Chuck Schumer

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Bush Blames Congress for Economic Sloth

Urges housing, energy action, chides Dems' 'political statements'

(Newser) - President Bush conceded that “it’s a very slow economy” one day ahead of possibly ugly GDP numbers, the New York Times reports, and said Congress is dragging its feet on gas prices, the mortgage crisis, farm subsidies and student loans. The Democratic-controlled legislature should be “sending me...

Gov't Will Do 'What It Takes' for Economy: Paulson

Treasury secretary backs Reserve's move to uphold Bear Stearns

(Newser) - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson vowed today to do “what it takes” to uphold a weak economy, the AP reports. “No one is debating the fact that this economy has slowed way down,” he said on the Sunday show circuit. "We feel it, we know it, the...

Can Spitzer Hurt Clinton?
Can Spitzer
Hurt Clinton?
OPINION
Mar 11, 2008 3:40 PM CDT

Can Spitzer Hurt Clinton?

Fellow New Yorker's fall from grace is an unwanted distraction, unpleasant reminder

(Newser) - Will the Eliot Spitzer scandal hurt fellow New York Democrat Hillary Clinton, who's all too familiar with the travails of philandering men? Writers are weighing in:
  • Clinton had trouble securing Spitzer's endorsement, writes John Nichols in the Nation, and now, "He is a distraction—the big player in her
...

Bomb Dogs Will Ride Amtrak
Bomb Dogs Will Ride Amtrak
Feb 19, 2008 5:33 AM CST

Bomb Dogs Will Ride Amtrak

Security stepped up on nation's rail system

(Newser) - Amtrak is stepping up security, with random screening of carry-on bags and security teams packing machine guns and leading bomb-sniffing dogs patrolling platforms and trains, reports AP. The new system, beginning this week, echoes stricter security procedures at the nation's airports. Amtrak insists there should be no additional departure delays...

Merrill's $15B Write-Down Nearly Doubles Estimate

Latest loss, driven by mortgage woes, dwarfs original figure

(Newser) - Merrill Lynch will announce $15 billion in losses stemming from mortgage investments, figure twice its earlier forecast, the New York Times reports. The firm is expected to raise $4 billion quickly from outside investors. New CEO John Thain, who has already sold a $5.6 billion stake to a Singapore...

Senate Votes to Aid At-Risk Homeowners

Bill, approved 93-1, would allow feds to back refinanced loans

(Newser) - In an attempt to quell the ongoing housing crisis, the Senate approved a bill today that would allow the Federal Housing Administration to back refinanced loans for the thousands in danger of defaulting on mortgages. The bill, which passed 93-1, also repositions the FHA as an attractive alternative to subprime...

Bush to Cut Anti-Terror Funding
Bush to Cut Anti-Terror Funding
Dec 1, 2007 5:45 PM CST

Bush to Cut Anti-Terror Funding

Proposal to ax port, transit security sparks bipartisan ire

(Newser) - Bush plans to cut counterterror funds in half next year, nixing port and transit security plans altogether, the AP reports. The drop from $3.2 billion to $1.4 billion would slash police, fire, and rescue budgets nationwide—and run counter to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff's vow of less...

Dems: Hidden Costs Double Price of War

$1.5T price tag on Iraq, Afghanistan tallies to $20,000 per family

(Newser) - The costs of waging war in Iraq and Afghanistan is actually $1.5 trillion, Democrats say in a report out today—far above the $802 billion spent or appropriated by Congress. Citing "hidden costs" such as higher oil prices, veterans' care, and interest on war debt, the report estimates...

Senate Confirms Mukasey as AG
Senate Confirms Mukasey as AG
Nov 8, 2007 10:32 PM CST

Senate Confirms Mukasey as AG

Bush nominee overcomes waterboarding flap

(Newser) - The Senate tonight approved retired judge Michael Mukasey to be the next attorney general, AP reports. Mukasey, whose refusal to declare that waterboarding is illegal nearly torpedoed his nomination, will replace Alberto Gonzales. "This is the only chance we have," said Dianne Feinstein before the 53-40 vote, referring...

Mukasey Would Enforce New Torture Law, Senator Says

Schumer helps AG nomination move ahead

(Newser) - Michael Mukasey has told Chuck Schumer he would enforce a law specifically prohibiting waterboarding and other torture practices, the senator writes in today's Times. The AG nominee's personal assurance and respect for the rule of law earned him the New York Democrat’s support in this morning's 11-8 Judiciary Committee...

