Sen. Charles Schumer

Despite growing public support for a government-backed insurance option to compete with private insurers, a Senate panel on Tuesday twice beat back Democratic efforts to create such a plan.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) got off to a rocky start in her relationship with her state’s Hispanic community, but on the day President Obama nominated Judge Sonia Sotomayor to be the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice, Gillibrand wants you to know she recommended Sotomayor for the job.
When New York Gov. David Patterson appointed Gillibrand [...]

It sure looked last week like allowing bankruptcy judges to modify mortgage loans and keep people in their homes finally was getting somewhere. After two years of opposing any such move, Citigroup announced it was getting on board with the idea, with some limitations. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) praised the bank’s “courage” and predicted others [...]

Housing advocates have been pushing for years, without success, for changes in federal law to allow bankruptcy judges to modify mortgages. The idea was a non-starter during the Bush Administration, since lenders strongly opposed it. But American Banker (subscription required) reports today that lawmakers may have reached a comprise allowing the mortgage modifications in some [...]