The Week: Most Recent :

Smaller jobs bill

The Week — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 11:19:10 -0500

Senators outlined an $85 billion jobs bill, but Majority Leader Harry Reid quickly replaced it with a stripped-down $15 billion alternative. The original measure was a rare bipartisan effort crafted by Democrat Max Baucus and Republican Charles Grassley. But Reid scrapped it, fearing voter reaction to such pork-laden provisions as billions in corporate tax breaks and agricultural assistance for Arkansas.

The new legislation offers incentives for investment in public-works projects, and a tax credit for companies that hire people who have been unemployed for at least 60 days. “In the states...

Credit card overhaul

The Week — Thu, 21 May 2009 05:44:26 -0400

Congress overwhelmingly passed legislation to rein in credit card interest rates and fees—the largest overhaul of consumer-borrowing rules in decades. The bill would largely bar credit card issuers from raising interest rates until a borrower is at least 60 days past due, and would require the rate to be restored if payments were on time for six months. It would also bar penalties on borrowers who exceed their credit limit, unless the borrower had agreed to the fees.

Companies warned that the legislation could force banks to issue fewer credit cards, and that credit would be harder to come...

Social Security shortfall, and more

The Week — Thu, 14 May 2009 04:20:59 -0400

Social Security shortfall
The Social Security Trust Fund will run out of money in 2037, four years earlier than previously estimated. The updated figure comes from a new report from the Social Security trustees, which blames recession-induced layoffs for cutting into the payroll tax receipts that support the fund. Social Security is currently in surplus but will shrink rapidly as the baby boom population ages.

Antitrust muscle
In a sharp change of direction, the Obama administration will take a hard line on antitrust cases, the Justice Department’s chief antitrust official said. Assistant Attorney...

Targeting tax havens, and more

The Week — Thu, 07 May 2009 04:47:34 -0400

Targeting tax havens
President Obama has proposed outlawing offshore tax-avoidance techniques that U.S. corporations use to avoid billions in taxes. Obama called for limits on corporations’ ability to defer U.S. taxes on foreign profits and to shift profits to low-tax countries, out of reach of U.S. tax collectors. U.S.-based multinationals paid $16 billion in taxes on foreign profits of $700 billion in 2004—a 2.3 percent tax rate. The top corporate tax rate is 35 percent.

Pentagon propaganda
In a rare retraction, the Pentagon’s internal watchdog has withdrawn a report that cleared...

Ruling on dirty words, and more

The Week — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 05:17:42 -0400

Ruling on dirty words
Broadcasters who air profanity on live programs may be punished even if the vulgarities are brief and unscripted, the Supreme Court ruled. The 5–4 ruling came in a case pitting the FCC against Fox Broadcasting, which argued that such “fleeting obscenities” had no sexual implications. But Justice Antonin Scalia wrote in the majority opinion that “even when used as an expletive, the F-word’s power to insult and offend derives from its sexual meaning.”

Cyber warfare
Government policies on cyber warfare are poorly thought-out and lack adequate...

New stem-cell research rules, and more

The Week — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 09:29:24 -0400

New stem-cell research rules
The White House last week issued new rules on stem-cell research but left in place some Bush-era restrictions on government funding. The guidelines would allow federal financing for research on stem cells derived from surplus embryos at fertility clinics. But the guidelines would still bar federal funding for research on cells created solely for research purposes and on embryos created through a technique known as therapeutic cloning.

Bailout fraud inquiries
A government watchdog has launched nearly 20 criminal investigations related to the government’s $700...

Drug offenders and race, and more

The Week — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 10:19:17 -0400

Drug offenders and race
For the first time in 25 years, the number of blacks in state prisons for drug offenses declined, while the number of white drug offenders rose sharply. The number of black drug offenders fell 21.6 percent from 1999 to 2005—the last year for which data is available—according to the Sentencing Project, a public-policy group. The population of white drug offenders rose 42.6 percent. Experts cited a decline in racial profiling and the waning of the crack cocaine epidemic.

Warning on hate groups
The recession could spark a surge in “right-wing extremist activity...

Pentagon spending shake-up

The Week — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 09:37:02 -0400

Defense Secretary Robert Gates unveiled a proposed military budget that radically revamps the Pentagon’s priorities, shifting funds away from high-tech weapons systems and toward programs to enhance the military’s ability to fight unconventional wars. The budget proposal calls for eliminating the Air Force’s F-22 Stealth fighter, eight advanced Army armored vehicles, and the next generation of Navy cruisers and destroyers. It would increase spending on intelligence gathering, special-operations forces, and unmanned aerial vehicles.

