

(Newser) - Stocks fell sharply today as political progress on the bailout failed to encourage traders who were absorbing poor jobs and manufacturing data, MarketWatch reports. The Dow lost 348.22 and closed at 10,482.85, the Nasdaq shed 92.68 to 1,976.72, and the S&P 500 fell...

FDIC May Need Its Own Bailout
FDIC May Need Its Own Bailout
ANALYSIS
Oct 2, 2008 1:49 PM CDT

FDIC May Need Its Own Bailout

Agency lacks funds to insure present level, much less proposed raise to $250K

(Newser) - The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has quietly and effectively done its job safeguarding Americans’ money since 1933, but the financial crisis will thrust the agency into the spotlight, reports Big Money, Slate’s financial offshoot. The bailout bill increases the amount the FDIC insures, from $100,000 to $250,000,...

Pressure Shifts Back to Pelosi
 Pressure Shifts Back to Pelosi 
ANALYSIS
Oct 2, 2008 12:46 PM CDT

Pressure Shifts Back to Pelosi

Speaker, derided for partisan remarks ahead of first vote, gets another crack at bailout bill

(Newser) - After Republicans blamed partisan remarks for dooming Monday’s bailout vote, Speaker Nancy Pelosi is firmly in the crosshairs with a second chance coming tomorrow, the Sacramento Bee reports. But the Democrat isn’t backing off, a rep says. “Part of being able to deal with this crisis is...

Buffett Grabs $3B Chunk of GE

Shrewd market player aiming for windfall after chaos clears

(Newser) - Mega-pockets investor Warren Buffett is sinking $3 billion into General Electric, whose share prices have slumped a third amid the financial chaos on Wall Street, Reuters reports. Buffet, 78, negotiated a 10% dividend, which could generate $300 million income a year. The move comes a week after he invested $5...

Pelosi's PAC Paid Husband's Firm $99K for Work

Transaction legal, but would have been banned by bill Dem Speaker supported

(Newser) - Nancy Pelosi paid her husband’s company $99,000 through her political action committee during the past 9 years, the Washington Times reports. Payments to Paul Pelosi’s Financial Leasing Services are routine fees for accounting and office-space rent payments, but would have been illegal under a bill Pelosi supported...

Hey, You Turkeys: Quit Gobbling CEO Pay
Hey, You Turkeys: Quit
Gobbling CEO Pay
OPINION
Oct 1, 2008 1:11 PM CDT

Hey, You Turkeys: Quit Gobbling CEO Pay

Costly salaries make sense if they save billions

(Newser) - Politically imposed CEO pay limits are “one of the most penny-wise and pound-foolish things” the “turkeys in Congress” are looking to impose in the bailout package, Thomas Sowell writes in the National Review. It’s a bargain to get a CEO “out the door immediately for millions”...

Surveillance Plan Moves Forward, Despite Concerns

Homeland Security program would allow local government to access spy photos

(Newser) - A Government Accountability Office review raises concerns about plans for domestic satellite surveillance, the Wall Street Journal reports, but Homeland Security will proceed anyway. A bill allows the agency to provide satellite imagery for emergency and scientific purposes, but could be expanded to include surveillance and border control. The department...

Friend Fingers Stevens at Trial
 Friend Fingers Stevens at Trial 
Sep 30, 2008 4:37 PM CDT

Friend Fingers Stevens at Trial

Government's chief witness acknowledges giving inappropriate gifts to Alaska sen.

(Newser) - A longtime friend of Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens crossed the powerful lawmaker and testified today as the star witness in the Republican senator's gift-giving trial. The fiercely loyal Stevens did not acknowledge Bill Allen when he entered the courtroom. The two men barely looked at each other as Allen prepared...

Dow Up 485 in Recovery Rally
 Dow Up 485 in Recovery Rally 
MARKETS
Sep 30, 2008 3:37 PM CDT

Dow Up 485 in Recovery Rally

But indices see big losses for September

(Newser) - Stocks surged toward the end of today’s session to recover much of yesterday’s losses, but still finished September down, the Wall Street Journal reports. The markets rallied on confidence that lawmakers would reach agreement on a bailout plan by week’s end, with the Dow up 485.21...

Papers Frothing Over 'No' Vote

 Papers Frothing Over 'No' Vote 
OPINION
Sep 30, 2008 10:33 AM CDT

Papers Frothing Over 'No' Vote

Editorials mostly disparage Congress, Administration

(Newser) - As Monday’s “no” vote resounded down Wall Street, editorial writers across the country fired up their typewriters. Here’s what the country’s top papers are saying: 
  • Congress earned its 10% approval rating yesterday, the Wall Street Journal says, particularly Nancy Pelosi —“Tom Delay without
...

Bailout Vote Shows Bush's Power Waning
 Bailout Vote Shows 
 Bush's Power Waning 
analysis
Sep 30, 2008 6:56 AM CDT

Bailout Vote Shows Bush's Power Waning

Huge defeat contrasts with days of willing Congress

(Newser) - The bailout bill’s failure to pass the House—due in large part to defectors from his own party—demonstrates President Bush’s flagging influence in Washington, observes the Washington Post. Bush’s “biggest legislative defeat” as president, it highlighted his tendency to rely on alarmist rhetoric—repeated dire...

Countdown to Failure: How Bill Unraveled

Stunned silence grips House after last vote

(Newser) - As members of the House of Representatives cast their ballots on the $700 billion bailout package yesterday morning—the negative votes piling up even as the market plummeted—the Los Angeles Times was blogging. Kicked off by Majority Leader Steny Hoyer's final words to the House—"The alternative is...

5 Reasons Pols Dissed the Bailout
 5 Reasons Pols
 Dissed the Bailout 
ANALYSIS
Sep 29, 2008 6:08 PM CDT

5 Reasons Pols Dissed the Bailout

A bad sell, partisan wrangling, and an urge to be reelected led to bill's downfall: Pershing

(Newser) - House members were only given a chance to salvage the world economy—why do it? There are several reasons why 95 Democrats and 133 Republicans turned down Henry Paulson's $700 billion bailout plan, Ben Pershing writes in the Washington Post. The simplest? “A lot of members just didn't like...

Dow Falls 777 On House Vote
 Dow Falls 777 On House Vote 
MARKETS
Sep 29, 2008 3:42 PM CDT

Dow Falls 777 On House Vote

Biggest single-day drop in index's history

(Newser) - The Dow saw its biggest single-day drop ever today after the House rejected the financial bailout bill and adjourned until Thursday, MarketWatch reports. Equities and commodities were pounded equally as the Dow plunged 777.68 to close at 10,365.45 and oil fell $10.52, to $96.37 a...

House Debate Heated as Bush Pushes Bailout

But whether bill will pass remains up in the air

(Newser) - President Bush called on lawmakers this morning to support the hotly-contested bailout bill as the House began debate and leaders on both sides of the aisle counted defections, Politico reports. ““Every member of Congress and every American should keep in mind: A vote for this bill is a...

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