WASHINGTON (AP) – President Barack Obama signed legislation Wednesday barring members of Congress, the president and thousands of federal workers from profiting from nonpublic information learned on the job, calling it an embodiment of the fundamental American value of fair play.

2. Congress Sends Startup Investment Bill to Obama - Wednesday, March 28, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) – Despite warnings that less government oversight might mean more investment scams, Congress on Tuesday sent President Barack Obama legislation he endorsed making it easier for startups to raise capital without running afoul of federal regulations.

3. Senate Votes to Move Ahead on Small Business Bill - Thursday, March 22, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) – Legislation making it easier for small businesses to raise money survived a test vote in the Senate on Wednesday, increasing the chances it could emerge as one of the few bipartisan bills to pass Congress during this election year.

4. Fannie, Freddie Executive Pay Limited, Bonuses Cut - Monday, March 12, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) – The government is capping pay for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac executives at $500,000 per year and eliminating annual bonuses, giving in to pressure from Congress to stop big payouts at the bailed-out mortgage giants.

5. House Ready to Consider Insider Trading Ban - Monday, February 06, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) – Legislation that would ban insider trading by lawmakers and thousands of executive branch officials headed for what could be a more contentious debate in the House after sailing through the Senate on a 96-3 vote.

6. Congress Tries to Police Itself on Insider Trading - Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Aware that most Americans would like to dump them all, members of Congress hope to regain some sense of trust by subjecting themselves to tougher penalties for insider trading and requiring they disclose stock transactions within 30 days.

7. Congress Moves to End Fannie, Freddie Bonuses - Wednesday, November 16, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) – Congress is seeking to end the practice of paying million-dollar bonuses to executives at government-controlled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The House Financial Services Committee approved legislation Tuesday that would suspend tens of millions in Fannie and Freddie executive compensation packages, stop future bonuses and align their salaries with other federal employees who make much less. The vote was 52-4, with strong support from both parties.

8. GOP Uses Budget, Other Tools to Sap Financial Law - Wednesday, July 06, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) – Congressional Republicans are greeting the one-year anniversary of President Barack Obama's financial overhaul law by trying to weaken it, nibble by nibble.

Wary of attempting to dismantle the entire statute and being portrayed as Wall Street's allies – banks are among the nation's most unpopular institutions – GOP lawmakers are attacking corners of it. They can't prevail because they don't control the White House or Senate, but they may be able to force some compromises on agency budgets, pressure regulators and influence some of Obama's nominations.

9. Ill Housing Markets Trump Ideology for Many in GOP - Tuesday, April 26, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) – Shutting down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should fit seamlessly into the Republican drive to shrink government. After all, keeping the ailing mortgage giants afloat has cost taxpayers $150 billion and many in both parties want private lenders to finance a bigger share of the nation's $11.3 trillion residential mortgage market.

10. Republicans Say New Consumer Bureau Too Powerful - Thursday, March 17, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) – House Republicans said Wednesday that a new government agency designed to protect consumers from problems with mortgages, credit cards and other lenders has too much power. They also criticized it for participating in a federal-state effort to force mortgage servicers to change the way they foreclose on troubled homeowners.

11. Key House Republican Praises Obama Housing Plan - Wednesday, March 02, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Obama administration's plan to gradually dissolve ailing housing giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and to shrink the government's role in the mortgage market drew praise from House Republicans on Tuesday. The GOP chairman of the House Financial Services Committee called the proposal a good starting point for bipartisan negotiations over a housing overhaul.

12. House Panel's Bill Would End Foreclosure Program - Friday, February 25, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) – A House committee plans to write legislation next week ending the Obama administration's flagship effort for helping struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure and abolishing three other housing assistance programs.

13. Gov't Says Banks Should Share Fannie, Freddie Costs - Thursday, September 16, 2010

WASHINGTON (AP) – The nation's largest banks have an obligation to pay some of the cost for bailing out mortgage buyers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac because they sold them bad mortgages, a government regulator said Wednesday.

14. Banking Execs Say Gov't Needs to Back Mortgages - Wednesday, August 18, 2010

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Obama administration invited banking executives Tuesday to offer advice on changing the government's role in the mortgage market. Their response: stay big.

While the executives disagreed on the exact level of support needed, the group overwhelmingly advocated the government should maintain a large role propping up the nearly $11 trillion market.