The budget, which increases overall military spending...

Decision in Minnesota race, and more

The Week — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 11:14:23 -0400

Decision in Minnesota race
The long-running dispute over the Minnesota Senate race between Republican incumbent Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken has moved closer to resolution. A panel of three state judges agreed this week to open and count about 400 new absentee ballots—far fewer than the 928 ballots Coleman had sought to count in an effort to close his 225-vote deficit. Analysts said the decision probably sealed Franken’s victory, though Coleman has vowed to appeal.

Loan forgiveness
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has proposed forgiving $831 million in emergency loans to...

Targeting CO2, and more

The Week — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 03:27:58 -0400

Targeting CO2
The Environmental Protection Agency declared global warming a threat to human health, the first step toward nationwide regulation of carbon-dioxide emissions. The decision lays the legal groundwork for restrictions on emissions from automobiles and utilities. During the Bush administration, EPA scientists had recommended regulating CO2, but were overruled by then–agency chief Stephen Johnson.

FAA nomination
The White House is expected to nominate former commercial-
pilot union chief Randy Babbitt to be the next head of the Federal Aviation Administration. As head of the Air Line...

Obama names first judge, and more

The Week — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 09:24:17 -0400

Obama names first judge
President Obama this week announced his first judicial nomination, tapping federal District Judge David Hamilton to serve on the appeals court in Chicago. Hamilton, who served as counsel to Indiana Gov. Evan Bayh, has the backing of Indiana Republican Sen. Richard Lugar. But conservative groups vowed to oppose his nomination, citing his "extreme'' ruling that Indiana's legislature couldn't open sessions by saying overtly Christian prayers.

Ponzi victims bailout
Victims of Ponzi schemes can immediately deduct up to 95 percent of their losses under new Internal Revenue...

Funding the government

The Week — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 09:27:16 -0400

Funding the government
President Obama signed a $410 billion bill to fund the government through September 2009, with federal spending boosted by 8 percent over last year. The final hurdle to the bill was cleared by a 62–35 Senate vote, with eight Republicans crossing party lines. The bill marks a sharp shift from the Bush administration, with large increases for food aid to the poor, green-energy research, and health care.

The measure was delayed after Republicans assailed what they said were 7,991 items, totaling $5.5 billion, earmarked for specific congressional districts. They noted that...

CIA tape destruction, and more

The Week — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 09:52:00 -0500

CIA tape destruction
Government lawyers revealed that the CIA destroyed 92 tapes of interrogations of prisoners suspected of terrorism, far more than had been previously acknowledged. The admission came in response to a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, which is seeking information about the Bush administration’s use of harsh interrogation techniques. The CIA said it was gathering information about the interrogations and would release it to the court.

New contracting rules
President Obama unveiled reforms to the federal contracting process that he claimed would save $40...

Labor secretary confirmed, and more

The Week — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 09:56:41 -0500

Labor secretary confirmed
The Senate confirmed Rep. Hilda Solis of California as labor secretary on an 80–17 vote, after several delays due to Republican objections about her pro-union tilt. Critics also had raised questions about tax liens that had been filed against a business owned by her husband. Solis, 51, the daughter of union activists, received a 97 percent approval rating from the AFL-CIO during her eight years in the House.

Federal money rejected
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said he would refuse $90 million of federal stimulus money because it would ultimately force his state...

U.S. computers vulnerable, and more

The Week — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 09:31:13 -0500

U.S. computers vulnerable
Attacks on U.S. government computer networks increased 40 percent in 2008, a federal panel reported. The U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness team logged 5,488 unauthorized intrusions into government networks, up from 3,928 in 2007. Many attacks, the report said, were from infiltrators attempting to plant malicious software that would allow them to control the computers remotely or steal data.

Gregg changes his mind
New Hampshire Sen. Judd Gregg abruptly withdrew his name from consideration as commerce secretary, saying, “I’m just going to be a little too conservative...

Offshore drilling delay, and more

The Week — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 09:10:52 -0500

Offshore drilling delay
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar this week shelved a Bush administration initiative to open much of the U.S. coastline to oil drilling. Salazar said the drilling plan would be suspended for a 180-day review. He did not rule out allowing some coastal drilling, but said it would have to be part of a comprehensive energy strategy. Oil industry groups criticized the administration’s “unnecessary delay.”

Postal rate hike
The U.S. Postal Service this week announced a 2-cent rise in the price of a first-class postage stamp, blaming “rising costs which are affecting...