CONGRESS

President Barack Obama is paying a price for a recession that began before he took office, and fellow Democrats have started to balk at his legislative agenda and demand greater efforts to create jobs.

U.S. congress has begun investigating climate scientists whose emails and documents were hacked into to see if their global warming theories have misrepresented the truth behind the cause of climate change. Investigators have begun studying the 1,079 e-mails and over 3,800 documents that were hackers stole last week from the Climate Research Unit (CRU) at East Anglia University in the U.K, Rep. Darrel Issa from California told the Wall Street Journal.

Executives from two major oil companies told Congress on Thursday that the U.S. government should open more offshore areas to oil and natural gas drilling so America can rely less on foreign suppliers.

The United States must combat China's trade-distorting industrial and currency policies with U.S. trade laws and by using the World Trade Organization, a congressional advisory body said on Thursday.

The U.S. Congress edged closer on Wednesday to creating new government powers to break up giant financial firms, which Europe is already doing, while a U.S. derivatives market crackdown got more complicated.

The U.S. House Financial Services Committee voted on Wednesday to approve a proposal that would empower government regulators to break up large financial firms that threaten economic stability.

A senior U.S. lawmaker unveiled a much-anticipated proposal on Wednesday that would empower government regulators to break up financial firms that pose a risk to economic stability.

Some of the world's largest financial firms on Monday urged a top U.S. lawmaker not to pursue big bank break-up legislation, an idea attracting interest in Congress and causing alarm on Wall Street.

The U.S. Congress approved more aid for jobless workers and broadened tax breaks for homebuyers and businesses on Thursday and sent the measure to President Barack Obama to sign into law.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is expected to urge the United States to take bold action to combat global warming in a speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, a month before a U.N. climate summit.

Democratic leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives unveiled a bill on Thursday to reform the U.S. healthcare system, President Barack Obama's main domestic objective.

The Obama administration's new proposal for tackling financial risk in the U.S. economy, unveiled just two days ago, came under attack on Thursday from Congress and regulators, with questions raised about its funding and scope.

The Obama administration's new proposal for tackling financial risk in the U.S. economy, unveiled just two days ago, came under attack on Thursday from all sides, with critics targeting its funding and scope.

The Obama administration made gains on Tuesday in its push for U.S. financial reform, unveiling a landmark bill to tackle systemic risk in the economy and winning congressional committee approval for a measure to expose hedge funds to more government scrutiny.

Federal Reserve Chief Ben Bernanke, seeking policy solutions to manage financial risks as the nation exits a severe economic crisis, on Friday stressed the critical need for Congress take action to tighten finance laws and give greater powers to the government's financial supervisors.

Big banks took a beating from government on Thursday, both in the U.S. Congress where lawmakers backed tougher industry rules, and from U.S. and UK regulators who moved aggressively to restrain bankers' pay.

Democrats in the U.S. Congress moved on Wednesday to repeal the health insurance industry's exemption from antitrust laws, cranking up the pressure in a growing battle over President Barack Obama's healthcare reform plans.

Mexico's lower house finance committee approved on Tuesday raising value-added tax and high-earner income tax rates as part of a government plan to reduce the country's dependence on waning oil revenues.

Two Bank of America directors have been asked to testify before Congress on the bank's acquisition of Merrill Lynch and ensuing fallout, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday.

A key U.S. congressional committee approved new rules for the largely unpoliced $450-trillion derivatives market on Thursday in a win for the Obama administration.

Congress will soon probe executive compensation at companies such as American International Group Inc and Bank of America Corp receiving significant taxpayer funds, the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform panel said on Wednesday.