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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform stories: 21 news summaries

1 - 20 of 21 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

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 Congress, BofA 
 Clash Over Merrill Secrets 

Bank insists merger talk protected, Towns issues spill deadline

Sep 21, 09 5:40 AM CDT
(Newser) - Bank of America claims it doesn't have to produce details about its decision to merge with Merrill Lynch because the conversations are protected by attorney-client privilege. But the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee begs to differ, reports the New York Times. The showdown peaked last week... More »

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Bank of America • merger • Merrill Lynch • bailout • House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform • financial crisis • Edolphus Towns

 Geithner Warns of 
 Long, Hard Road Ahead 

Administration a long way from saying 'mission accomplished' on financial crisis 

Sep 11, 09 5:43 AM CDT
(Newser) - The economy is no longer on the brink of the abyss but there's a long way to go before recovery takes hold, Tim Geithner warned yesterday. The Treasury secretary told a congressional committee that while the financial system is showing signs of better health, regulation of the financial system needs... More »

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recession • US economy • House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform • Treasury secretary • financial crisis • Wall Street bailout • TARP

Bernanke Denies Threatening BofA Boss Over Merrill

He battles accusations that he strongarmed he company

Jun 25, 09 11:42 AM CDT
(Newser) - On Capitol Hill today, Federal Reserve chair Ben Bernanke denied he threatened the job of Bank of America’s CEO when Ken Lewis hesitated on the Merrill Lynch merger last fall, CNNMoney reports. “I did not tell Bank of America’s management that the Federal Reserve would take action... More »

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Ben Bernanke • Bank of America • Federal Reserve • Henry Paulson • House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform • Darrell Issa • Ken Lewis

Pentagon Drops Ball on Contractor Oversight: Report

Says tens of billions in contracts lack decent US supervision

Jun 9, 09 9:33 AM CDT
(Newser) - Though US defense contracting has reached “unprecedented proportions” in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Defense Department isn’t adequately monitoring the contracts, according to an independent watchdog. A report to be presented to Congress tomorrow says the government lacks central records showing the identities, activities, and pay of some 240,... More »

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Congress • Pentagon • oversight • Department of Defense • security contractors • Iraq contractors • Defense Dept • House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform • defense contractors • monitoring • Wartime Contracting Commission

TARP Manager: Let's Not Micromanage

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

Mar 11, 09 3:15 PM CDT
(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... More »

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Congress • testimony • Treasury Department • House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform • Troubled Asset Relief Program • Neel Kashkari • Timothy Geithner • TARP • toxic assets

Fannie, Freddie Brushed Off Subprime Warnings

Companies ignored risk experts for years

Dec 9, 08 8:36 AM CST
(Newser) - Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can’t say they weren’t warned. Internal documents obtained by the Washington Post show that both companies had internal factions who stressed the dangers of subprime mortgages several years ago. At Freddie Mac, the former chief enterprise risk officer wrote that the loans could... More »

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subprime mortgages • Freddie Mac • Fannie Mae • Richard Syron • subprime crisis • House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform • Daniel Mudd

AIG Execs Took Spa Week After $85B Bailout

Former CEOs appear before skeptical House to defend spending

Oct 7, 08 3:41 PM CDT
(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... More »

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Congress • AIG • Hank Greenberg • credit crisis • bailout • Martin Sullivan • House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform • financial crisis • Robert Willumstad

'Creative' Bush Order Shields Cheney from Plame Probe 

Cheney's FBI interviews kept from Congress with executive privilege claim

Jul 17, 08 3:07 AM CDT
(Newser) - President Bush has invoked an unprecedented executive privilege claim to bar FBI interviews with Dick Cheney from a congressional committee probing the leak that exposed Valerie Plame as a CIA agent, Newsweek reports. The Bush order argues that turning over the records of Cheney's grilling concerning the scandal would violate... More »

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Dick Cheney • Valerie Plame • executive privilege • George W. Bush • House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform • Plamegate

White House in Loop on Troubling Iraq Oil Deal

Bush crony's Kurdistan deal undermined Baghdad government

Jul 3, 08 3:04 AM CDT
(Newser) - The State Department was fully aware that a Texas firm linked to President Bush planned to sign a controversial Kurdistan oil deal that undermined the Iraqi government, reports the New York Times. Documents released by a congressional committee yesterday reveal that Hunt Oil—run by a close associate of the... More »

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Iraq • Iraq oil • State Department • Kurdistan • Hunt Oil • House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

More White House Links to Abramoff Revealed

Lobbist had closer ties to administration than its report admitted  

Jun 10, 08 3:33 AM CDT
(Newser) - The White House didn't go far enough in probing its links with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, according to a new report from a House committee. The report reveals 70 more contacts between Abramoff's team and White House figures than had been previously acknowledged—including four extra meetings with President Bush,... More »

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Jack Abramoff • White House • corruption • lobbyist • House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

 Hospitals Can't  Handle Terror Attack: Study

Trauma centers couldn't treat influx of victims

May 6, 08 9:02 AM CDT
(Newser) - Hospitals in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and other major US cities don't have the emergency room capacity to handle even a moderate terrorist attack, a congressional committee says. A survey last month of 34 hospitals revealed they could not handle a sudden surge of trauma victims, a situation described... More »

