Lieberman Leans to the Right (Again)

Staff / Truthdig Oct 31, 2009 Fresh off a heady week in which he managed to supremely infuriate former colleagues and supporters in the Democratic Party with his filibuster talk, the ever-more-Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman gave ABC News a taste of his political plans for 2010. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Deep-Sixing the F-22

Robert Scheer / Truthdig Jul 22, 2009 I'll believe it when it finally happens. But the news that Congress might actually stop production of a high-tech, job-generating and, most of all, high-profit weapons system because it fills no legitimate national security function is a considerable victory for President Barack Obama and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, as well as for logic.The end of the F-22 is a considerable victory for President Obama, Robert Gates and logic. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Senate Reworks Health Care Proposal

Staff / Truthdig Jul 2, 2009 Let's see if this one takes. After critics blasted an earlier, more expensive version, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee took another crack at a plan to provide coverage for tens of millions of Americans without health insurance. The latest plan, released Thursday, comes at the lower cost of $611.4 billion, as opposed to the $1 trillion proposal that didn't go over so well last month. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

There’s No Place Like Home, Unless You’re Chris Dodd

Staff / Truthdig Apr 17, 2009 Congressional fundraising numbers are in, and the Political Wire has teased out some interesting performances. Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut managed to raise just 0.7 percent of his funds from contributors in his own state -- all five of them. Roland Burris, the man appointed by Rod Blagojevich to replace Barack Obama in the Senate, pulled in a whopping $845. He's $111,032 in debt. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Dodd Takes a Hit for AIG Bonus Blunder

Staff / Truthdig Apr 3, 2009 When word got out that Sen. Chris Dodd was responsible for loosening the restrictions on executive bonuses while drafting the stimulus bill, his constituents were apparently listening, as the Democrat's approval rating in his home state of Connecticut has hit an all-time low. Now he could be in danger of losing his Senate seat in 2010. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

House Passes Bonus Tax Bill

Staff / Truthdig Mar 20, 2009 After the top brass at AIG couldn't be stopped from dishing out $165 million in bonuses to executives who didn't exactly deserve gold-star treatment, Congress is attempting to recoup most of the money by slapping a 90 percent tax on such executive windfalls. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Fed Takes a Swing at Foreclosures

Staff / Truthdig Jan 28, 2009 After pumping hundreds of billions into the banking system with not much to show for it, Fed chief Ben Bernanke says he will try to reduce the number of foreclosures. As he put it to Rep. Barney Frank: "The goal of the policy is to avoid preventable foreclosures on residential mortgage assets that are held, owned or controlled by a Federal Reserve Bank." Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Senator Tells GM Chief to Take a Hike

Staff / Truthdig Dec 8, 2008 As congressional leaders, the White House and President-elect Obama came to terms with a $15-billion loan package for the auto industry, Sen. Chris Dodd suggested Sunday that not all executives should stick around to spend that money. GM CEO Rick Wagoner "has to move on," the senator declared on "Face the Nation." Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Bailout Plan Misses Out on Photo Op

Staff / Truthdig Sep 26, 2008 "This meeting is an attempt to move the process forward," President Bush declared Thursday, but it seems the White House gathering of congressional leaders and presidential candidates might have achieved the opposite effect. Lawmakers had agreed to a bailout outline earlier in the day, but the afternoon's "political theater," as Christopher Dodd put it, has raised doubts about the deal. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Fed Chief: Pass a Bailout or Else

Staff / Truthdig Sep 24, 2008 How's this for not mincing words? "I believe if the credit markets are not functioning, that jobs will be lost, that our credit rate will rise, more houses will be foreclosed upon, GDP will contract, that the economy will just not be able to recover in a normal, healthy way." So sayeth Ben Bernanke on Tuesday, in a dire warning to Congress. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Bailout Negotiations Inch Forward

Staff / Truthdig Sep 23, 2008 It seems that some key officials involved in the negotiations with the Bush administration over the terms of Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's $700-billion bailout proposal for Wall Street aren't about to make a deal unless it includes specific plans for congressional oversight and help for homeowners on the brink of foreclosure. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Ted Kennedy Makes Surprise Visit to Save Medicare Bill

Staff / Truthdig Jul 11, 2008 Just when it seemed they wouldn't have enough votes to pass a key Medicare bill, Democratic senators staged a dramatic coup by secretly whisking Sen. Edward Kennedy into the Capitol on Wednesday to cast his vote and make his first congressional appearance since he was diagnosed with brain cancer in May. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )