"Congressman Waxman is very careful, and he has a very good track record on counting votes. He wouldn't be seeking the chairmanship unless he believed he could win the chairmanship."
Two titans of the US House of Representatives squared off Thursday over which one would be the chamber's leading voice on energy and climate change legislation in the next Congress, a Democratic aide said. California Representative Henry Waxman announced publicly Wednesday that he plans to challenge Michigan's John Dingell, the longest-serving member of the House, for his chairmanship of the Energy and Commerce Committee.
"The U-turn transaction was used by Iran as a hook to solicit foreign banks to process transactions through the United States on its behalf, sometimes with requests to substitute another bank or code word for the Iranian institution...Given Iran's conduct, it is necessary to close even this indirect access."
The US government Thursday sought to further tighten the financial screws on Iran, announcing that the Treasury Department would bar so-called "U-turn" transactions that used US banks to move Iranian state funds through the banking system -- transfers the US said aided terrorism and weapons proliferation, Stuart Levey, undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said at a press conference at the Treasury Department in Washington.
Updated: November 7, 2008
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