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Patrice Hill

phill@washingtontimes.com

Patrice Hill was a staff writer for The Washington Times.

Articles by Patrice Hill

** FILE ** In this Monday, Nov. 11, 2013, photo, Will Hostetler, a carpenter with Larry Block Builders, carries trim downstairs at a new home under construction, in Pepper Pike, Ohio. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

Economic growth jumped to 3.6 percent in summer

The nation's economy overcame a round of federal budget cuts and posted a surprisingly strong 3.6 percent growth rate in the summer quarter, the Commerce Department reported Thursday morning.

December 5, 2013
ASSOCIATED PRESS Job applicants line up at the Westchester County Center in White Plains, N.Y., to apply for work in what is shaping up to be the longest recession since the Great Depression. Extended benefits are about to run out for thousands of the unemployed.

Spending on social welfare rose as economy tanked during recession

Spending on social welfare programs soared by $500 billion to $2.1 trillion during the Great Recession, but the increase was almost entirely due to the historic surge in unemployment to 10 percent rather than a liberalization of benefits by the government, according to two studies out this month.

November 27, 2013
** FILE ** The world headquarters of General Motors Co. in Detroit are pictured in 2009. (Associated Press)

Treasury aims to sell off GM stock by end of year

The Treasury said Thursday it expects to sell its remaining stock in General Motors by the end of the year, ending the government's controversial bailout and takeover of the leading automaker and closing an important chapter in U.S. economic history.

November 21, 2013
Janet Yellen, of California, President Barack Obama's nominee to become Federal Reserve Board chair, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday Nov. 14, 2013, before the Senate Banking Committee hearing on her nomination to succeed Ben Bernanke. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Janet Yellen nomination approved by banking panel

The Senate Banking Committee on a strong bipartisan vote of 14 to 8 approved the nomination of Federal Reserve vice chairman Janet Yellen to become the next head of the central bank.

November 21, 2013
The trial in New York of lawyer Steven Donziger, who brought natives of the Ecuadorean Amazon to court with him in 1999, reaches a climax this week as he defends himself against charges that he engineered a record-breaking $19 billion judgment against Chevron Corp. for contamination of the Amazon rain forest. Ecuador had originally opposed the class-action suit, filed in 1993 on behalf of indigenous Indians and others. (Associated Press)

Chevron trial nears its end

Chevron's fraud case against Steven Donziger reaches a climax this week as the New York celebrity lawyer takes the stand for the first time to defend himself against charges that he engineered a record-breaking $19 billion judgment against the oil company for contamination of the Amazon rain forest.

November 17, 2013

Fed nominee Janet Yellen objects to audit of monetary meetings

Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Janet Yellen, President Obama's choice to head the central bank, said on Thursday that she objects to legislation auditing the Fed if it allows Congress to scrutinize and pressure central bankers' deliberations over interest rates and monetary policy.

November 14, 2013
Janet Yellen, President Obama's choice to succeed Ben S. Bernanke as head of the Federal Reserve, heads to Capitol Hill on Thursday for her confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Banking Committee. Ms. Yellen, a labor economist, is the current vice chairwoman at the Fed. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Yellen to call for no change in Fed policy

Janet Yellen, President Obama's pick to be the next head of the Federal Reserve, is vowing to maintain the central bank's ultra-easy policies on interest rates until she sees more convincing growth in the economy and job market, in prepared testimony to be delivered at her Senate confirmation hearing Thursday.

November 13, 2013
Sen. Rand Paul, Kentucky Republican says "the Fed continues to inflate our currency, wreck our economy and operate in the shadows. This will be the fight of our lives." (associated press photographs)

Fed chairman fight could rattle markets if Paul holds up vote on Yellen

President Obama's nomination of Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Janet Yellen to become the next Fed chairman faces the threat of significant delays at a delicate time for the U.S. economy as a result of a recent move by Sen. Rand Paul to hold up the nomination to try to force a vote on auditing the central bank.

November 10, 2013
Freddie Mac, the mortgage giant, posted a gain for the second quarter and isn’t requesting any additional federal aid for the period. This is the fifth quarter in which Freddie hasn’t requested new federal aid since it was taken over in September 2008. (Associated Press)

Fannie, Freddie close to paying off taxpayer bailout bill

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the housing giants whose combined $188 billion bailout dwarfed all others during the 2008 financial crisis, announced Thursday that they will return another $39 billion in dividends to the U.S. Treasury next month, bringing them close to fully repaying the taxpayers who rescued them.

November 7, 2013
A construction worker carries a load of wood to a new home as workers frame the house in Chester, Va., on Wednesday, May 16, 2012. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

Economy surges unexpectedly in 3rd quarter

The economy picked up a bit of speed in the summer quarter, growing at a healthy 2.8 percent rate after rising by 2.5 percent in the spring, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.

November 7, 2013
Renaldo Escobar works on the assembly line of a shoe factory in Boston. Obama economic adviser Jason Furman has said that millions of Americans lack the skills and education to demand higher wages. (Associated Press)

Welfare-to-work law encourages low wages, raises dependency on federal benefits

The historic welfare reform law of 1996 was widely praised for encouraging Americans to go back to work and not stay on the dole. But after nearly two decades of experience with the law, analysts are finding it created unintended side effects such as a perverse incentive for some employers to pay skimpy wages.

November 3, 2013
A photo shows a brochure promoting the Food Stamp Friday event at the Rose Supper Club in Montgomery, Ala., Friday, March 30, 2012. The club will start "Food Stamp Friday" theme nights in April. Manager Harman Wilson says the night is meant to complement the club's other theme nights, such as Fat Tuesday, Karaoke Wednesday or Thirsty Thursday. Wilson says patrons will not be able to use their food stamps to purchase alcoholic beverages. He says he hopes the novel approach will draw people to the club. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Curb welfare spending or raise minimum wage?

As the unintended effects of welfare reform grow, legislators are debating remedies ranging from curbing spending on welfare-to-work benefits to raising the minimum wage to ensure workers can more easily live on what they earn.

November 3, 2013

Fed sees strong signals but stays course

The Federal Reserve maintained its easy money policies Wednesday, noting that federal budget cuts and the October shutdown continue to weigh on growth and as a result, the economy continues to need support.

October 30, 2013
The Federal Reserve headquarters in Washington (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Fed holds steady on its easing policies

The Federal Reserve maintained its easy-money policies Wednesday, noting that federal budget cuts and shutdowns continue to weigh on growth and, as a result, the economy continues to need support.

October 30, 2013
** FILE ** Holly Bryan stocks up on Christmas wrapping paper and other holiday items while shopping for day after Christmas deals at a Target store in Chattanooga, Tenn., Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Chattanooga Times Free Press, Dan Henry)

Shutdown causes plunge in consumer sentiment

The prolonged federal shutdown sent a key gauge of consumer sentiment plummeting for October to the lowest levels seen since Washington's last "fiscal cliff" crisis in at the end of last year.

October 25, 2013
** FILE ** In this March 14, 2013, file photo, a crowd of job seekers attends a health care job fair in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

Federal Reserve stimulus drawdown likely on hold after jobs report

The Federal Reserve likely will put its plans to start withdrawing stimulus from the U.S. economy off until well into 2014 as a result of a report Tuesday that showed the economy posted only tepid job growth in September, even before the federal shutdown and debt crisis weighed on the economy.

October 22, 2013