Mayor Bloomberg traveled to Albany yesterday with a delicately phrased but succinct query: Where is our cash you deadbeats? Bloomberg recently explained all city agencies had to undergo belt-tightening in preparation of a downturn of the city's economy. He wasn't prepared to be short-shrifted by Albany, from where the city depends on a certain level of budgetary support. more ›

President Bush visited New York City yesterday to encourage Congress to reauthorize his No Child Left Behind program. Bush gave a speech at the Harlem Village Academy school and praised its founder, faculty and students and emphasized the importance of the NCLB Act. Bush made it a point to visit all eight classrooms and shake every student's hand, prompting one student to tell the Sun, "I think it was the best day of my life," and a teacher to ask Bush for more money to be added to NCLB. more ›

In a meeting with attendees like Senators Schumer and Clinton, State Senate majority leader Joseph Bruno and Assembly speaker Sheldon Silver, Representative Charles Rangel criticized Governor Eliot Spitzer. He said that Spitzer's aggressive handling of Medicaid and health-care-industry issues is only making the problem worse and isn't helpful - and that the governor's proposed cuts are too deep. more ›

In no time flat has Congressman Charles Rangel upset people. Actually, the new head of the House's Ways and Means Committee may have upset a whole state. In Thursday's NY Times story about how New York politicians will head very influential committees in Congress, Rangel said while discussing how New York State gives up a lot in federal taxes but doesn't get much in return (whereas Mississippi gets much more in federal money than what it pays in taxes), "Mississippi gets more than their fair share back in federal money, but who the hell wants to live in Mississippi?" more ›

Thanks to the Democrats' victories and their new control of the House of Representatives, Congressman Charles Rangel of Harlem will be the next chairman of the Ways & Means Committee in January. And he's already eying the real estate:

"Mr. Cheney enjoys an office on the second floor of the House of Representatives that [has] historically been designated for the Ways & Means Committee chairman. I talked with Nancy Pelosi this morning and I¹m trying to find some way, kind and gentle, to restore the dignity of that office to the chair."

The fun of the Internet! The website Legistorm lists the salaries of Congressional staffers, and the Post did some legwork to find the payrolls of NY-area representatives and senators. The Post, though, points out a few big payrolls:

One of the fattest payrolls in Washington belongs to Rep. Charles Rangel (D-Harlem), who controls the top Democratic spot on the powerful Ways and Means Committee. Rangel pays four of his top committee aides more than $150,000, gives his chief-of-staff about $153,000, and pays three other aides more than $100,000 - including his longtime secretary... more ›

With fallen DC lobbyist Jack Abramoff's plea deal freaking out the Beltway, people would expect him to turn over Republican congressmen Tom DeLay and Bob Ney. But Gothamist wondered if any of our area politicians were involved. And, naturally, some were, which isn't surprising given money Abramoff had at his disposal (through Abramoff's organization, about $915,000 went to Republicans in Congress, while $770,000 or so went to Democrats; however, Abramoff's personal contributions seem to be limited to Republicans themselves - about $127,000 worth). Newsday reports that Representative Charles Rangel was the top New York receipient of Abramoff's largesse, getting $36,000; he was followed by "Rep. Tom Reynolds (R-Rochester) at $7,000 and Rep. Nita Lowey (D-Westchester) at $2,000":

Rangel, who has not been implicated in any wrongdoing, said he is unfairly in the spotlight because of Abramoff's actions. "Don't know him, never met him, never took a dime from him," said the senior member of the powerful Ways and Means Committee. more ›