One of the big questionmarks for the rest of the lame-duck session is what will become of the farm bill. As lawmakers were leaving last week for their break, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said only that he wanted Congress...
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Photograph by Ty Wright/Bloomberg
Wholesale milk prices may double if a Farm Bill is not passed soon.
Higher Milk Prices: Farm Bill Wake-Up Call?
Photograph by Alex Wong/Getty Images
A Yellow Pages Caucus was formed in Feb. 2012 to try to open up bidding for services performed by the government that can be done by private contractors.
Contractor Pay Cap Reduction Killed
U.S. lawmakers may be looking to reduce the nation’s deficit, but they won’t be taking pay away from employees who work for the government’s army of contractors. Congress has decided to keep reimbursing federal contractors as much as $763,000 annually...
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Photograph by Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo
Russia's Rosoboronexport state arms trader has a contract to supply weapons to Syria, despite international calls to halt arms deliveries to Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime.
Russian Firm Gets Symbolic Ban
U.S. lawmakers last week voted to prohibit Defense Department contracts with a Russian company that supplies weapons to Syria. The lawmakers’ intent was clear: No funds “may be used to enter into a contract” with Rosoboronexport, Russia’s state-run arms dealer,...
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Photograph by Mark Elias/Bloomberg
The prices of the most expensive homes in Miami are increasing at a faster pace than the rest of the market there.
Movin’ On Up in Seattle, Miami
Trying to buy a piece of the pie in Miami or Seattle is becoming more expensive at a faster pace than the rest of the market. The prices of the most expensive homes in Seattle and Miami are increasing at a...
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Photograph by Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
A new poll shows more support for Democratic leaders in the talks, and less for the Republicans.
Gallup: More Americans Expect to Go Over Cliff
A Gallup poll out today shows increasing pessimism that President Barack Obama and Congress will be able to avoid the combination of tax increases and spending cuts known as the “fiscal cliff” by the Jan. 1 deadline. Just 50 percent...
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Photograph by Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg
More than a latte: Starbucks stores across the nation’s capital are busy writing “Come Together” on paper cups and sleeves.
Starbucks Fiscal Advice: Come Together
The Starbucks at 1401 New York Ave NW in Washington — two blocks east of the White House and across from the Treasury Department — believes it’s uniquely positioned to serve up some fiscal advice along with its peppermint mocha...
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Photograph by Rich Clement/Bloomberg
The Port of Baltimore in Maryland, which could be part of the strike on Dec. 29.
Obama Dilemma: Anger Union Allies or Aggravate Cliff’s Recession
If faced with a choice between invoking a law union leaders once called the “slave-labor bill,” or aggravating a recession by allowing shipments of clothing, auto parts and other goods to stop at ports from Maine to Texas at the...
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Photograph by Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images
Housing data has continued to offer a bright spot in an otherwise tepid economic recovery.
Property Value: Biggest Annual Gain Since May 2010, Index Shows
Property values rose more than expected in October, offering holiday cheer to homeowners as lingering fiscal-cliff negotiations threaten to replace champagne with tax increases when Americans ring in the new year next week. The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values in...
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Photograph by Jim Mone/AP Photo
The interlock ignition system which requires the driver to blow into a tube to prove sobriety before driving.
Ignition Interlocks for First-Time DUI Offenders?
AAA, the motorist group with more than 53 million members, is endorsing the National Transportation Safety Board’s call for mandatory use of ignition interlock devices for all drunken-driving offenders. AAA issued its statement five days before New Year’s Eve, which...
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Photograph by Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
President Barack Obama (C) and First Lady Michelle Obama talk with members of the military on Christmas, before departing for Washington on the 26th.
Obama’s Night Flight to Cliff’s Edge
The president is squeezing in one last day in Hawaii before returning to Washington for five days of uncertain talks about taxes and spending with a deadline looming at New Year’s Eve. Air Force One is scheduled for departure at...
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Contributors
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Al Hunt
is a columnist for Bloomberg View and host of the weekly show "Political Capital with Al Hunt" on Bloomberg TV. -
Mark Silva
is deputy managing editor for government news in Washington and editor of Political Capital. He has covered the White House and national politics. -
Emma Fidel
is political editor for Bloomberg.com in Washington. She previously covered financial regulation as a Bloomberg intern. -
Don Frederick
edits political and government coverage for Bloomberg News. He previously worked for more than a decade at the Los Angeles Times' Washington bureau. -
Gregory Giroux
analyzes elections, financing of congressional and presidential elections, political advertising and demographics in Bloomberg's Washington Bureau. -
Julie Bykowicz
covers the influence of money and lobbying in Washington, and covered the state legislature and city crime for the Baltimore Sun for 10 years. -
Jonathan Salant
covers campaign finance and lobbying in Washington. He was president of the National Press Club and started in Washington in 1987. -
Richard Rubin
covers federal tax policy. He worked at Congressional Quarterly and The Charlotte Observer before joining Bloomberg News in 2010. -
Stephanie Green
is a writer and photographer for Bloomberg Muse, the arts and leisure section of Bloomberg News. She has also written for The Washington Post, The Huffington Post and The Washington Times. -
Julie Hirschfeld Davis
is a senior political reporter for the Washington Bureau. She covered the 2012 campaign for Bloomberg News and previously covered the White House for the Baltimore Sun. -
Lisa Lerer
covers the White House and covered the 2012 campaign for Bloomberg News. She covered Congress, lobbying and the 2008 campaign for Politico. -
John McCormick
is a national political reporter looking forward to the 2016 presidential campaign, which will be the fifth he's covered. He's also reported for The Des Moines Register and Chicago Tribune. -
Julianna Goldman
covers the White House for Bloomberg News and Bloomberg Television. -
Hans Nichols
covers the White House for Bloomberg News and Bloomberg Television. -
Margaret Talev
covers the White House for Bloomberg News and covered the White House for McClatchy Newspapers. She has covered California and Florida politics. -
Cary O'Reilly
is Editor at Large at Bloomberg First Word and is Washington Daybook columnist for Bloomberg Government and Bloomberg News.
