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washingtonpost.com - Politics RSS
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In St. Louis area, Obama pounds drum for health-care initiative
ST. CHARLES, MO. -- President Obama made an impassioned case Wednesday for his health-care proposal, delivering a folksy, partisan argument for reform as industry groups prepare a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign to defeat it.
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Nancy Pelosi's office was told of concerns about Eric Massa
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office was notified in October by then-Rep. Eric Massa's top aide of concerns about the New York Democrat's behavior, two congressional sources familiar with the matter said Wednesday night.
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House bans earmarks to for-profit companies
Facing an election-year backlash over runaway spending and ethics scandals, House Democrats moved Wednesday to ban earmarks for private companies, sparking a war between the parties over which would embrace the most dramatic steps to change the way business is done in Washington.
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Key senators balk at adding student loan overhaul to health-care legislation
As they push to finish health-care legislation by the end of the month, Democratic leaders in Congress are weighing whether to add another of President Obama's priorities to the package: a popular proposal to overhaul the federal student loan program.
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Politics, shaky economy create no rush to restructure Fannie and Freddie
The federal government has spent the past half year seeking to roll back its emergency efforts at propping up the financial markets -- with the notable exception of its involvement in mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
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Lawmakers put the 'dead' in health-care reform deadline
Members of Congress do not like to be rushed.
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Haitian president renews call for direct aid from U.S.
Haitian President René Préval pleaded Wednesday for U.S. help plugging a multimillion-dollar budget gap caused by the Jan. 12 earthquake but said he got a cool reception from congressional leaders wary of handing over cash.
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Senate passes $140 billion in tax breaks, aid to unemployed
The Senate approved a $140 billion package of tax breaks and aid to the unemployed Wednesday, the most substantial effort by the chamber to boost the nation's economy since it passed the stimulus bill last year.
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Overworked U.S. Embassy in Kabul straining to meet administration's demands
The U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan, which may soon overtake its counterpart in Iraq as the world's biggest diplomatic mission, is overworked, underappreciated and struggling to meet the demands placed on it by President Obama's new strategy, according to the State Department's inspector general.
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Compromise would shield payday lenders, pawnbrokers and car dealers from oversight
Payday lenders, pawnbrokers, car dealers and other companies that make loans but do not hold bank charters would be shielded from the scrutiny of a proposed federal consumer protection regulator under the terms of a tentative compromise between senators who are attempting to craft a bipartisan bill.
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Patton Boggs is in negotiations to purchase the Breaux-Lott Leadership Group
Washington's biggest lobbying firm is on the verge of getting even bigger. Patton Boggs LLP, which rang up nearly $40 million in lobbying last year, is in negotiations to purchase the Breaux-Lott Leadership Group, according to sources familiar with the talks.
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It's Obama vs. the Supreme Court, Round 2, over campaign finance ruling
President Obama and the Supreme Court have waded again into unfamiliar and strikingly personal territory.
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Obama's plans for NASA changes met with harsh criticism
Harrison Schmitt's credentials as a space policy analyst include several days of walking on the moon. The Apollo 17 astronaut, who is also a former U.S. senator, is aghast at what President Obama is doing to the space program.
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House Ways and Means Chairman Levin says job creation will be top priority
As he takes the reins of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Sander M. Levin is vowing to raise the profile of a once-powerful panel that, in recent years, has been overshadowed by the ethics troubles of its previous chairman, Rep. Charles B. Rangel.
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On health-care reform, Republicans target Democrats' division over reconciliation
As Republicans work to prevent a health-care bill from reaching President Obama, they are scrambling to exploit divisions between Democrats in the House and the Senate.
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House Democrats seek to limit earmarks to show commitment to ethics
Seeking to reclaim the reform mantle amid a series of scandals, House Democratic leaders are advocating a move that would shake up the multibillion-dollar practice of awarding no-bid contracts known as congressional earmarks.
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Lawmakers insist shower run-ins like the one Massa alleges are far from norm
It's no secret that members of Congress broker deals on the treadmill or in the weight room of the House and Senate gyms. But former congressman Eric Massa's accusation that White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel once berated him in the gym's shower over his vote against President Obama's budget left Washington watchers wondering how much business politicians conduct while naked.
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Massa investigated for allegedly groping staffers
Not long after Eric Massa joined Congress in January 2009, several male staff members began to feel uncomfortable with the sexually loaded language their boss routinely used, according to accounts relayed to the House ethics committee.
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