Government policy news and stories by mail.com

Government policy

On economics, foreign policy, Corker eager to act
Republican Sen. Bob Corker is spending a lot of time lately talking to Democrats. The freshman lawmaker from Tennessee unveiled his own 10-year, $4.
Draghi supports Hungary's embattled central bank
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi on Friday defended his Hungarian counterpart against the government's efforts to limit his independence ...
Trade-offs in raising Medicare eligibility age
Americans are living longer, and Republicans want to raise the Medicare eligibility age as part of any deal to reduce the government's huge deficits.
Iran commander claims sanctions are helpful
A senior commander of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard claimed Friday that Western sanctions are helpful because they promote Iranian ...
Analysis: DeMint move defies GOP shift to center
The surprise job change by the Senate's most prominent tea partyer will complicate Republican moderates' bid to nudge their party toward the center ...
Sandy is thought to have slowed US hiring in Nov.
Superstorm Sandy is widely thought to have slowed U.S. job growth last month. The only question is how much — an answer that's expected to emerge ...
Gypsies take curious route through US to asylum
A minivan with California license plates and a dozen passengers zipped across the border between Vermont and Quebec in October, heading north in a ...
Russian trade, human rights bill heads to Obama
A Russian trade and human rights bill cleared Congress and headed for President Barack Obama's signature Thursday, opening new export opportunities ...
Debt limit gives GOP leverage, Obama demands fix
The political fight that took the nation to the verge of defaulting on its debts last year is back, overshadowed by "fiscal cliff" disputes but with ...
Obama seeks to put personal touch on cliff talks
President Barack Obama, trying to put a personal touch on "fiscal cliff" negotiations, visited a northern Virginia family's basement apartment ...
Tensions mount as UN climate talks near end
U.N. climate talks are heading into the final stretch with a host of issues unresolved, including a standoff over how much money financially stressed ...
Illegal immigration drops after decade-long rise
New census data released Thursday affirm a clear and sustained drop in illegal immigration, ending more than a decade of increases. The number of ...
ECB cuts growth outlook for eurozone, holds rates
The European Central Bank warned of another gloomy year for the 17 European Union countries that use the euro, cutting its forecast for economic ...
INSIDE WASHINGTON: Fiscal fight, broken politics
Here we slow again. Washington's leaders are back to form, playing a petty, peevish and dangerous brand of politics. All that's at stake is the fate ...
Key quotes from ECB head Draghi's press briefing
At his monthly news conference following the European Central Bank's policy-setting meeting, President Mario Draghi on Thursday answered questions ...
ECB President Mario Draghi's speech
Ladies and gentlemen, the Vice-President and I are very pleased to welcome you to our press conference. We will now report on the outcome of today's ...
ECB holds rates, may be done with euro stimulus
The European Central Bank left its key interest rate unchanged at a record low Thursday, holding off on further stimulus even as the economy across ...
How far over the 'fiscal cliff' could they go?
The dealmakers who warn that a year-end plunge off the "fiscal cliff" would be disastrous don't seem to be rushing to stop it. Why aren't they ...
Poll shows support for raising taxes on the rich
Americans prefer letting tax cuts expire for the country's top earners, as President Barack Obama insists, while support has declined for cutting ...
Middle East beginning to embrace solar energy
Covering nearly 300 football fields in a remote patch of desert, the Shams 1 solar project carries off plenty of symbolic significance for the United ...
Obama and Boehner discuss fiscal cliff by phone
For the first time in days, President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner spoke by phone Wednesday about the "fiscal cliff" that threatens to ...
Homeland Security grant spending questioned
The Homeland Security Department paid for an underwater robot in a Midwest city with no major rivers or lakes nearby, a hog catcher in rural Texas and ...
Mongolia finds China can be too close for comfort
After years of testy debate, Mongolia broke ground this spring for a railroad that will haul coal across the pebbled Gobi desert to China, but with ...
Ag chair says she's open to more food stamp cuts
The Democratic chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee says she is willing to consider higher cuts to the food stamp program in an effort to ...
Analysis: Obama could risk going over 'cliff'
It may be just a bluff or a bargaining ploy, but the White House is signaling that President Barack Obama is willing to let the country go over the ...