Will $700B bailout work? We may never know

We may never know whether the government's $700 billion bailout of the financial industry worked, according to a new report from congressional auditors. That's because it will be impossible to sort out which of the government's spending and other tinkering has made a difference, according to the report released Friday by the Government Accountability Office.

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EU may fund private sector financial oversight

The European Commission suggested Monday that the European Union should help fund private-sector financial oversight groups to make them independent of the market.

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Key lawmaker sees action on bailout bill

A key lawmaker said Friday he expects the House to act soon to impose conditions on any new release of the second $350 billion in federal bailout funds, with a mandate that between $40 billion and $100 billion go to help struggling borrowers avoid foreclosure.

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Obama team looks to revamp financial bailout

President-elect Barack Obama's economic team is broadening the mission of the $700 billion bailout for the financial sector, aiming to unfreeze credit for homeowners, consumers, small businesses and local governments.

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Lame duck oversight produces little new info

Four very rich former housing chiefs lined up before a House panel for a fresh spanking over the nation's economic crisis, but one — former Fannie Mae chief executive Daniel Mudd — captured the attention of Rep. Bruce Braley.

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House panel votes to cite Rove for contempt

A House panel voted Wednesday to cite Karl Rove, formerly President Bush's top aide, for contempt of Congress as its Senate counterpart explored punishment for alleged misdeeds by other administration officials.

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Contractors, insurance firms gouging taxpayers, panel says

A poorly run Pentagon program for providing workman's compensation for civilian employees in Iraq and Afghanistan has allowed defense contractors and insurance companies to gouge American taxpayers, a House committee said Thursday.

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Ashcroft: No Conflict on Monitoring Deal

Former Attorney General John Ashcroft denied any conflict of interest Tuesday in getting a multimillion-dollar contract to monitor a corporation accused of bribing surgeons.

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Ashcroft: No Conflict on Monitoring Deal

Former Attorney General John Ashcroft denied any conflict of interest Tuesday in connection with a multimillion dollar arrangement with the Justice Department to monitor a corporation accused of wrongdoing.

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Ashcroft to Testify on Monitor Contracts

Former Attorney General John Ashcroft has agreed to appear at a federal hearing looking into no-bid contracts he and others received to monitor out-of-court corporate settlements.

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Dems Prepare Slew of Oversight Hearings

In this new era of divided government, the congressional hearing room is where the executive and legislative branches will clash.

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So, you know about the Treasury's $700 billion bailout plan. But you probably don't know that the Federal Reserve has lent out about $2 trillion since September. Few do. And that is what's irritating bulldog Congressman Alan Grayson.

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Trust Not - Then Verify (And Don't Forget To Give "The Help" Their Marching Orders)

Forget what the Democrats are telling you. Don't listen to what the Republicans are telling you either. Both groups have axes to grind and are jockeying for position in this new administration.

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"Federal oversight of food safety is becoming more fragmented," causing "inconsistent oversight, ineffective coordination and inefficient use of resources," the GAO reported Thursday.

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There may be some hope for increased oversight and accountability of the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) after all.

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It is clear that the actual and potential losses of the banks are much bigger than hitherto assumed and that some leading banks can survive only on government life support. The recession is also shaping up to be deeper, longer and nastier than any in my lifetime.

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'Because the questions we asked one month ago are important as ever, in this second report we lay out exactly what questions have been answered, what haven't been answered and why these questions are important,' said Elizabeth Warren, the Chair of the Oversight Panel.

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A Do-nothing Congress? Nope, my running tally

Our government has proven one thing to us; we cannot trust them, to earn their yearly increasing pay, pensions, healthcare, stipends, and other perks, represent us, the average citizen. So now, in addition to compensating them very well, we have to babysit them.

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Indeed, McConnell praised his big house colleagues for passing a bill loaded with "sweeteners" that would get a recalcitrant House to change its original no vote, saying "I think a good vote coming out of the Senate will certainly be helpful over on the House side." Now, staring …

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A look at how Las Vegas slots and electronic voting machines compare.

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Times have changed.

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In 2001, a case brought by Wachovia before the Supreme Court proposed less stringent regulation of subsidiaries of parent banks under the federal charter of national banks, seeking less oversight by state regulators and laws in all 50 US states.

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Madoff's alleged $50 billion Wall Street fraud, one of the largest in U.S. history, has devastated non-profit organizations across the United States, particularly Jewish charities.

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Finance has fundamentally changed in America over the past 70 years. But the public oversight and regulation of how money moves and works has lagged far behind, said Joel Seligman.

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On December 19th, Henry Paulson urged Congress to release the second half of the $700 billion of the bailout money. But no one seems know what banks have done with the first $350 billion.

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In the end, Bush administration critics might have more success by digging out the truth about what happened and who was responsible, rather than assigning criminal liability, and letting the court of public opinion issue the verdicts, many say.

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President Bush announced $13.4 billion in emergency loans on Friday to prevent the collapse of General Motors and Chrysler, and said another $4 billion would be available for the hobbled automakers in February.

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Police called to a variety store by a burglar alarm overnight found a toddler inside, playing with the toys.

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Police called to a variety store by a burglar alarm overnight found a toddler inside, playing with the toys.

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In the slow-motion train wreck that became the current economic meltdown, our bipartisan political establishment and the sycophantic punditburo have been wrong over and over and over again.

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The Treasury Department must monitor the recipients of government aid more closely, and must spell out more clearly who qualifies for aid.

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An oversight hearing was held on the Treasury Department's conduct of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and to consider a report by the Government Accountability Office on the Treasury Department's implementation of TARP.

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Draft of Auto Bail-out Bill dated December 8th

[DISCUSSION DRAFT] DECEMBER 8, 2008 110TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R.

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The government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki is systematically dismissing Iraqi oversight officials, who were installed to fight corruption in Iraqi ministries by order of the American occupation administration, which had hoped to bring Western standards of accountabilit …

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The government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki is systematically dismissing Iraqi oversight officials, who were installed to fight corruption in Iraqi ministries.

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What every mother knows about regulation and oversight

Anyone who has cared for a group of four-year olds knows the effect of deregulation and the lack of oversight. It's simple, you put a bunch of 4-year-olds in a room with a jar of chocolate-chip cookies. You leave the room. The kids are going to eat the cookies.

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