House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

Stories 21 - 39 | << Prev 

Bernanke Denies Threatening BofA Boss Over Merrill

He battles accusations that he strongarmed he company

(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...

Pentagon Drops Ball on Contractor Oversight: Report

Says tens of billions in contracts lack decent US supervision

(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,...

TARP Manager: Let's Not Micromanage
TARP Manager: Let's Not Micromanage
Mar 11, 2009 3:15 PM CDT

TARP Manager: Let's Not Micromanage

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

(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...

Fannie, Freddie Brushed Off Subprime Warnings

Companies ignored risk experts for years

(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...

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...

'Creative' Bush Order Shields Cheney from Plame Probe

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

(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...

White House in Loop on Troubling Iraq Oil Deal

Bush crony's Kurdistan deal undermined Baghdad government

(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 White House Links to Abramoff Revealed

Lobbist had closer ties to administration than its report admitted

(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,...

Hospitals Can't Handle Terror Attack: Study

Trauma centers couldn't treat influx of victims

(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...

Subprime Lender CEOs Defend Exec Pay

Merrill, Citi and Countrywide honchos cashed in as companies foundered

(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...

House Hits High Bonuses at Strapped Companies

Fat cats to face executive pay hearing

(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...

Congress Asks Justice Dept. for Clemens Probe

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

(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...

GOP Hinders Search for Missing White House Emails

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

(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....

Clemens, McNamee Both Grilled Hard
Clemens, McNamee Both Grilled Hard
Feb 13, 2008 1:50 PM CST

Clemens, McNamee Both Grilled Hard

Clemens lawyers lash out at committee chair Waxman

(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...

Knoblauch Testifies on HGH
Knoblauch Testifies on HGH
Feb 2, 2008 7:53 AM CST

Knoblauch Testifies on HGH

Former Yankee seems to admit substance use, but obliquely

(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...

House Probes Clemens Denial
House Probes Clemens Denial
Jan 10, 2008 8:06 AM CST

House Probes Clemens Denial

Legend & accuser to testify about steroids

(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...

White House Meddled With Climate Change Science: Report

House committee finds attempts to 'mislead'

(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...

195 Blackwater Shootings Bared
195 Blackwater Shootings Bared
Oct 2, 2007 6:44 AM CDT

195 Blackwater Shootings Bared

Guards fired first in 80% of incidents since 2005

(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...

Blackwater Blamed for Fallujah Bloodshed

Murder of unprepared patrol sparked battle

(Newser) - Blackwater, the private security firm under investigation for a dozen civilian deaths in Iraq last week, is now being faulted for actions that led to a 2004 battle in which 36 US soldiers and 600 civilians were killed.  Blackwater is charged with sending a disorganized, unprepared four-man team into...

Stories 21 - 39 | << Prev