In the News

George Vashon broke many barriers as a black man in the 1800s. He was the first black to graduate from Oberlin College, the first black lawyer in New York state and the first professor at Howard University. But there was one barrier he could not break — obtaining a law license in his home state of Pennsylvania, where his application was twice rejected because of his skin color.

by Matthew Jaffe

Seth Wheeler, who designed the Obama administration's foreclosure prevention program, has left his post as a senior advisor at the Treasury Department.

Wheeler, who started at the agency under the Bush regime's Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, has reportedly gone to work for Habitat for Humanity.

He played a key role in crafting the $75 billion Home Affordable Modification Program, which offers incentives to banks to modify the mortgages of struggling homeowners in an effort to help them avoid foreclosure.

by Zenitha Prince

For African Americans and other minorities financial reform is particularly important, advocates, lawmakers and officials said.

"For starters, they've been disproportionately hurt by the current system, which has allowed this ‘go-go' mentality of ‘anything goes,'" said Kathleen Day, spokeswoman for the nonprofit, Center for Responsible Lending. "And as we can see, unfairly targeting specific groups isn't good for anybody … it isn't good for the whole United States."

Like most of her colleagues this week, Rep. Maxine Waters is somewhat somber, reflecting on the life of Dorothy Height.

But the Congresswoman from California also has good reason to celebrate – and she is.

Earlier this week President Obama signed a bill Waters wrote into law. It's a debt relief act for Haiti that will relieve the earthquake-ravaged country of hundreds of millions of dollars  it owes to the United States.

By Bruce Alpert
Washington bureau

A U.S. House committee approved legislation Tuesday that would let property owners buy wind coverage through the National Flood Insurance Program.

The bill, approved 40-25 by the House Financial Services Committee, now goes to the full House, which passed the measure two years ago.

By Kevin Drawbaugh

A bill to overhaul the troubled National Flood Insurance Program, which covers more than five million homes and businesses in flood-prone areas, was approved on Tuesday by a congressional committee.

The bill, if approved in the full House and Senate, would reauthorize the program for five years and delay implementation of new rate maps for flood zones so homeowners newly included in a flood zone do not face an immediate new insurance cost.

By Bennett Roth
Roll Call Staff

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When Comcast officials walked into a House hearing earlier this year to address their intention to acquire NBC Universal, their opponents took immediate note of the company's blue-chip support team.

"There was a phalanx of lobbyists around them, well-dressed D.C. lobbyists," said Liz Rose, a spokeswoman with Free Press, a nonprofit group that opposes the sale. "It was a Who's Who in communication circles."

By Dr. Boyce Watkins

I listened in on a White House conference call today being hosted by Dr. Cecilia Rouse, a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisors. I agreed with the reasons for the call, given that African-Americans have been hit the hardest by the economic crisis. Some might argue that we have the most to gain if the financial reforms are actually passed. I agree with that assessment.