WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A second senior Democratic lawmaker may face a public ethics trial this fall, adding a new threat to their party's efforts to keep control of the House of Representatives in the November elections.div class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=3R09jj6NnI8:0JAg9Dhyh5s:yIl2AUoC8zA"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=3R09jj6NnI8:0JAg9Dhyh5s:F7zBnMyn0Lo"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?i=3R09jj6NnI8:0JAg9Dhyh5s:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=3R09jj6NnI8:0JAg9Dhyh5s:V_sGLiPBpWU"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?i=3R09jj6NnI8:0JAg9Dhyh5s:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Reuters/PoliticsNews/~4/3R09jj6NnI8" height="1" width="1"/

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama warned U.S. leaders not to use the divisive issue of illegal immigration as a way to gain power and name recognition in an interview with CBS television released on Saturday.div class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=oQ0qBXM79WI:yMendE3wHRY:yIl2AUoC8zA"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=oQ0qBXM79WI:yMendE3wHRY:F7zBnMyn0Lo"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?i=oQ0qBXM79WI:yMendE3wHRY:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=oQ0qBXM79WI:yMendE3wHRY:V_sGLiPBpWU"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?i=oQ0qBXM79WI:yMendE3wHRY:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Reuters/PoliticsNews/~4/oQ0qBXM79WI" height="1" width="1"/

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Saturday accused Republicans of holding American small businesses "hostage to politics" after Republican senators refused to back a $30 billion small-business lending package.div class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=CQieP86jLP8:ojn2JCTYiGM:yIl2AUoC8zA"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=CQieP86jLP8:ojn2JCTYiGM:F7zBnMyn0Lo"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?i=CQieP86jLP8:ojn2JCTYiGM:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=CQieP86jLP8:ojn2JCTYiGM:V_sGLiPBpWU"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?i=CQieP86jLP8:ojn2JCTYiGM:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Reuters/PoliticsNews/~4/CQieP86jLP8" height="1" width="1"/

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson has announced he will oppose the nomination of Elena Kagan to the U.S. Supreme Court, making him the first Democrat to declare against her.div class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=lSWtD1Xjydk:okq_8sKswxA:yIl2AUoC8zA"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=lSWtD1Xjydk:okq_8sKswxA:F7zBnMyn0Lo"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?i=lSWtD1Xjydk:okq_8sKswxA:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=lSWtD1Xjydk:okq_8sKswxA:V_sGLiPBpWU"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?i=lSWtD1Xjydk:okq_8sKswxA:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Reuters/PoliticsNews/~4/lSWtD1Xjydk" height="1" width="1"/

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama called ethics charges against Representative Charles Rangel "very troubling" on Friday and said he hoped the lawmaker could end his career "with dignity."div class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=EwUC1_fI_f0:OvvVfcey-Lc:yIl2AUoC8zA"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=EwUC1_fI_f0:OvvVfcey-Lc:F7zBnMyn0Lo"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?i=EwUC1_fI_f0:OvvVfcey-Lc:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=EwUC1_fI_f0:OvvVfcey-Lc:V_sGLiPBpWU"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?i=EwUC1_fI_f0:OvvVfcey-Lc:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Reuters/PoliticsNews/~4/EwUC1_fI_f0" height="1" width="1"/

PHOENIX, Arizona (Reuters) - A U.S. court denied a request for an expedited hearing on Friday and instead set a November date for Arizona's appeal to a federal court ruling that blocked key parts of a state law cracking down on illegal immigration.div class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=j7iJmIwBn8A:xpAArYWXzEk:yIl2AUoC8zA"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=j7iJmIwBn8A:xpAArYWXzEk:F7zBnMyn0Lo"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?i=j7iJmIwBn8A:xpAArYWXzEk:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=j7iJmIwBn8A:xpAArYWXzEk:V_sGLiPBpWU"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?i=j7iJmIwBn8A:xpAArYWXzEk:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Reuters/PoliticsNews/~4/j7iJmIwBn8A" height="1" width="1"/

