Washington Week Ahead: January 23rd-27th

U.S. Capitol

Courtesy of DC Tripwire Major Actions This Week: White House On Wednesday, the Obama Administration announced that they would not approve the Keystone XL pipeline. Yesterday, President Obama traveled to Orlando, FL, to announce his initiative to promote tourism in the U.S. as a part of his “We Can’t Wait” campaign of executive actions. Senate [...]

Disapproval of Congress Hits New High: Poll

20110908_obama_congress_jobs

Article by JoAnne Ellen, Reuters A record 84 percent of Americans say they disapprove of the way the Congress is doing its job compared with just 13 percent who approve of how things are going, according to a Washington Post/ABC News public opinion poll published on Monday. The disapproval rating for Congress inched up two [...]

House Defies Obama, Blocks Two-Month Payroll Tax Cut Extension

payroll_tax

Article By Richard Rubin, Bloomberg The U.S. House of Representatives rejected a two-month extension of an expiring payroll tax cut, escalating a clash with the Senate and President Barack Obama that may result in smaller paychecks for workers in January. In a 229-193 vote, the House requested formal negotiations on a payroll tax cut extension [...]

S&P’s Credit Downgrade Lacks Substance; Investors Demand U.S. Treasuries, Dollar Gains 8.6% Since August

iQzxYXpt_qUw

Article By Zeke Faux and John Detrixhe, Bloomberg Four months after Standard & Poor’s stripped the U.S. of its AAA credit rating and said the world’s biggest economy was no longer the safest of borrowers, dollar- denominated financial assets are doing nothing but appreciating. Government bonds have returned 4.4 percent, the dollar has gained 8.6 percent [...]

Senate Passes Two-Month Payroll Tax Cut Extension

tax_factsheet

Article By Richard Cowan and Rachelle Younglai, Reuters The Senate overwhelmingly passed the legislation by a vote of 89-10. It is expected to be voted on by the House of Representatives next week, and if approved, will then go to Obama for his signature. The measure also would extend long-term unemployment benefits for another two [...]

Census Bureau: 1 in 2 Americans are Poor or Low-Income

homeless

Article By Hope Yen, Associated Press Squeezed by rising living costs, a record number of Americans — nearly 1 in 2 — have fallen into poverty or are scraping by on earnings that classify them as low income. The latest census data depict a middle class that’s shrinking as unemployment stays high and the government’s safety net [...]

Public Confidence in Congress Plunges to New Lows

images-1

Article By Thomas Ferraro and Richard Cowan, Reuters The United States on Wednesday faced the prospect of an imminent government shutdown for the third time this year as a year-end fight between Republican and Democratic lawmakers in Congress over taxes and spending turned nastier. Democrats, led by President Barack Obama, are refusing to sign off [...]