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irs

How Republicans Will Try to Pin the IRS Scandal on Obama

They plan to connect the dots between the agency's chief counsel and the White House.
Bank of America

Where Are We on Too Big to Fail?

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hydraulic fracturing

Proposed 'Fracking' Rules Anger Environmentalists, Annoy Industry

The Obama administration on Thursday unveiled a new proposal for its first major regulation of hydraulic fracturing on public lands, attempting to address at least a portion of the controversial drilling practice that’s unlocked vast new supplies of U.S. oil and gas but has also raised fears about its environmental impact, particularly on local water supplies.
obama targeted

How the White House Scandals Could Hurt Republicans, Too

By enraging the base and strengthening the faction least willing to compromise with Obama, the IRS and Benghazi affairs could hurt a GOP shot at the presidency.
Gina McCarthy

Senate Committee Approves Gina McCarthy EPA Nomination Along Party Lines

Senate Republicans on Thursday eased their opposition to the nomination of Gina McCarthy, President Obama’s pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency—but her confirmation by the full Senate is not yet assured.
Eric Holder

Holder Holds Up in House Judiciary Hearing, but More Attacks Coming

The face-off between Attorney General Eric Holder and some Republican House members during Wednesday’s House Judiciary Committee hearing seemed more like the opening shots of a battle than any real showdown.
Obama announcement on IRS

You Want Angry? I'll Show You Angry, Obama Says on IRS Scandal

Facing criticism from Republicans, the president reasserts his authority by pushing out the IRS's acting commissioner.
Attorney General Holder Testifies On Justice Department FY2011 Budget

Eric Holder Offers Little Information, Much Ire for Republicans

It only took Attorney General Eric Holder a few moments to make clear he wanted no part of congressional Republicans’ plans to turn his Capitol Hill appearance into a serious grilling about the scandals of the day.
Darrell Issa

Eric Holder Calls Rep. Darrell Issa 'Unacceptable and Shameful'

This much is clear: Attorney General Eric Holder and Rep. Darrell Issa don't like each other. 
Eric Holder

Eric Holder in the Hot Seat as Congress Probes Scandals

The Attorney General is on Capitol Hill on today for a show of fireworks that could be unlike any seen in this Congress so far.
pelosi-carney

Democrats See the IRS Scandal as the Most Toxic

In triage mode, Congressional Democrats want to treat (and separate themselves from) the trio of this week's scandals one-by-one.
Democrats in Triage Mode

Democrats in Triage Mode on White House Scandals

Congressional Democrats – knowing the fate of a progressive agenda and their own priorities lie with the continued political strength of the White House – hope to treat the emerging scandals independently. 
COP Foreclosure Hearing

How Many House Committees Are Currently Probing the Obama Administration?

A look at which House committees have inquiries into Obama Administration issues
GREG HICKS

Insiders Split on Whether White House Covered Up Benghazi Response

National Security Insiders say the U.S. has made missions more secure in the wake of the attack.
Joe Lieberman

GOP Leans on Lieberman in Boston Probe

Putting the former independent senator in an attack-dog role gives Republicans political cover to keep pressing for answers on intelligence and law enforcement failures ahead of the Boston bombings.  
Benghazi

Benghazi: Incompetence, But No Cover-up

The hearings deepen the tragedy, but not the scandal.
Gregory Hicks

Deputy Mission Chief Says He Was 'Stunned' by Rice's Early Depiction of Benghazi Attacks

The top deputy to the U.S. ambassador killed during the attacks last September in Benghazi, Libya, said Wednesday he was “stunned” when U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice said on talk shows days later that the incident stemmed from “demonstrations” sparked by protests over an anti-Islamic video.
Libya

The High Cost to the White House of Stonewalling on Benghazi

On Wednesday, U.S. diplomat Gregory Hicks came to Congress with headline-worthy testimony. He told House Oversight that officials in Libya were denied permission to deploy special forces to counter the attacks that killed an American ambassador. Hicks is one of three officials brought in as “whistleblowers” to challenge the administration account of its handling of the incident last year.
Sen. Mike Lee Speaks at CPAC

Alliances Tested as Immigration Amendments Roll In

Amendments to the Gang of Eight's bill were due by close of business Tuesday and already alliances are being tested among both members who support and those who oppose comprehensive immigration reform.    
President Barack Obama waves to U.S. troops at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, March 28, 2010.

