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Jim McElhatton

jmcelhatton@washingtontimes.com

Jim McElhatton no longer works for The Washington Times.

Articles by Jim McElhatton

In this photo provided by CBS News, on Sunday, Oct. 13, 2013, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., speaks on CBS' "Face the Nation" in Washington about the partial federal government shutdown. (AP Photo/CBS News, Chris Usher)

Lawmakers ‘cringe’ at Senate’s pork-laden spending deal

The debt deal reopening the federal government, hurriedly written Wednesday afternoon, began to rot in the sunlight Thursday as lawmakers distanced themselves from some of the pork projects and other goodies tossed in to sweeten the bill for lawmakers.

October 17, 2013
Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division for the Justice Department Tony West speaks during a news conference at the Justice Department in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2010, regarding a major settlement with a pharmaceutical company for False Claims Act and off-label marketing violations. Allergan Inc., the maker of wrinkle-smoothing Botox, has agreed to pay $600 million to settle a years long federal investigation into its marketing of the top-selling drug. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Fed shutdown forces courts into ‘limbo land’

With many of its lawyers on furlough during the government shutdown, the Justice Department on Tuesday sought to delay a long-running False Claims Act case accusing a company of fraud to win millions of dollars in hurricane-reconstruction work.

October 15, 2013
**FILE** Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Gary Gensler testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington before the Senate Banking Committee on July 30, 2013, as lawmakers examine how to mitigate systemic risk in financial markets through Wall Street reforms. (Associated Press)

Commodities watchdog shuttered by shutdown

While the financial markets are closely eyeing the shutdown of the government, Wall Street itself is barely being monitored by one of its federal watchdogs, who says it's had to furlough most of its staff.

October 11, 2013

Biodefense, weather, space projects hit hard

The nonprofit Aerospace Corp., which works on GPS, weather and military satellites projects for the Air Force, has laid off more than half its staff as the federal shutdown enters its second week.

October 9, 2013

Solar firm reportedly was aware of defects

Abound Solar, propped up by tens of millions of dollars in federal loans that remain unpaid, acknowledged defects in the solar panels it was selling before the Colorado company went bankrupt, according to a customer.

February 27, 2013
**FILE** White House Treasury Secretary Jack Lew (Associated Press)

Lew’s Treasury nomination goes to full Senate

The Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday approved Jack Lew as the nation’s next secretary of the Treasury amid a bruising confirmation process that delved into his years as a Wall Street executive and a million-dollar payout he received from a bailed-out bank.

February 26, 2013
Lance Armstrong listens as he is interviewed by talk show host Oprah Winfrey during taping for the show "Oprah and Lance Armstrong: The Worldwide Exclusive" in Austin, Texas, in this Jan. 14, 2013, file photo. Armstrong confessed to using performance-enhancing drugs to win the Tour de France cycling during the interview that aired Jan. 17, 2013, reversing more than a decade of denial. (Associated Press/Harpo Studios, Inc.) ** FILE **

U.S. joins fraud lawsuit against Lance Armstrong

Citing "years of broken promises," federal prosecutors on Friday confirmed they're putting the muscle of the U.S. Department of Justice behind a civil lawsuit accusing disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong of bilking the U.S. Postal Service of tens of millions of dollars.

February 22, 2013

D.C. nonprofit can’t say how it spent $25M

A D.C. government-funded nonprofit group entangled in a theft scam that saw a D.C. Council member go to federal prison reported receiving $25 million in a newly filed report with the Internal Revenue Service, but officials won't say how they spent all of that cash.

February 20, 2013
** FILE ** An A123 Systems Inc. logo is shown in Livonia, Mich., in 2009. (Associated Press)

Fisker Automotive files $90M claim for A123 battery contract

Government-backed luxury carmaker Fisker Automotive has bought thousands of batteries from A123 Systems under an exclusive supply deal, but now the auto company may have to look for another power source for its high-end, plug-in hybrid Karma vehicles — and at a hefty cost.

February 19, 2013
“With each day that passes without enacted postal reform further impacts the Postal Service’s already dire financial condition,” Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe tells congressional lawmakers. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Postmaster asks for flexibility

The move by the U.S. Postal Service to a five-day delivery week would close just a fraction of the $20 billion shortfall already facing the nation's mail service, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe told the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs on Wednesday.

February 13, 2013
Jack Lew (center) shakes hands with former Sen. Pete Domenici, New Mexico Republican, before he and Sen. Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, testify Wednesday before the Senate Finance Committee on Mr. Lew’s nomination to be Treasury secretary. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

Lew pressed by Senate, but he stays on track for Treasury post

Jack Lew, President Obama's pick to head the Treasury Department, faced several uncomfortable moments over his brief stint in the private sector, but he emerged from a Senate hearing Wednesday apparently still on track for a relatively quick confirmation by the full Senate in the coming weeks.

February 13, 2013
**FILE** Postmaster General and CEO Patrick R. Donahoe speaks Feb. 6, 2013, during a news conference at U.S. Postal Service headquarters in Washington. The financially struggling U.S. Postal Service says it will stop delivering mail on Saturdays but continue to disburse packages six days a week. (Associated Press)

Postal chief pushes Congress to endorse Saturday mail cut

The move by the U.S. Postal Service to a five-day delivery week would close just a fraction of the $20 billion shortfall already facing the nation's mail service, Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe told the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs on Wednesday.

February 13, 2013

Creditors ask for info on alleged tampering in A123 sale

Milwaukee-based Johnson Controls recently lost out to a Chinese competitor in its bid for bankrupt high-tech battery-maker A123 Systems, but creditors are still demanding details about whether a secret Johnson-led lobbying campaign took place behind the scenes in Washington aimed at derailing the sale.

February 12, 2013
**FILE** Postmaster General and CEO Patrick R. Donahoe speaks Feb. 6, 2013, during a news conference at U.S. Postal Service headquarters in Washington. The financially struggling U.S. Postal Service says it will stop delivering mail on Saturdays but continue to disburse packages six days a week. (Associated Press)

Postal Service hit with $1.3 billion loss

Days after unveiling plans to eliminate Saturday mail delivery for the first time in more than a century, the cash-strapped U.S. Postal Service announced a loss of $1.3 billion for the first three months of fiscal 2013.

February 8, 2013
"We cannot put our head in the sand and say, 'Let's hope this problem goes away.' Hope is not a strategy," said U.S. Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe. (Associated Press)

Postal chief expects fight on Saturday delivery halt

U.S. Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe's historic decision to end Saturday mail delivery drew mixed reaction on Capitol Hill — and outright anger from the letter carriers union, which called for his resignation.

February 6, 2013