Congress
GOP Gags Witnesses on Credit Card Woes
Republicans on a consumer credit subcommittee required witnesses to waive privacy rights to their financial history before testifying about run-ins with credit card companies.
Steroid Saga Takes Turn for Dramatic, Gross
Congress's sweeping probe into performance enhancing drug use in baseball now seems more like a public feud between Roger Clemens and his ex-personal trainer Brian McNamee.
McNamee walked into the House's Rayburn office building this afternoon carrying seven-years old bloody syringes, vials and gauze pads. His lawyer's promised that this unseemly trash is the treasure proving his client truthfully accused Clemens of using steroids and human growth hormones.
Abortion Ban For American Indians Only
The new rule, sponsored by scandal-scarred Sen. David Vitter, adds a race-specific layer to a federal law that prohibits abortion coverage under federal health programs.
Term Limits, Sen. Kennedy?
In a much-hyped rally announcing his endorsement of presidential hopeful Barack Obama, Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) piled heaps of praise on the young Illinois senator Monday. Obama, Kennedy said, will be a fighter, an inspirer, a great uniter in the image of Kennedy's brother Jack, who came to power in another era of ideological bickering.
Billions for Pentagon Failures
The House Oversight Committee wonders why the Pentagon continues to fund programs based on non-existent technology.
Rocky Road for Credit Card Bill
Parties are split over how to approach business oversight, as lawmakers seek to modernize federal rules governing the highly influential banking industry.
Time to Buy Gold Bars?
Testimony on the Bear Stearns bailout maneuvering suggests the depth of the abyss that financial leaders have dug for the U.S. economy.
Ron Paul Warns Burma Tyrants: We'll Stay Out of Your Way!
The House yesterday approved a lightweight, nonbinding resolution offering condolences to the people of Burma in the wake of Cyclone Nargis, which the Red Cross now estimates took as many as 128,000 lives when it struck the Irrawaddy Delta earlier this month. From a political standpoint, this was a pretty safe vote. Indeed, 186 Republicans joined every voting Democrat to pass the measure. But it didn't go unanimously. That's because Texas GOP presidential contender Rep. Ron Paul disapproved. The final count was 410 to 1.
Petraeus Testimony Field Manual
Last time Petraeus sat down before Congress, he was able to extend the surge despite strong public opposition.
Is Real ID Really Going to Happen?
Real ID hasn't gone as planned -- at any step of the way.
Economic Disaster Looms Behind Federal Spending
As party leaders haggled over their stimulus strategy, some of the nation's top economists warned that America's long-term spending trends present a far larger financial crisis.
Ousting a Bad Bureaucrat?
Doan's been accused of violating the Hatch Act, considering a friend for a no-bid contract and intimidating employees.
Washington Revisits Big-Bank Regulation
If investment banks and hedge funds are going to dip into the Fed's emergency pot, some in Washington think they should face regulation like any other commercial bank.
Medicaid ID Law Backfires
A controversial federal law designed to keep illegal immigrants out of Medicaid is still ensnaring U.S. citizens 18 months later.
Questions of Waivers and Witnesses
Some questions have come up regarding our story from this morning on yesterday's House Financial Services subcommittee hearing examining credit card reform. The program was to feature testimony from five card users whose interest rates had skyrocketed despite good credit ratings and histories of responsible borrowing. Those testimonies were never heard, though, because the Republicans, acting on behalf of the credit card companies, demanded that the witnesses first sign waivers allowing the companies to discuss the accounts publicly -- anytime, anywhere. (Most refused, and all were abruptly cut from the morning's program.)
Their removal, however, was more the result of political gamesmanship than it was a legitimate legal move. That is, the Democrats could have attempted to seat the consumer panel even without the members signing the waivers. But, according to a Democratic staffer familiar with the dance, the Republicans, in that case, would have presented a number of procedural roadblocks that would have stalled the hearing indefinitely. Rather than waste the entire morning fighting endless motions to adjourn, Democratic committee leaders Barney Frank (Mass.) and Carolyn Maloney (N.Y.) decided to scrap the first panel and salvage some of the hearing.
In a statement on the controversy, Maloney said:
Abstinence-Only Education Endures
At least on part of Newt Gingrich's 1994 "Contract With America" lives on.
Beating the Clock
Will Bush make it all the way to the end of his term without coughing it up?
SIDEBAR: A Stalling Scorecard
Blue Dogs Resist Unfunded GI Bill
The debate underscores the difficulty of moving legislation in a high-stakes election year -- when political wrangling ensures the failure of most big ideas.
Report: Bush SCHIP Rules Illegal
It's unlikely that the White House will scrap the rules voluntarily, but states might take officials to court over the new legal opinion.
Lieberman: The Anti-Waxman
Waxman has held controversial hearings on politicization at federal agencies, forcing the White House into the public glare. Meanwhile, Liberman has laid low.