Why It's So Hard to Trust the Chain of Command in Military Sexual-Assault Cases

A day after a high-profile arrest, a new Pentagon report shows sexual assaults have jumped by a third since 2010.
Benghazi

What to Expect at Wednesday’s Benghazi Hearing

The White House's accounting of what transpired in Libya is expected to be contradicted by three self-described whistle-blowers.
Dave Camp and John Boehner

Debt-Ceiling Fight May Flare This Week

House Republicans will push action on a bill signaling no retreat from their demand for spending cuts as a condition to any ceiling hike.
D_Sebelius

The 'Obamacare' Rollout's 'Glitches and Bumps' Won't Doom Health Reform

Medicare Part D had them, too.
Goodlatte

Immigration Debate May Grow More Complicated

With Congress focused on immigration reform this week, the national security aspects of the issue are moving to the forefront amid efforts by some conservatives to inject the Boston Marathon bombing suspects into that debate.
 Lake Borgne Barrier

Let’s Not Talk About Climate Change

Louisiana’s two senators worry more about oil than the rising water level.
Gregory Jaczko

Reid Appoints Besieged Regulator to Nuclear-Weapons Panel

Late in the evening on Wednesday, one of the busiest and most unnerving times Washington has seen in a long while, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid quietly appointed Gregory Jaczko, a controversial former nuclear-energy regulator to a key but obscure panel.
Karen Lightfoot

Karen Lightfoot, Minority Communications Director

After 25 years on Capitol Hill, Karen Lightfoot has a wealth of experience communicating complicated policy issues. Indeed, her experience began before she even got to college.
Karen Christian

Karen Christian, Majority Chief Counsel, Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee

Karen Christian, chief counsel for the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, is best known for her lead role in the Solyndra investigation, which dominated much of the GOP agenda on the committee during the last Congress.
Roger Sherman

Roger Sherman, Minority Chief Counsel

Roger Sherman started working for Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., as his defense and foreign-affairs staffer back in 1990—one week before the first Gulf War started.
Ethanol

Renewable-Fuels Standard Gets Bipartisan Attention

For the first time since President Obama won the White House in 2008, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., and ranking member Henry Waxman, D-Calif., are working together on a controversial energy policy: the renewable-fuels standard.
Barack Obama_Ron Kirk_Michael Froman

U.S. and E.U. Will Gnaw on Trade Agreement

Late last month, the White House notified Congress that it planned to begin negotiating a comprehensive trade and investment agreement with the European Union. Talks on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership are expected to begin in June—and that’s when the House Energy and Commerce Committee will step up its involvement.
Henry Waxman_Betty Sutton_Ed Markey_Bart Stupak

A Polarized Committee Reflects a Gridlocked Congress

Shortly after Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., won the chairmanship of the House Energy and Commerce Committee in December 2010, he invited all the former committee chairmen and their wives to dinner at Carmine’s in downtown Washington.
Pills move through a precision weighing machine

No Big Bills, But Plenty of Action on Health Care

The Energy and Commerce Committee won’t be passing any blockbuster health care bills this session—much as some GOP members would still love to repeal the Affordable Care Act—but several smaller measures on the agenda are likely to make it to the House floor.
capitol

How Can Congress Help Manufacturers?

