Congress

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Wrangle Over $700B Bailout Heats Up
Wrangle Over $700B Bailout Heats Up

Wrangle Over $700B Bailout Heats Up

Lawmakers seek pay caps, homeowner help, as doubts mount

(Newser) - Congress and the Bush administration are edging closer to an agreement on a bailout for financial firms—but several major sticking points remain, the New York Times reports. Progress has been made on oversight for the $700-billion fund, but lawmakers are pushing for taxpayers to get an equity stake in...

Dems Set Their Own Terms for Bailout Plan

Congress wants oversight of treasury, homeowner assistance

(Newser) - As Hank Paulson did the Sunday talk shows, Democrats in the House and Senate set down their own terms for a plan to rescue the nation's financial institutions—one that would give Congress greater oversight over the treasury. Barney Frank, who chairs the House Financial Services Committee, put forward his...

Devil's in the Details of Wall St. Bailout

Plan expected to bring controversy

(Newser) - Now that President Bush has requested his $700 billion bailout plan from Congress, work is under way on the details. The administration kept its 3-page outline simple so it could adjust to problems on the fly, the Wall Street Journal reports. But that gives Congress the opportunity to load it...

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...

Bernanke, Paulson Put Fear of God Into Pols

Of meeting with officials, lawmaker says: 'We have never heard language like this'

(Newser) - Lawmakers were astounded at the possible fallout of the crisis on Wall Street outlined last night by Fed chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, the New York Times reports. “When you listened to him describe it you gulped,” New York Sen. Charles Schumer said of the...

US Zeroes In on Sweeping Rescue Plan

(Newser) - The nation's top finance officials briefed members of Congress tonight on an unprecedented plan in the works to keep troubled institutions afloat, the Wall Street Journal reports. Treasury chief Henry Paulson and Fed chief Ben Bernanke said they would work through the weekend to get something to lawmakers for a...

Congress Watches Uneasily as Fed, Treasury Move Boldly

Lawmakers complain of lack of oversight, being left out of loop as feds commit billions

(Newser) - Like sports fans second-guessing officials’ calls, lawmakers are watching uneasily from the sidelines as Treasury and Federal Reserve officials pledge billions of taxpayer dollars to fight Wall Street’s meltdown, the Washington Post reports. And, while many in both parties have been convinced the moves were appropriate, they’re worried...

Rangel Won't Step Down From Tax Panel

Says Pelosi in favor of him staying as chair of Ways and Means

(Newser) - New York Rep. Charles Rangel will remain in his post as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee while an ethics investigation takes place, the New York Times reports. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi supports the move, said his attorney, and Rangel "believes that the facts should prevail, not...

Pelosi Asks Rangel to Step Down as Tax Panel Chair

Tax committee boss dogged by questions over own returns

(Newser) - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has privately asked New York Rep. Charles Rangel to step down as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee after it emerged that his personal tax filings neglected to report income from a rental property for some 20 years, says a source to the New ...

Stop Bashing Washington Insiders; You'll Need Them

Consensus within the establishment is necessary for change

(Newser) - Voters have loved to hate Washington insiders since Washington’s founding, and politicians have sought to capitalize on those feelings for just as long. So it makes sense that even the GOP ticket, fortified by Sarah Palin, is running as an outsider insurgency. But, Norman Ornstein points out in the...

GOP Sees Smoother Ride on Palin's Coattails

VP candidate has some in Congress worrying less about ugly November

(Newser) - Congressional Republicans nervous about their own election chances are encouraged by the thought of a Sarah Palin-fueled boost to the GOP’s overall image, Real Clear Politics reports. Polls conducted since she was picked as John McCain’s running mate show a generic Republican congressional candidate trailing a generic Democrat...

Palin Projects Hit Mac's Pork List

Requests from Sarah Palin made it onto McCain's 'pork list' 3 times

(Newser) - Requests from Sarah Palin made it onto John McCain's "pork list" of objectionable spending three times while Palin was mayor of Wasilla, the Los Angeles Times reports. McCain's lists came as part of his long campaign against the earmarking system in which members of Congress can chuck cash at...

To See GOP's Future, Look to the House
To See GOP's Future, Look to the House
ANALYSIS

To See GOP's Future, Look to the House

In long term, Obama victory could make minority party reform

(Newser) - The Republican Party brand is tainted, its leaders recognize, and regardless of John McCain's fate, the institution is in soul-searching mode as the scaled-down convention kicks off today. Many House Republicans have come to believe an Obama victory might be better for the GOP in the long term, reports Politico,...

Obama Campaign Asks Pelosi to Quiet Down

Speaker's abortion gaffe compounds general meddling, Dem adviser says

(Newser) - Nancy Pelosi has been politely asked by Barack Obama’s campaign to refrain from making more public statements, the American Spectator reports. The House Speaker is reportedly angry about not being more included in campaign decision-making, and Catholic fury over her bungled answer to the “when does life begin?”...

FBI Looks to Expand Powers of Investigation

Agency wants to open cases without reason for suspicion

(Newser) - The Department of Justice is aiming to relax restrictions on the FBI so agents can investigate people without any clear reason for suspicion, congressional Dems tell the New York Times. The plan, which may be revealed in September, has attracted concern, including a letter from four Democratic senators warning that...

Gay Candidate Wins Shot at US House Seat

33-year-old entrepreneur earns Dem nomination with primary win

(Newser) - Entrepreneur Jared Polis, who is openly gay, won a Colorado congressional primary Tuesday, and says his victory should send “a signal to young gays and lesbians across the country that they can consider a career in public service,” the New York Times reports. Polis is favored to win...

Public Vetoes Most Pols' Books
 Public Vetoes Most Pols' Books 

Public Vetoes Most Pols' Books

Exceptions incluide Clintons, Obama, McCain

(Newser) - Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid are big deals in Congress, but their power apparently doesn’t extend to bookstores, Politico reports. Despite much-hyped releases, new books by the Speaker of the House and the majority leader have sold a mere 6,500 copies—combined. These days, even B-list lawmakers have...

GOP Energy-Bill Protest Could Overlap With Dem Convention

Letter turns up heat on Pelosi to reconvene

(Newser) - Republicans say their measures to suspend the House’s August recess and force a vote on a national energy bill could continue until just before the Democratic National Convention—or beyond, the Hill reports. “Republicans will not rest until we have an honest, up-or-down vote on the American Energy...

Dems Fight to Retake the South
Dems Fight
to Retake
the South

Dems Fight to Retake the South

Party is running the most competitive Dixie campaign in 40 years

(Newser) - Democrats are mounting a full-scale assault on Southern congressional seats, the Wall Street Journal reports. By fielding socially moderate candidates, Democrats look like they might do the unthinkable: reverse the “Great Reversal,” the civil rights-era shift of the South from a Democratic stronghold to a Republican one. And...

Detroit Mayor's Mom Survives Primary Scare

Rep. Kilpatrick, 6-term incumbent, gets Dem nod by 1,700 votes

(Newser) - It looks like the mother of Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick will survive the scandal that has engulfed her son and keep her seat in Congress, the Detroit Free Press reports. Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick barely held off two challengers in the Democratic primary yesterday, making her the heavy favorite in...

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