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terrorism • Minneapolis • Chicago • Washington DC • New York • Denver • Los Angeles • emergency room • Houston • emergency responders • terrorist attack • National Center for Disaster Preparedness • House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

Subprime Lender CEOs Defend Exec Pay

Merrill, Citi and Countrywide honchos cashed in as companies foundered

Mar 7, 08 3:50 PM CST
(Newser) - Banking executives who took home huge paychecks even as the subprime mortgage crisis battered their companies appeared before Congress today to defend their actions. Democrats on the House Oversight Committee grilled them about their enormous pay packages as Republicans apologized to them and questioned the premise of the hearing, the... More »

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Congress • Citigroup • executive compensation • Bank of America • Merrill Lynch • Countrywide • bonuses • Charles Prince • Angelo Mozilo • Stanley O'Neal • financial institutions • subprime crisis • House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

House Hits High Bonuses
at Strapped Companies

Fat cats to face executive pay hearing

Mar 7, 08 7:53 AM CST
(Newser) - A House committee wants to know why the CEOs of three companies mired in the subprime crisis collected massive bonuses as their firms bled billions, AP reports. The targets include Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, and Countrywide, all of which posted stunning losses last year. Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo and the former... More »

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Henry Waxman • Citigroup • executive compensation • Merrill Lynch • Countrywide Financial • Charles Prince • Angelo Mozilo • Stanley O'Neal • subprime crisis • House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

Congress Asks Justice Dept. for Clemens Probe

Bipartisan letter wants to look at star's steroids denials for perjury

Feb 27, 08 1:56 PM CST
(Newser) - A congressional committee today asked the Justice Department to examine Roger Clemens’ denials under oath that he used performance-enhancing drugs and determine if they constitute perjury, the AP reports. In the letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey, Reps. Henry Waxman and Tom Davis cite the pitcher's statements contradicting those of... More »

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steroids • MLB • Henry Waxman • Roger Clemens • anabolic steroids • Tom Davis • Andy Pettitte • perjury • Michael Mukasey • human growth hormone • baseball • Mitchell steroids investigation • Brian McNamee • House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

GOP Hinders Search for Missing White House Emails

Anyone could change messages in 'primitive' system, expert testifies

Feb 27, 08 4:44 AM CST
(Newser) - The GOP National Committee is now refusing to search for and turn over backup tapes of thousands of missing White House emails, reports the Washington Post. The move is a reversal of a previous commitment to retrieve thousands of up to a million messages that vanished in a 1000-day period.... More »

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Henry Waxman • White House • Office of Administration • e-mail system • missing e-mails • Steven McDevitt • technical analysis • Iraq war • House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

Clemens, McNamee Both Grilled Hard

Clemens lawyers lash out at committee chair Waxman

Feb 13, 08 1:50 PM CST
(Newser) - The biggest fireworks in today's House Oversight Committee hearings on the Mitchell Report involved Brian McNamee's claims that Roger Clemens and Jose Canseco discussed steroids and HGH at a party at Canseco's house several years ago. Clemens says he was playing golf the day of the party, and has receipts... More »

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MLB • Henry Waxman • New York Yankees • Roger Clemens • Mitchell Report • Brian McNamee • House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

Knoblauch Testifies on HGH

Former Yankee seems to admit substance use, but obliquely

Feb 2, 08 7:53 AM CST
(Newser) - Leaving his closed-door session with the House oversight committee yesterday, Chuck Knoblauch offered only enigmatic answers about his use of human growth hormone, the AP reports. With wife and toddler in tow, the former Yankee smiled and said, "It is what it is." Though he didn't respond to... More »

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MLB • New York Yankees • Roger Clemens • Andy Pettitte • human growth hormone • baseball • Mitchell Report • Brian McNamee • Chuck Knoblauch • House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

House Probes Clemens Denial

Legend & accuser to testify about steroids

Jan 10, 08 8:06 AM CST
(Newser) - Congress will investigate baseball legend Roger Clemens' vehement denials that he used steroids. Both Clemens and his accuser, personal trainer Brian McNamee, were scheduled to testify next week before the House committee that exposed drug abuse in baseball. But their testimony has been postponed a month for a wider and... More »

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Department of Justice • steroids • Henry Waxman • Roger Clemens • Andy Pettitte • human growth hormone • baseball • Brian McNamee • House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

White House Meddled With Climate Change Science: Report

House committee finds attempts to 'mislead'

Dec 12, 07 5:15 PM CST
(Newser) - A House committee says the Bush administration has attempted to mislead the public about global warming by editing written testimony, controlling media access to scientists, and trying to minimize the links between climate change and hurricanes, the Christian Science Monitor reports. The study, authored mainly by Democrats, accuses the White... More »

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climate change • Bush administration • Hurricane Katrina • global warming • science • House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

195 Blackwater Shootings Bared

Guards fired first in 80% of incidents since 2005

Oct 2, 07 6:44 AM CDT
(Newser) - Private security firm Blackwater USA has been involved in shooting incidents nearly every week since 2005, according to an investigation by the Democratic congressional staff. While Blackwater is contracted to use force only defensively, company guards used force at least 195 times, firing first 80% of the time, the report... More »

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Iraq • State Department • Blackwater • Erik Prince • US Embassy • congressional staff report • Nasoor Square • Iraqi National Police • House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

1 - 20 of 21 Stories | 1 2 Next >>


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