The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade kicked off 2013 with a focus on its middle name. It’s fitting. After all, Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., who chairs the committee, changed the subcommittee name when he took over in 2011 to include an explicit reference to manufacturing.
Lisa Jackson

Waiting for a Clash on Climate Change

In 2011, congressional Republicans put a bull’s-eye on the Environmental Protection Agency.
John Dingell

The Art and Agony of Oversight

What many consider to be the golden age of congressional oversight can be summed up by a word coined but no longer heard much on Capitol Hill: “Dingell-gram.”
Suspicious letters

Letter Addressed to White House Tests Positive for Ricin

Law enforcement authorities said Wednesday morning that they have intercepted a second letter containing a substance testing positive for the poison ricin – this one addressed to the White House.
Rep. Henry Waxman

The ‘Liberal Bulldog’ Takes on His Biggest Challenge

Rep. Henry Waxman, the California liberal who has spent decades battling the tobacco, coal, and pharmaceutical industries, is taking on what appears to be the most insurmountable challenge of his long career.
Obama Boston Marathon Bombing Briefing Photo

Who Is Lisa Monaco, the White House's Counterterrorism Adviser?

President Obama's homeland-security point person deals with the Boston Marathon bombings in her first weeks on the job.
Patty Murray

Slow-Motion Gun Battle Plays Out in Senate

Lawmakers will stage some slow-going drama this week as the Senate proceeds in its deliberations on gun-control legislation with a series of votes on amendments—many of them likely to usher in their own mini-floor fights, or even filibusters.
Women's Medical Society

Why Dr. Kermit Gosnell's Trial Should Be a Major News Story

The dead babies. The exploited women. The racism. The numerous governmental failures. It just is insanely newsworthy.
Ernest Moniz, Obama's Reported Pick to Head the Energy Department

Sen. Wyden to Grill Obama's Energy Nominee on Nuclear-Waste Site

On Tuesday, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Ernest Moniz, President Obama’s nominee for Energy secretary, are going to square off like it’s 1998.
Economy

America's Chronic Disease

The American economy is more than ever like a chronically ill patient suffering from a mysterious wasting disease that physicians would call “idiopathic” (a fancy term that means they have no idea what’s causing it).
Drone

Vetting the Kill List

Civil libertarians want a judge to oversee the administration’s targeted-killing program. It sounds appealing, but it could do more harm than good.
Mike Rogers

No Shortage of Headlines for House Intelligence Chair

The Michigan Republican must toe a fine line between his role as a representative and communicator for the public and his advisory role on sensitive national-security issues.
Drone

6 Ways to Use Domestic Drones

The 30,000 drones expected to fly in United States airspace within the decade will look a great deal different from the Predator and Reaper drones you may be used to hearing about.
Charles Schumer

Could Chuck Schumer Be Well-Set to Chair Senate Banking Committee?

The departure of Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson after 2014 could set off a future chain of musical chairmanships. One of the leading contenders for the influential post is the chamber’s No. 3-ranking Democrat,  Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York. Could the "senator from Wall Street" become the "chairman from Wall Street?"
stealth combat drone demonstrator Neuron

When the Whole World Has Drones

The precedents the U.S. has set for robotic warfare may have fearsome consequences as other countries catch up.
Drones

Invasion of the Drones Has Senate Panel’s Attention

Like it or not, drones are coming to American skies. Now Congress must find a way to protect the right to privacy.

Ethics: Full Probes Into Reps. Rob Andrews, Don Young

The House Ethics Committee announced Tuesday it was opening full-scale investigations of two lawmakers, Rep. Rob Andrews, D-NJ, and Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, for the alleged use of official or campaign resources for personal purposes.

National Security Insiders: It's Possible for Congress to Oversee Drone Program

Plus: A narrow majority says Chuck Hagel will be a good Defense secretary.
Gov. Mike Beebe

Why the Republican Plan to Reform Medicare Could Really Make It More Expensive

Republicans like Paul Ryan want more market competition in federal health care programs. Trouble is, those plans don't save money.
Draganflyer X6

The Wonderful World of Drones

Fighting fires, reducing crime, counting sea lions: the case for domestic UAVs.
Paul Volcker

What's Behind the Endless Delays on New Rules for Wall Street?

