The European Central Bank (ECB) today announced more than $2 billion in borrowing from the Federal Reserve's currency swap line, the highest amount since the U.S. central bank reopened this facility in May 2010.
The increased borrowing comes amidst reports that the private foreign currency market is chilling, with the cost of European banks obtaining dollars on the rise. While the conditions are not nearly as bad as they became during the 2008 financial crisis, when foreign exchange markets froze and Fed currency swaps with foreign central banks rose to $586 billion, the increasing amounts are another indicator ...
Continue readingEthics Link Line-Up
The party may be over, but the investigation is just beginning. The House Ethics Committee confirms that it is investigating... View Article
Continue readingScandal Plagued Lawmakers Win and Lose
In some ways it is unbelievable to think that a candidate for the United States Senate, fresh off of seven... View Article
Continue readingEarmarks and Politics
Earmarks have become a key issue in the August 26 GOP primary for Alaska’s lone U.S. House seat. Little wonder,... View Article
Continue readingDon Young’s A-Team
Murdock, Hannibal, Face, and B.A. Baracus? Not that A-Team. Josh Marshall got his hands on the “Intern’s Survival Guide” for... View Article
Continue readingGetting to the Bottom of Coconut Road
Do lawmakers really want to get to the bottom of the Coconut Road earmark? It looks more and more doubtful by the minute. The story of Coconut Road is one of those earmark stories where a congressman, Alaska Rep. Don Young, inserted an earmark for a campaign contributor in Florida for a project that the local community, in Florida mind you, not Alaska, did not want. Even worse, the earmark was inserted after the transportation bill it was attached to had passed Congress. Bills can't be signed by the President if they've been edited after passage. That's against the rules, laws, and the Constitution. So yesterday, lawmakers in the Senate decided they were going to pursue action against those who inserted the earmark language after bill passage.
Continue readingDon Young Doesn’t Know
Rep. Don Young has been on the hot seat ever since he sponsored the infamous Bridge to Nowhere earmark. Since then he has come under investigation for more things than any other sitting member of Congress. Young faces an FBI investigation into his participation in fishing and golfing events with VECO oil executives; he is receiving scruting for the hiring of his former aide Mark Zachares, who has pled guilty, by Jack Abramoff; and fellow Republicans are seeking an investigation into his inclusion of an earmark for Coconut Road in Florida - which happens to be a long ways from Alaska. In the face of all these difficulties Young sat down with reporters to discuss his reelection campaign, but reporters wanted to talk about something else. If you want to see what an arrogant stone wall looks like, you should follow the link and watch this interview. It's a doozy.
Don Young's KTVA Interview Video.
Continue readingOil, Politics, & Bribes
Last Friday, PBS' NOW with David Brancaccio covered the VECO Alaska oil corruption scandal. If you're new to the scandal that has enveloped these non-continental politicians and is creeping up on Sen. Ted Stevens and Rep. Don Young this video is the place to start. Below is a 6 minute clip from the full video. Watch the full video here.
Continue readingGetting Serious About Earmarks
Looks like our colleagues over at Taxpayers for Common Sense are getting fed up about earmarks. In the case of Rep. Don Young’s $10 million earmark to benefit a Florida political contributor, they have filed a complaint with the House Ethics Committee. TCS raises the question over how the earmark found its way onto the 2005 transportation bill after it had passed both houses of Congress.
Continue readingFriday YouTubes: Earmarking in Congress
Check out this Bill Moyers expose on earmarking in Congress (unfortunately this is not the whole video). Steve Ellis, from Taxpayers for Commonsense, is interviewed and the Sunlight Foundation's earmarking data is used in a graph at the beginning of the video.
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