Political Scene

COAL

Mining firm urges anti-Democrat effort

FRANKFORT, Ky. | A leading Appalachian coal company is asking its counterparts to pool their money for a political offensive against Democrats in Kentucky and West Virginia.

International Coal Group is calling on other mining companies to join an initiative that would take advantage of a Supreme Court decision loosening restrictions on corporate contributions to political causes.

ICG Vice President Roger Nicholson said in an e-mail that he wants to target Democratic Reps. Ben Chandler of Kentucky and Nick J. Rahall II of West Virginia, and Democratic Senate candidate Jack Conway in Kentucky. The e-mail was first reported by the Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader.

Mr. Nicholson said the Obama administration and the Democrat-controlled Congress are “fiercely anti-coal.”

DEFICIT

Panel takes up tax-break future

A presidential commission charged with cutting the budget deficit Wednesday discussed the politically charged issue of scrapping or changing tax breaks that cost about $1 trillion a year.

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, North Dakota Democrat, suggested ending some of the tax breaks as part of a broader effort to streamline the federal tax code to make the economy more competitive globally and generate revenues without raising tax rates.

“We have a tax system that really does not fit the circumstances we confront today, either in terms of generating revenue that is necessary or contributing to the competitive position that is absolutely critical for the country going forward,” Mr. Conrad told the 18-member bipartisan commission.

Erskine Bowles, a Democrat and co-chairman of the commission, agreed the panel should look at tax expenditures as part of its recommendations to reduce the budget deficit, which is expected to top $1.4 trillion this year.

MORTGAGES

Administration revises foreclosure report

The Obama administration is revising the latest report on its troubled mortgage-relief program, and the changes are likely to show a greater number of borrowers facing foreclosure after having their loans modified.

The Treasury Department said Wednesday that the mortgage company Fannie Mae, which helps run the program, provided inaccurate information about borrowers who restructured their loans under the program and then missed mortgage payments.

A spokesman said Treasury has hired an outside consultant to review the data.

The accusations and the subsequent review are the latest problems for the $75 billion program. It has been widely criticized for failing to help hundreds of thousands of homeowners at risk of losing their homes. More than 40 percent of U.S. homeowners seeking help from the program have dropped out.

SENATE

Design released for Kennedy’s institute

BOSTON | Architectural plans have been unveiled for the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, which will sit adjacent to his brother’s presidential library in Boston.

The 44,000-square foot facility is designed by architect Rafael Vinoly and will be built with private and federal money. A centerpiece will be a replica of the Senate chamber, where Kennedy served for 47 years until he died of brain cancer in August.

Institute President and CEO Peter Meade says Kennedy envisioned a facility where visitors could learn the history of the Senate and participate in mock debates. Mr. Meade said the institute has so far raised about $50 million in private donations and more than $38 million in federal funds.

Groundbreaking is set for September.

POSTAL SERVICE

Congress set to block delivery cuts

Sen. Jon Tester said Wednesday that lawmakers who oversee the budget of the post office will block a proposal to reduce mail deliveries to five days a week.

The Montana Democrat said eliminating Saturday deliveries would be a hardship on people living in rural areas without producing major savings for the Postal Service. The post office has proposed the change as one of several steps to reduce its expected $7 billion loss this year.

The agency also wants to raise rates starting in January, to close or consolidate offices and to avoid annual prepayments for future retiree health care costs.

The Postal Service does not receive tax funds for its operations, but must follow the direction of Congress, which annually stipulates that services cannot be cut without its permission.

FEDERAL RESERVE

Senate panel approves Obama board picks

A Senate panel on Wednesday approved three of President Obama’s picks for the Federal Reserve, including his nomination of Janet Yellen to be the central bank’s second-highest-ranking official.

The Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee also approved Sarah Raskin and Peter Diamond to be on the Fed board, sending all three nominees to the full Senate for confirmation. A vote is expected in September.

The committee approval of the Fed nominees comes as the central bank is trying to steer the fragile economy into a lasting recovery. At the same time, the Fed will play a leading role in implementing a vast revamping of the nation’s financial-regulation system signed into law last week.

If the Senate confirms each nominee, Mr. Obama will have appointed five of the seven members of the Federal Reserve Board in Washington.

FDR

Archives unveils new cache of papers

A handwritten letter from Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini congratulating President Franklin D. Roosevelt on his inauguration, and a note from a woman who had a brief affair with Roosevelt were shown to the public for the first time Wednesday at the National Archives.

The 5,000 documents and gifts collected by Roosevelt’s secretaries include a note from Lucy Mercer Rutherfurd, who had an affair with Roosevelt that forever changed his marriage to Eleanor Roosevelt when she discovered the infidelity in 1918.

Rutherfurd wrote Roosevelt’s personal secretary, Grace Tully, a week before his death in 1945 to arrange a visit with a portrait painter and photographer. The portrait was in progress when he collapsed and died.

The 14 boxes of items had been sealed with duct tape for years and were considered the last great privately held collection of papers for Roosevelt’s presidential library in Hyde Park, N.Y.

FBI

Director addresses cheating charges

FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III told Congress on Wednesday that he does not know how many of his agents cheated on an important exam on the bureau’s policies, an embarrassing revelation that raises questions about whether the FBI knows its own rules for conducting surveillance on Americans.

The Justice Department inspector general is investigating whether hundreds of agents cheated on the test. Some took the open-book test together, violating rules that they take it alone. Others finished the lengthy exam unusually quickly, current and former officials said.

The test was supposed to ensure that FBI agents understand new rules allowing them to conduct surveillance and open files on Americans without evidence of criminal wrongdoing.