Just over one-third of the roughly 400 required rule-makings under the Dodd-Frank financial-reform law have been finalized. Why the holdup?
Laura Richardson

Past Deadline, Laura Richardson Still Hasn’t Paid Her Ethics Fine

Laura Richardson has a troublesome new debt—this time with the ethics authorities.

What's On the Chopping Block in Energy & Environment Policy?

As the sequester's across-the-board cuts go into effect and Washington stares down a month's end deadline to pass legislation to keep the government running, what's at stake for energy and environment policy?
Sen. Rand Paul

Rand Paul: 'We Shouldn't Be Crisscrossing the Skies With Drones'

The senator is concerned about the administration's use of drones for surveillance—and targeted killing—in the U.S.
Rand Paul

Rand Paul Pledges to Hold Up Brennan’s CIA Nomination Until He Gets Answers on Drones

Sen. Rand Paul sees it as a very simple question, which could easily be answered with a “yes” or a “no”: Can the Obama administration authorize the use of lethal force—such as a drone strike—against a U.S. citizen on American soil?
Jacob Lew

Few Know Jack Lew's Views on Big Bank Laws As His Confirmation Moves Through Senate

So far, the Senate proceedings on President Obama’s nominee for Treasury secretary, Jacob Lew, have been surprisingly free of political fireworks, which could pave the way for a confirmation vote by the end of the week.
Barbara Lee

Vote Ratings: Black Caucus May Flex More Influence

As Democrats prepare to flex what may be reinvigorated muscle this congressional session, the Congressional Black Caucus could be positioned to gain increased attention both from President Obama and congressional leaders.
Rep. Steve Israel

Why Democrats Think They Can Retake the House in 2014

In a memo sent to House Democrats on Friday, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Steve Israel said the caucus is in a stronger political position to start the 2014 campaign than in either of the last two cycles -- an argument aimed at rebutting the hardening belief in Washington...
Reid

6 (More) Reasons Why Americans Hate Washington

In a moment of eloquence almost unprecedented in the malapropistic career of Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader said Thursday, “Just when you thought things couldn’t get worse, it gets worse.”
Obama

Obama Vows Openness on Drones – But Will He Follow Through?

In his State of the Union address, President Obama promised to go further to make the administration’s targeted-killing program more transparent. But some experts have their doubts.

Watchdog Finds Well-Oiled Revolving Door Linking SEC and Industry

Former SEC employees routinely helped companies overseen by the securities regulator to influence rulemaking, soften enforcement actions, and secure exemptions from federal law, according to a report that will be released Monday by the Project On Government Oversight.
John Brennan

A Tale of Two Confirmation Hearings

Just a week after Chuck Hagel's train wreck, John Brennan's hearing to become CIA director offers a stark contrast.
Brennan

John Brennan’s Love-Hate Relationship With Drones

The CIA nominee wants to dump the drones program on the Pentagon, but Defense nominee Chuck Hagel won't be happy about that.
Robert Menendez

Bob Menendez Spent Up to 87 Percent of Wealth Paying Back Donor

When Robert Menendez arrived in the U.S. Senate in 2006, he was a relative pauper in a chamber often called a millionaires’ club. The New Jersey Democrat ranked 97th out of 100 senators in terms of his personal wealth, according to financial records filed that year and compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics.
Drone

Insiders: White House Should Develop Rules for Drone Program

A strong 87 percent majority of National Journal's National Security Insiders say that the White House should develop formal rules for the drone program targeting terrorists overseas.
Predator Drone

When Can the U.S. Kill Americans? The White House Won't Say.