15. Fed Chief to Congress: Don't End Stimulus Spending - Friday, July 23, 2010

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress Thursday that the fragile economy needs government stimulus spending to strengthen the recovery and help reduce unemployment.

16. SEC Chief Says Enforcement Has Increased - Wednesday, July 21, 2010

WASHINGTON (AP) – The head of the Securities and Exchange Commission said Tuesday that the agency has been revamped and has stepped up enforcement since the financial crisis. Agency officials are also ready to write new rules for companies affected by the sweeping legislation that is about to become law, she told House lawmakers.

17. Obama Claims Victory In Financial Overhaul Deal - Monday, June 28, 2010

WASHINGTON (AP) – House and Senate negotiators reached an agreement Friday on legislation that redefines federal oversight of Wall Street and, following the signing of the health care act in March, adds a milestone to mark the Obama presidency.

18. Watchdog: Obama Foreclosure Plan Leaves Many Out - Thursday, April 15, 2010

WASHINGTON (AP) - A watchdog panel overseeing the financial bailouts says the Obama administration's flagship mortgage aid program lags well behind the foreclosure crisis and leaves too many families out.

19. Bernanke: Record-Low Rates Still Needed - Thursday, February 25, 2010

WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress on Wednesday that record-low interest rates are still needed to ensure that the economic recovery will last and to help ease the sting of high unemployment.

20. Geithner: Legislation Won't Lead to More Bailouts - Friday, October 30, 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Thursday that giving the government the power to dismantle mammoth financial firms like Lehman Brothers will prevent future bailouts.

21. Bernanke Weighs Faster Credit Card Protection - Thursday, October 22, 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) - Moving up the effective date of tough new regulations to protect credit card customers from sudden interest rate increases could be a double-edged sword, according to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

22. Proposal Would Limit Scope of New Oversight Agency - Thursday, September 24, 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ceding ground amid growing business opposition, the Obama administration on Wednesday signaled a willingness to exempt retailers, real estate brokers, lawyers, auto dealers, cable companies and accountants from oversight of its proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency.

23. Bernanke Says Fed Can Take on Supercop Role - Wednesday, July 22, 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke ran into skepticism Tuesday from lawmakers wary of expanding the Fed's duties to police big financial companies. They argued that the Fed failed to spot problems that led to the financial crisis in the first place.

24. US Gov’t Seeks to Rein in Executive Pay - Friday, June 12, 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Obama administration is taking a half-step toward taming U.S. executive pay. Some lawmakers prefer a fuller stride.

Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee said Thursday the administration’s efforts to hector the private sector into reining in executive pay might not go far enough.

25. Paulson, Bernanke Defend $700 Billion Bailout - Wednesday, November 19, 2008

WASHINGTON (AP) – Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson expressed fresh reservations Tuesday about tapping a $700 billion bailout pool to provide mortgage guarantees to help stem soaring U.S. home foreclosures.

26. Lawmakers Likely to Draft Tougher Finance Rules - Wednesday, October 22, 2008

WASHINGTON (AP) – Lawmakers waded gingerly Tuesday into a complex debate over how to overhaul the regulatory structure overseeing the U.S. financial system, promising stricter rules governing risky financial products that are seen as responsible for the current financial crisis.

27. Financial Bailout Agreement Reached - Friday, September 26, 2008

WASHINGTON (AP) – Warned of a possible financial panic, key Republicans and Democrats reported agreement in principle Thursday to a $700 billion bailout of the financial industry and said they would present it to the Bush administration in hopes of a vote within days.

28. Fed Chief: Gov't Needs More Power When Firms Fail - Friday, July 11, 2008

WASHINGTON (AP) - The nation's top economic officials urged Congress on Thursday to give them new regulatory tools to better protect the country from economic and financial havoc if a major Wall Street firm were to fail.

29. Fed Chief Signals Rate Cut to Help Wobbly Economy, Must Keep Eye on Inflation - Thursday, February 28, 2008

WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned Congress that the nation is in for a period of sluggish business growth and sent a fresh signal Wednesday that interest rates will again be lowered to steady the teetering economy.

30. Fed Chairman Bernanke Offers Assurances on Mortgage Crisis - Friday, September 21, 2007

WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress Thursday the credit crisis has created "significant market stress" and offered fresh assurances that regulators would take steps to curb fallout related to the mortgage mess.