Charles Grassley

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Bailout Oversight: 'It's a Mess'
Bailout Oversight:
'It's a Mess'
Nov 13, 2008 8:34 AM CST

Bailout Oversight: 'It's a Mess'

$700B plan operates without watchdog as lawmakers spat

(Newser) - More than one-third of the $700 billion bailout package has been committed, but the program is operating without any government oversight, reports the Washington Post. The provisions intended to monitor the disbursement for corruption and waste are being overlooked, and no one has been nominated to the newly created post...

Japanese Mob Boss Gave $100K to UCLA

Goto rewards hospital after controversial kidney transplant

(Newser) - Suspected Japanese mob boss Tadmasa Goto donated $100,000 to UCLA just months after getting a liver transplant there, the Los Angeles Times reports. Goto was treated in 2001, a year when 186 people died waiting for livers in the LA area alone. The school has confirmed Goto’s donation,...

Critics: Nonprofit Hospitals Unhealthily Rich

Tax breaks not paid back in community benefits

(Newser) - Nonprofit hospitals are making more money than for-profit hospitals, and that has many critics wondering why they get such sweet tax breaks, the Wall Street Journal reports. Seventy-seven percent of nonprofits are making money, with at least 25 pulling in more than $250 million a year. Many are spending that...

2 Probes Launched Into Bear Stearns Deal

Two Senate panels to investigate takeover

(Newser) - The controversial acquisition of Bear Stearns by rival JP Morgan Chase, aided by billions of dollars of government credit, is about to become one of the most scrutinized deals in Wall Street history. Two separate Senate investigations will soon be under way, one by the Banking Committee and another by...

US May Move to Restrict H-1B Visa 'Cheaters'

Demand for skilled labor will fuel another application rush

(Newser) - The US is expecting a record number of applications for H-1B visas—given to highly skilled, specialized foreign workers—and is considering rules to penalize companies that try to improve their chances, ComputerWorld reports. Desperate firms have been known to send more than one application—123, 480 were received last...

Yale Ups Endowment Spending
Yale Ups Endowment Spending
Jan 8, 2008 8:46 AM CST

Yale Ups Endowment Spending

Rich schools slammed for sitting on wealth

(Newser) - Yale will significantly increase spending from its $22.5 billion endowment next year—providing more financial aid and launching new research. The university will draw $1.15 billion from its endowment compared with $843 million last year. The decision comes after Yale and other top universities were criticized for sitting...

Senator Attacks Free-Spending Megachurches

Tax-exempt status at odds with ministers' perks: Grassley

(Newser) - Sen. Charles Grassley thinks big-spending pastors of so-called “megachurches” might be abusing their tax-exempt status, NPR reports. Ministers in these stadium-sized churches preach a gospel of wealth, and practice what they preach—driving Rolls Royces, flying in private jets, living in mansions. “Maybe that's not illegal,” the...

Lawmaker Probes TV Preachers
Lawmaker Probes TV Preachers
Nov 7, 2007 8:18 AM CST

Lawmaker Probes TV Preachers

Says ritzy ways sparked inquiry into six ministries

(Newser) - A top Republican lawmaker is probing six televangelists who have put their opulent lifestyles on display, the AP reports. Rolls Royces, private jets, and a $30,000 table are among the luxuries that sparked Sen. Chuck Grassley's inquiry, he said yesterday. "I don't want to conclude that there's a...

Blackstone Pushes to Delay Tax Increase Bill

If measure won't die, buyout giant wants 10-year grace period

(Newser) - If Blackstone and other buyout firms can't kill a proposed bill that would increase their taxes, they'll try for a 10-year delay in enacting it. Under pressure from lobbyists, lawmakers are discussing doubling the proposed 5-year grace period, Bloomberg reports. The legislation, introduced before Blackstone went public in June, has...

McCain Blames Earmarks for Bridge Disaster

Pet projects diverted funds from transportation safety, says candidate

(Newser) - John McCain blasted fellow legislators yesterday for contributing to the Minnesota bridge collapse by spending billions of taxpayer dollars on pet projects rather than transportation safety. "Maybe if we had done it right, maybe some of that money would have gone to inspect those bridges and other bridges around...

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...

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