The administration refuses to say why it thinks it can kill American terrorists abroad—even to the lawmakers entitled to know.
GolmacherOpener

The Waxman-Berman Machine Finally Shuts Down

For more than two decades in Southern California, if you wanted to run for office, you had to deal with the team of Howard Berman and Henry Waxman. That era is officially over with Berman’s loss last fall.
Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold

We Need to Talk About Mental Health Even If It's Only a Sideshow to the Gun Control Debate

Even if Republicans focus on mental health as a way to shy away from addressing new gun laws, the attention to treatment and research is welcome.
Inauguration day

Austerity, Not Default, Is Now the Only Threat to America's Economy

Hooray, we're not a banana republic! But we still might become Europe.
Steven Chu

The Education of Steven Chu

The Nobel physicist was brought in to transform the energy economy, but faced political battles.

What Treasury's 'Least Harmful' Debt-Ceiling Response Looks Like

If Congress misses the deadline for raising the country's borrowing limit, the Treasury Department may start playing catch-up on the nation's bills.
Play of the Day! 1-17-13

Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms: A 'Traditional Southern Wedding Gift'

Last night, The Daily Show addressed the declawed Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, which has not had a director confirmed by Congress in six years. "The ATF hasn't been completely deballed," Jon Stewart said. "Thanks to the First Amendment, they still do have a YouTube cha...

Should America Exploit Energy Exports?

How--if at all--should the United States take advantage of fossil-fuel exports? President Obama has cited energy exports in two recent interviews. "The United States is going to be a net exporter of energy because of new technologies and what we're doing with natural gas and oil," Obama said in an...
Wall Street

Is Jack Lew A Friend to Wall Street?

Like Tim Geithner, the new Treasury nominee may owe his views to Robert Rubin. So don't expect him to pursue much in the way of bank reform.
Capitol

House GOP Told to Stick Around For Rest of New Year's Eve

House Republicans emerged Monday night from a closed-door meeting with Speaker John Boehner, saying they’d been given no details of the potential deal, but were told not to stray far from the Capitol for the rest of New Year’s Eve.
Damage At The United States Consulate in Libya

Benghazi-gate May Be Drawing Down

If you’ve been following the political fallout from the Benghazi, Libya, terrorist attack that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens, you’ll remember the last public hearing on Capitol Hill in mid-October. That House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing lasted four hours and was dominated by mudslinging and accusations on all sides. Republicans excoriated their Obama administration's witnesses for delaying to call the Sept. 11 assault a terrorist attack, as Democrats fired back at Republicans for conducting an extremely partisan investigation. On the witness stand, State Department official Charlene Lamb looked shaky as Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., insinuated that the department's decision to replace U.S. personnel with local Libyan security may have ultimately resulted in the casualties in the attack.
Lincoln screening

'Lincoln' Cast and Crew Visit Capitol For Special Screening

This fiscal cliff chatter sure is getting tiresome. So senators likely welcomed a bipartisan break to enjoy a screening of Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln” in the Capitol Visitor Center tonight.

Home Grown STEMs

Republicans and Democrats agree that the country needs more science and engineering graduates--STEM geeks, if you will. They also agree that foreigners who are earning those degrees at U.S. universities should be able to stay here and fill the need for skilled workers. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., posited that each visa given to a foreign graduate student in a STEM field would create three jobs. President Obama wants to staple green cards to their diplomas.

Will We Have a Serious Discussion About Premium Support?

Mitt Romney's selection of Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., as his running mate has brought his Medicare reform proposal to the front of the presidential campaign. Polling in February suggested that while Americans strongly prefer the Medicare status quo, they also know little about the details of what premium support means or how it would work. Does the Ryan selection mean either of those things will change by election day?
Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko

NRC Chairman Jaczko Goes on Offense

The embattled chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Gregory Jaczko, went before reporters on Friday to deny allegations that he has created a hostile work environment—especially for women—that has undermined oversight of the nation’s nuclear-power industry.
Tommy Beaudreau

Back to His Roots in Energy

On a recent trip to Anchorage, Alaska, Tommy Beaudreau stopped by the sledding hill near his elementary school. “I remember thinking it was like Everest,” he said. Today, that hill looks like a beginner’s slope to Beaudreau.
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