Lara Friedman of Americans for Peace Now says a "Dear Colleague" letter from Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) and Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) urging President Obama to back military aid to Israel wrongly implies that he doesn't support it. Full Article at JTA

November 23, 2009 -- Congressman Dan Maffei offered an amendment, with Congressman Brad Sherman, to the Financial Services Committee to Financial Stability Improvement Act of 2009 last week. The amendment passed Committee by a vote of 52-17. Full Article at All American Patriots

A leading House Democrat plans to introduce Thursday a provision that would require those banks deemed "too big to fail" to fund their own insurance fund -- in response to concerns from economists who call the existing proposals that call for smaller... Full Article at Huffington Post

Want to join the conversation? Share your thoughts with other Mailbag readers by clicking here. You also may comment below; post articles yourself at BuzzFlash.net; or send urls for BuzzFlash to post to: www.buzzflash.com/contact/newstip.html. Full Article at BuzzFlash

Sherman said insurance companies must end "discrimination" against pre-existing conditions, the rambunctious crowd cried out in support. Full Article at L.A. Daily News

AIG will skip, for the second straight quarter, the audio presentation and question-and-answer session that accompanied earnings in the past, Christina Pretto, a spokeswoman for the New York-based insurer, said yesterday. Full Article at Bloomberg.com

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- As lawmakers continue to craft a process to dismantle a behemoth insolvent financial institution so that its bankruptcy doesn't cause widespread damage, efforts are underway to give Congress a greater role in deciding... Full Article at MarketWatch

It was a tall order last fall when then-Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson Jr. asked Congress for $700 billion and nearly unilateral power over how to spend it. With the nation on the precipice of economic Armageddon, Paulson's request was granted. Full Article at Mother Jones

U.S.: BOSTON, Oct 30 (IPS) - Big banks will not be forced to downsize and the public will be the last to know when they fail, a controversial bill unveiled by U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Congressman Barney Frank... Full Article at Inter Press Service

Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif. , called parts of the reform package "TARP on steroids," referring to the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program the Treasury has used to prop up ailing banks. Full Article at TechWeb

WASHINGTON, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- Lawmakers and economists have expressed doubts about a major U.S. Treasury Department proposal to regulate future financial crisis. Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif. , called parts of the reform package "TARP on steroids," Full Article at TechWeb

A number of Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee unfurled a laundry list of charges against the proposal, including the prominent concern that the bill would empower the president — and future presidents –with unlimited bailout... Full Article at The Washington Independent

The Obama administration and Rep. Barney Frank, the panel’s chairman, want legislation that would enable federal regulators to identify and monitor big financial firms and step in to wind them down before they collapse. Full Article at Columbus Ledger-Enquirer

WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Thursday that giving the government the "constrained power" to dissolve struggling, extensively interconnected financial firms would prevent future bailouts and protect the economy without putting... Full Article at Austin American-Statesman

That is, with the exception of California Rep. Brad Sherman, who's been rather outspoken in his opposition to the administration's regulatory agenda. Full Article at The New Republic

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner speaks says the legislation will not lead to propped-up firms. Full Article at USA Today

House Democrats introduced legislation Tuesday granting the White House broad new authority to bail out investment houses and other non-banks when their potential collapse is a threat to the larger financial system. Full Article at The Washington Independent

Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), a former accountant and member of the House Financial Services Committee, says the proposed new bailout authority would create a kind-of mutant extension of the Wall Street bailout — the differences being, he maintains,... Full Article at The Washington Independent

Inside the Beltway, the best place to play Laser Shot is (where else?) at the National Rifle Association, where the staff set up a huge screen in the conference room for political fundraising tournaments, complete with trophies for the winner. Full Article at The Hill