Articles About Congress

At the instruction of Congress, the Federal Reserve has released the names of the approximately 21,000 recipients of $3.3 trillion in aid provided during the financial meltdown –without doubt the nation’s worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.  Not surprisingly, two of the top beneficiaries were Bank of America and Wells Fargo, who received approximately […]

Now that the long-awaited data from the 2010 Census has been published, the states are learning which places will gain congressional seats and precious electoral votes — a circumstance that could impact the outcome of the 2012 presidential election.  The U.S. Constitution requires a census count every 10 years to accurately reflect population shifts in […]

Approximately half – 47 percent – of American companies whose sales range from $25 million to $2 billion say they will hire more employees in 2011, according to a Bank of America survey of chief financial officers (CFOs).  The new number represents a significant uptick over the 28 percent who planned to hire new employees […]

With the U.S. unemployment rate rising to 9.8 percent in November,  the Department of Labor is concerned that economic recovery isn’t progressing as quickly as it would prefer.  For the 19th consecutive month, unemployment has stayed above nine percent — the longest streak on record, beating out previous highs in the 1980s.   Despite optimistic predictions […]

Two years after the global financial meltdown and collapse of Lehman Brothers, world leaders seem to have reached an impasse over crucial proposals designed to prevent the same devastating scenario from occurring in the future.  The stalemate is so serious that there may be little chance that needed changes will be made. Executives at the […]

Although foreign investment in United States commercial real estate doubled in the 1st half of 2010 compared with 2009, activity is still sluggish, thanks to the slow economy and a lack of trophy properties offered for sale.  Currently, the United Kingdom is the hottest international destination for investment, according to Jones Lang LaSalle research.  So […]

As the nation’s roads, railways and sewers crumble, President Barack Obama’s proposal to create a $50 billion infrastructure bank is one way to build on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).  According to Margaret Donahoe, Executive Director of the Minnesota Transportation Alliance, “A new multi-year transportation authorization act is almost one year overdue and […]

With the passage of historic financial reform legislation, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is being given the authority to reshape bank regulations, oversee financial markets and create a consumer protection agency.  Few Treasury secretaries will wield this much influence once President Obama signs the new financial overhaul legislation passed by Congress. Geithner’s fingerprints are all over […]

The next item on President Barack Obama’s ambitious agenda is likely to be overhauling Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-backed mortgage firms that so far have cost American taxpayers $145 billion to keep afloat.  The two firms, which own more than half of the nation’s $11 trillion in home mortgages, collapsed along with the […]

By 2050 – just 40 years from now — nearly 16 million Americans will be afflicted with Alzheimer’s Disease.  Surprisingly, there is not yet a national plan to deal with this looming crisis, although one has been proposed on Capitol Hill.  The National Alzheimer’s Project Act (NAPA) would establish an inter-agency advisory council to address […]