David R. Sands

Bankers defend bailout record

The expected grilling amounted to a light toasting Tuesday as executives of some of the nation's biggest banks came before a House panel angry over the results to date from the government's $700 billion Wall Street bailout.

February 11, 2009

Congress works to preserve fragile stimulus

UPDATED: Congressional leaders began hurried negotiations Tuesday to merge House and Senate versions of an economic rescue package, struggling to keep the price tag low enough to preserve a few key Senate Republican votes while satisfying House Democrats eager for more spending.

February 11, 2009

Struggle begins on stimulus bills

Congressional leaders began hurried negotiations Tuesday to reconcile House and Senate versions of an economic-rescue package, struggling to keep the price tag low enough to preserve a few key Senate Republican votes while satisfying House Democrats eager for more spending.

February 11, 2009

Congress works to preserve fragile stimulus

UPDATED: Congressional leaders began hurried negotiations Tuesday to merge House and Senate versions of an economic rescue package, struggling to keep the price tag low enough to preserve a few key Senate Republican votes while satisfying House Democrats eager for more spending.

February 11, 2009

Leahy calls for ‘truth commission’

UPDATED: The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee Monday called for a "truth commission" with subpoena powers to investigate a string of policies adopted by the Bush administration in the post-Sept. 11 war on terror.

February 10, 2009

Calls for ‘regular order’ grow louder

It lacks the rhetorical flair of "Remember the Maine!" or even "Yes We Can!" but the demand for "regular order" has become a potent rallying cry for lawmakers from both parties unhappy with the way Congress is being run.

February 10, 2009

Taxes trip up another Obama nominee

Labor Secretary-designate Hilda L. Solis on Thursday became the fourth senior administration nominee in a month to see their Senate confirmation slowed or scuttled over problems with their taxes.

February 6, 2009

More Obama nominee tax problems?

A Senate committee abruptly canceled a confirmation vote for Labor Secretary-designate Hilda L. Solis Thursday amid fresh reports of tax problems involving the husband of the California congresswoman.

February 5, 2009

Madoff whistleblower blasts regulators as inept

The financial analyst who tried to blow the whistle on disgraced Wall Street investor Bernard Madoff lashed out at federal regulators, telling a congressional hearing that the Securities and Exchange Commission was "overmatched" and "totally incapable" of uncovering Mr. Madoff's suspected $50 billion Ponzi scheme on its own.

February 5, 2009

Whistleblower blasts feds over Madoff

UPDATED: The financial analyst who tried to blow the whistle on disgraced Wall Street investor Bernard Madoff lashed out at federal regulators, telling a congressional hearing that the Securities and Exchange Commission was "overmatched" and "totally incapable" of uncovering Mr. Madoff's suspected $50 billion Ponzi scheme on its own.

February 4, 2009

Democrats positioned well for 2010

The decision Tuesday by three-term Republican Sen. Judd Gregg to join President Obama's Cabinet as secretary of commerce makes him the fifth Republican incumbent who will not be defending his Senate seat in 2010, handing Democrats a number of opportunities to expand their majority.

February 4, 2009

Senate votes down add to stimulus

The Senate voted down an amendment Tuesday that would have added $25 billion to the stimulus for more transportation project, a popular economic remedy that fell to Republican concerns over the $885 billion bill's ballooning price tag.

February 3, 2009

Dodd to change controversial mortgage terms

UPDATED: Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher J. Dodd said Monday that he would refinance two questionable low-rate mortgages he received from lending giant Countrywide Financial Corp. in 2003, seeking to put behind him a personal ethics controversy as he prepares to shepherd an overhaul of the nation's financial markets through Congress.

February 3, 2009

GOP may lose Gregg to Commerce

Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire acknowledged Friday he is being considered for secretary of commerce in President Obama's Cabinet, a move that could have momentous consequences for the balance of power in Congress.

January 31, 2009

Gregg considered to head Commerce

Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire Friday confirmed intense speculation on Capitol Hill that he is being considered for the post of commerce secretary in President Obama's Cabinet, a move that would have momentous consequences for the balance of power in Congress.

January 30, 2009

House OKs stimulus plan without GOP

The House approved a massive $819 billion stimulus bill Wednesday evening to boost the struggling economy, but not a single Republican voted for the measure despite a personal lobbying pitch from President Obama.

January 29, 2009

GOP: Its plan is better jobs machine

House Republicans on Wednesday argued that their alternative stimulus program, heavy on tax cuts, would create nearly 3 million more new jobs than the $816 billion economic recovery plan being pushed by the Obama administration and congressional Democrats -- using the same methodology favored by President Obama's top economic advisers.

January 28, 2009

House passes $819B stimulus plan

The House approved a massive $819 billion stimulus bill to boost the struggling economy, but not a single Republican voted for the measure despite a personal lobbying pitch from President Barack Obama.

January 28, 2009

Gillibrand sworn in to Clinton’s Senate seat

The Senate was down to one vacancy Tuesday as Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand was sworn in on the Senate floor to take the seat vacated by new Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

January 28, 2009

Senate grills SEC on Madoff’s dealings

Key lawmakers Tuesday demanded much tougher government oversight of Wall Street and the securities markets as regulators struggled to explain how they failed to detect the $50 billion Ponzi scheme reportedly operated by financier Bernard Madoff for more than a decade.

January 28, 2009