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NEWS ABOUT: Congress

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No Hope for Detroit Until We End Rip-Off Financing

The indebted consumer can't afford cars

(Newser) - Congress' plan to bail out Detroit ignores one fundamental problem: Americans owe so much on their current cars—often more than the vehicles are worth—that they can't buy new ones, writes Stephanie Mencimer in Mother Jones. Detroit—along with the "great scourge of the American consumer market: the... More »

8 States Poised to Lose House Seats: Census

Sun Belt boom may be ending

(Newser) - After a generation, the Sun Belt’s population boom may be ending, new Census data suggest. Over the year ending July 1, more people left Florida than moved there for the first time in some 30 years; after 23 years in the top four fastest-growing states, Nevada fell to eighth... More »

Emanuel Still Gets Paycheck From Congress

No salary (yet) for White House gig; he hasn't resigned as rep

(Newser) - Rahm Emanuel has started his new job as Barack Obama’s White House chief of staff, but his paycheck is still coming from Congress, the Hill reports. Emanuel is not getting a salary from Obama’s transition team. He hasn’t resigned the House seat to which he was just... More »

Obama Widens Goals, Now Wants 3M Jobs

Recovery plans grow as advisers predict 9% unemployment

(Newser) - Barack Obama is expanding his plans to reverse the nation’s financial crisis and will seek to create 3 million jobs in the next two years, up from the goal of 2.5 million he proposed last month, the New York Times reports. The new figure follows a meeting in... More »

Detroit's Not the Only Place That Needs 'Restructuring'

DC should streamline many useless layers

(Newser) - Lawmakers want to restructure Detroit’s auto industry—but Congress could use a little makeover, too, writes Philip K. Howard in the Wall Street Journal. He offers a prescription to streamline the government as one would a corporation:
  • Dump “legacy obligations.” Like Detroit, Congress must ditch old promises
... More »

South Ensuring Detroit Won't Rise Again

States woo Northern economy with lower wages, 'inhumane standards'

(Newser) - It's no coincidence that Dixie senators derailed the Big Three bailout, since the South—with anti-union laws, low wages, and modest taxes—has built a counter-Detroit that will ensure that neither the Motor City or the South will rise again, Michael Lind writes in Salon. The same tactics were used... More »

Congress Gets a Raise

Watchdog groups slam lawmakers' automatic pay raise amid economic chaos

(Newser) - The flatlining economy hasn't stopped Congress from getting a pay raise, the Hill reports. Lawmakers will get an extra $4,700 a year starting in January, amounting to a total of $2.5 million. The 2.8% automatic raise is only half as large as the cost of living adjustment... More »

Mukasey Steps Off Madoff Case

Rogue financier, meanwhile, placed under house arrest

(Newser) - Attorney General Michael Mukasey is recusing himself from the Bernard Madoff investigation because his son is representing an employee involved with the fraud case, Bloomberg reports. Mukasey also graduated from an Orthodox Jewish school where Madoff’s wife has taught and which placed $6 million in the fraudulent scheme. A... More »

Obama Dials GOP Just to Say Hi

Prez-elect on charm offensive with key Republican legislators

(Newser) - As Barack Obama readies a massive agenda, he’s been keeping key Republicans on speed-dial, the Hill reports. Though he seemed more comfortable with big crowds during the campaign, the prez-elect is reaching out to touch Republicans likely to be both adversaries and collaborators alike. “I think this seems... More »

Fast-Track New Stimulus: Pelosi

(Newser) - Congressional Democrats are looking to fast-track a $600 billion economic stimulus package in the first weeks of the New Year, the Washington Post reports. Nancy Pelosi said today lawmakers are working with the Obama transition team to craft the plan, which is smaller than the $1 trillion scheme floated earlier.... More »

Google Seeks Special Online 'Fast Lane'

Dumps 'Net neutrality' support; wants preferred treatment

(Newser) - Google is quietly negotiating for preferential treatment from Internet providers in an about-face from its staunch support of equal network access for all content providers. The move could spark an industry-wide race for Internet "fast lanes" that would discriminate against less-funded sites and potentially curb users' online choices, reports... More »

Bailout First Skirmish in GOP, UAW Battle

(Newser) - The defeat of the Detroit bailout bill by Senate Republicans is seen by some in Washington as a preemptive strike against organized labor, the Los Angeles Times reports. The GOP framed their opposition partly as a message to the United Auto Workers, claiming high wages were the cause of Detroit’... More »

Dow Creeps Up 64

(Newser) - Stocks were up modestly today as investors balanced continued uncertainty over a Detroit bailout and a longtime Wall Street hand’s arrest with cautious optimism that the market may finally have stabilized, the Wall Street Journal reports. Money manager Bernard Madoff was accused today of a $50 billion swindle, but... More »

Forget Blago: Rangel Plagues Obama

Key congressman's probe could hurt Obama's agenda

(Newser) - The Blagojevich mess may appear more damaging, but the bigger concern for Barack Obama is the scandal surrounding Charles Rangel, who is under scrutiny for a number of questionable dealings, writes Gerald Seib in the Wall Street Journal. Blago may soon be out of Obama’s hair, but Rangel's status... More »

Auto Deal Fails in Senate Over UAW Wage Cuts

(Newser) - A bid to provide emergency aid to automakers failed in the Senate tonight, the Washington Post reports. Negotiators nearly completed an 11th-hour deal but got hung up on union wages. Republicans wanted immediate cuts, and Democrats sought to delay them until 2011. "We're not going to get to the... More »

No More Bailouts, Detroit or Otherwise: Learn the Lesson

Yes, there will be pain, but saving irresponsible companies bad for US future

(Newser) - Given the failure of the Wall Street bailout, to think doing the same for Detroit would help the auto industry and America in the long run is fantasy, Kevin O’Brien writes in the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The only thing that will help is to feel the pain. “No... More »

House Approves Auto Aid; Senate Prospects Are Iffy

(Newser) - The House tonight passed a $14 billion rescue plan for GM and Chrysler, but the measure's fate in the Senate remains uncertain, the New York Times reports. The bill passed 237-170, largely along party lines. Republicans in the Senate have vowed to block or at least delay its progress because... More »

Proposed Law Pushes College Football Playoffs

Bill proposed to do away with controversial BCS process

(Newser) - A flustered Texas lawmaker has decided to fix the college football ranking system that he says "constantly misfires" in sending the two best teams to the championship, the AP reports. Rep. Joe Barton is introducing a bill that would "prohibit the marketing, promotion, and advertising of a postseason... More »

Rangel Inquiry Expands to Donor Concerns

Rep. faces allegations he fought tax loophole in funding tradeoff

(Newser) - A House ethics committee broadened its probe into Charles Rangel over concerns the New York Democrat fought a tax loophole in exchange for a $1 million donation to his policy institute. The subcommittee has been investigating Rangel’s personal finances since September over several other corruption allegations; now, it looks... More »

House Likely to Vote on Auto Bailout This Afternoon

Senate likely tomorrow; GOP has harsh words

(Newser) - The House is ready to vote on a $15 billion bill to rescue GM and Chrysler as early as this afternoon, the Detroit News reports. The Senate, meanwhile, is likely to vote tomorrow morning. “My understanding is it is done, but the piece of paper is not before the... More »

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