CONGRESS

Even before President Barack Obama announces the details of his jobs plan Thursday night, Republicans are lining up to denounce the proposal and in some cases skip the president's speech altogether. The White House has sought to put the onus for a sagging economy on Congress if lawmakers do not act on the plan.

Nancy Pelosi said that Republican leaders' decision not to deliver a televised rebuttal to President Obama's jobs plan would speak volumes about their lack of commitment to creating jobs.

Despite President Obama rescheduling his jobs speech to Congress at the request of Republicans, several Republicans have announced they won't be attending.

President Barack Obama's anticipated jobs speech is still more than a day away but already it's causing a controversial rift among Republican and Democratic leaders. Republicans have decided not to give a rebuttal to the Obama's speech Thursday before Congress, and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi says the lack of response will be disrespectful to the President and to the American people.

According to the latest POLITICO-George Washington University Background Poll, the political environment is very poor for both President Obama and Congressional Democrats.

The U.S. Postal Service may lose $10 billion this fiscal year ending Sept. 30, and the agency is nearing default. It even has the potential to close, if Congress doesn't step in with help.

U.S. Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe will appeal to Congress Tuesday to help find ways to save the struggling agency, which is nearing default and possibly even facing closure by the end of this year, according to one lawmaker.

Here's a sad tale to tie into Americans: The United States Postal Service, which has been a national institution since Benjamin Franklin was installed in 1775 as the first postmaster general, is going, going, going and almost gone. In fact, one legislator says if Congress doesn't act and do something about the post office's problems, the agency could literally close later this year.

If Congress doesn't deal with problems facing the United States Postal Service when legislators return Sept. 6 from recess America's mail institution will likely default on a $5.5 billion payment due at the end of this month and likely have to shut down this winter, the postmaster general said.

A newly-formed congressional panel on deficit reduction next week will kick off months of arduous negotiations that will be closely watched by financial markets hoping for a deal that puts the United States on an improved fiscal path.

Amid a dismal August jobs report Friday that showed a net zero jobs were created in the U.S. last month, fueling concerns that the nation is heading for another recession, pressure mounts on President Barack Obama ahead of his major jobs speech before Congress on Sept. 8.

President Barack Obama on Wednesday agreed to unveil new jobs proposals in an address to Congress on September 8, bowing to pressure from Republicans, who objected to the original date set for his high-profile speech.

President Barack Obama said on Tuesday there were a range of policy options available that could create up to a million new U.S. jobs, in remarks ahead of a major economic speech that he will deliver next week.

The much-maligned U.S. debt deal is not inconsequential, according to latest budget deficit and economic analysis report from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) -- it slices next year's deficit to $973 billion from $1.28 trillion this year, and it will also lower interest rates.

The most widely held academic background was government and law (34.8 percent) followed by the humanities (20.9 percent). Science and technology accounted for 11.5 percent) .

A vacationing President Barack Obama accused Congress on Saturday of holding back the economic recovery by blocking common sense measures he said would create jobs and help growth.

Groupon Inc will track customers’ location, even if users don’t have Groupon app in their phone, the company said in response to Congressional questions about policies.

Groupon Inc disclosed some details of its plan to offer location-based offers through mobile phones when the largest daily deal company responded on Thursday to Congressional questions about its privacy policies.

The Federal Reserve has no business easing monetary policy further when the real problem facing the economy is fiscal mismanagement in Washington, a top Fed official said on Wednesday.

The arrest of 74-year-old Anna Hazare and the crackdown on the peaceful protest against the tooth-less anti-corruption bill by the Indian government might boomerang against the already troubled government.

Poll reveals that 84% of the country disapproves of Congress.