2 Key Dems Support Mukasey
2 Key Dems Support Mukasey
Nov 2, 2007 5:05 PM CDT

2 Key Dems Support Mukasey

Schumer, Feinstein will vote to confirm AG nominee

(Newser) - Despite controversy over Michael Mukasey's cagey responses to questions about waterboarding and torture, Charles Schumer and Dianne Feinstein will vote to confirm the AG nominee, the Democratic senators said this afternoon. Their votes, along with Republican committee members', are expected to tip the scales in Mukasey's favor and send his...

Bush Names Mukasey for AG
Bush Names Mukasey for AG
Sep 17, 2007 10:24 AM CDT

Bush Names Mukasey for AG

Choice of retired federal judge seen as effort to avoid confirmation fight

(Newser) - President Bush nominated retired federal judge Michael B. Mukasey today as attorney general. Seen as a compromise that would avoid abrasive confirmation struggles but still maintain DoJ’s law-and-order mindset, the choice comes after Democrats vowed to block the more controversial Ted Olson, reports the New York Times.

Federal Judge to Replace Gonzales
Federal Judge to Replace Gonzales
Sep 17, 2007 2:30 AM CDT

Federal Judge to Replace Gonzales

Compromise candidate will be named attorney general

(Newser) - President Bush  is expected to announce the appointment of retired New York federal judge Michael B. Mukasey  as attorney general, reports the Washington Post. Mukasey, 66, is considered an authority on national security issues and is a law-and-order conservative. He is also seen as someone who could be confirmed without...

Bush to Congress: Not So Fast
Bush to Congress:
Not So Fast
Aug 3, 2007 3:40 PM CDT

Bush to Congress: Not So Fast

Prez calls on vacation-bound lawmakers to pass reform of eavesdropping law

(Newser) - Congress shouldn't go on vacation until it approves reforms to the current laws on government eavesdropping, President Bush said today. Lawmakers are working on a bill that would update the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act so that the US could spy on terror suspects overseas more effectively without impinging on...

DNI Exposes Broader Spying
DNI Exposes Broader Spying
Aug 1, 2007 4:42 PM CDT

DNI Exposes Broader Spying

Gonzales still under fire for perjury

(Newser) - The executive branch has had more authority to spy on citizens than yet reported, the Washington Post revealed today. Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell explained yesterday that the controversial NSA warrantless wiretapping and data mining program was only one element in a broader series of secret surveillance activities issued...

Schumer Bucks Party on Wall St. Tax Hikes

Leading Dem torn between monied base, middle class

(Newser) - Rejecting populist piety, Chuck Schumer is opposing legislation that would double tax rates for private equity and hedge fund executives, arguing that he’s torn over the measures but contending that they unfairly target an industry critical to his constituency. The New York Times reports the senator, the only Democrat...

Dems Threaten to Pull VP Funds
Dems Threaten to Pull VP Funds
Jun 26, 2007 5:13 AM CDT

Dems Threaten to Pull VP Funds

Pols pressure Cheney to comply with rules requiring justification of classified documents

(Newser) - Angry Democrats are threatening to ax Dick Cheney's budget if the vice president continues to defy regulations on classified documents, the Hill reports. Executive branch agencies are required to provide reports justifying secret documents to an oversight office; Cheney has refused, claiming that his office is neither solely executive nor...

Dems Crank Up Heat on Gonzales
Dems Crank Up Heat on Gonzales
May 18, 2007 7:34 AM CDT

Dems Crank Up Heat on Gonzales

No-confidence vote on the table; US attorney hit list keeps growing

(Newser) - Alberto Gonzales will face a non-binding motion of no confidence in the Senate as soon as next week, intensifying pressure on the AG to resign. The Washington Post reports today that the list of US attorneys his office considered for dismissal—which Gonzales has testified included just eight names—now...

Senate Backs Troop Pullout Timetable

Bill ties troop funding to March 2008 withdrawal deadline

(Newser) - Democrats in the Senate  pulled off a surprise victory yesterday in their bid to force President Bush to bring troops home from Iraq—deflecting a GOP effort to kill the troop withdrawal plan. The Democrats’ proposal sets a March 2008 deadline for ending the conflict and is folded into a...

Stories 241 - 259 | << Prev