Reuters Politics Summary

Paulson: time not right for second stimulus

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said on Wednesday he did not believe the time was right to consider a second economic stimulus package and would watch the economy closely as tax rebate checks reach the American public. In a television interview on CNN, Paulson said it was not time to take additional steps to aid the U.S. economy such as extending unemployment benefits, as called for by some Democrats in Congress.

Obama tries to move beyond controversy over pastor

INDIANAPOLIS (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama tried on Wednesday to move past a controversy over racially charged remarks by his former pastor and refocus his message on kitchen-table economic issues. Obama's campaign and those of his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, and Republican John McCain all bickered over whether it was a good idea to suspend for the summer the 18.4-cent federal tax on a gallon of gasoline.

Iran complains to U.N. about Clinton comment

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Iran complained to the United Nations on Wednesday about U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's comment the United States could "totally obliterate" Iran in retaliation for a nuclear strike against Israel. Iran's deputy ambassador to the United Nations sent a letter to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the president of the Security Council expressing Iran's condemnation of "such a provocative, unwarranted and irresponsible statement."

Student loan bill advances, Bush will sign

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Wednesday unanimously approved legislation aimed at stabilizing the student loan market and heading off what lenders warn could be a shortage of loans in coming months as millions of college students lock in their finances before heading to school. The bill would temporarily allow the U.S. Education Department to inject liquidity into the secondary market for student loans, which seized up recently after investors were spooked by the subprime mortgage crisis.

Aviation bill stalls in Senate

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sweeping legislation to upgrade the aging U.S. air traffic system and to strengthen airline safety and service stalled in the Senate on Wednesday over airline pensions and procedural wrangling. On the first day of debate, lawmakers quickly clashed over a proposal to toughen airline pension funding rules, a plan opposed by congressional allies of American Airlines, a unit of AMR Corp, and Continental Airlines Inc.

Chinese steel imports a safety risk: U.S. lawmakers

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New U.S. measures are needed to keep out shoddy Chinese steel products that threaten the safety of buildings and bridges, U.S. lawmakers and steel pipe industry representatives said on Wednesday. "When sub-standard steel goes into our roads, bridges, and skyscrapers, it threatens our safety and unnecessarily risks American lives," Rep. Jim Visclosky, an Indiana Democrat and chairman of the Congressional Steel Caucus, said in a statement after a caucus hearing on steel imports from China.