DETROIT (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Friday he welcomed news that the U.S. economy grew by 2.4 percent in the second quarter, but said more work was needed to increase that growth rate and generate jobs.div class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=Hf2KFxuaA78:ERSCDpQpH3U:yIl2AUoC8zA"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=Hf2KFxuaA78:ERSCDpQpH3U:F7zBnMyn0Lo"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?i=Hf2KFxuaA78:ERSCDpQpH3U:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=Hf2KFxuaA78:ERSCDpQpH3U:V_sGLiPBpWU"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?i=Hf2KFxuaA78:ERSCDpQpH3U:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Reuters/PoliticsNews/~4/Hf2KFxuaA78" height="1" width="1"/

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and India on Friday formally signed an agreement on reprocessing spent nuclear fuel that U.S. officials hope will allow American firms a share of India's $150 billion nuclear energy market.div class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=IG31t4ISUxo:SiXgWo8du3w:yIl2AUoC8zA"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=IG31t4ISUxo:SiXgWo8du3w:F7zBnMyn0Lo"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?i=IG31t4ISUxo:SiXgWo8du3w:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=IG31t4ISUxo:SiXgWo8du3w:V_sGLiPBpWU"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?i=IG31t4ISUxo:SiXgWo8du3w:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Reuters/PoliticsNews/~4/IG31t4ISUxo" height="1" width="1"/

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama called ethics charges against Representative Charles Rangel "very troubling" on Friday and said he hoped the lawmaker could end his career "with dignity."div class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=Xjb4jTZpiHI:C1bhnqIjqmg:yIl2AUoC8zA"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=Xjb4jTZpiHI:C1bhnqIjqmg:F7zBnMyn0Lo"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?i=Xjb4jTZpiHI:C1bhnqIjqmg:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=Xjb4jTZpiHI:C1bhnqIjqmg:V_sGLiPBpWU"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?i=Xjb4jTZpiHI:C1bhnqIjqmg:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Reuters/PoliticsNews/~4/Xjb4jTZpiHI" height="1" width="1"/

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives on Friday approved the toughest reforms ever to offshore energy drilling practices, as Democrats narrowly pushed through an election-year response to BP's massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.div class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=pNVM6FFVE38:g_Cmjpuo8zU:yIl2AUoC8zA"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=pNVM6FFVE38:g_Cmjpuo8zU:F7zBnMyn0Lo"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?i=pNVM6FFVE38:g_Cmjpuo8zU:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=pNVM6FFVE38:g_Cmjpuo8zU:V_sGLiPBpWU"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?i=pNVM6FFVE38:g_Cmjpuo8zU:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Reuters/PoliticsNews/~4/pNVM6FFVE38" height="1" width="1"/

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government on Friday downgraded Mexico's aviation safety rating, which restricts new service to U.S. cities and limits airlines ability to carry out marketing agreements.div class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=cdLNAgg9cuk:-s6DiMZj-8E:yIl2AUoC8zA"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=cdLNAgg9cuk:-s6DiMZj-8E:F7zBnMyn0Lo"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?i=cdLNAgg9cuk:-s6DiMZj-8E:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=cdLNAgg9cuk:-s6DiMZj-8E:V_sGLiPBpWU"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?i=cdLNAgg9cuk:-s6DiMZj-8E:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Reuters/PoliticsNews/~4/cdLNAgg9cuk" height="1" width="1"/

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives on Friday voted to end the federal moratorium on deepwater drilling for oil companies that meet new federal safety requirements.div class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=e4dg8Q_cSsM:e7Po9N-sHyQ:yIl2AUoC8zA"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=e4dg8Q_cSsM:e7Po9N-sHyQ:F7zBnMyn0Lo"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?i=e4dg8Q_cSsM:e7Po9N-sHyQ:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=e4dg8Q_cSsM:e7Po9N-sHyQ:V_sGLiPBpWU"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?i=e4dg8Q_cSsM:e7Po9N-sHyQ:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Reuters/PoliticsNews/~4/e4dg8Q_cSsM" height="1" width="1"/

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A gargantuan task faces whoever President Barack Obama picks to head up a new, powerful Treasury Department office charged with amassing intelligence on the financial system to help prevent future crises.div class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=x3gudZM0Z9E:BBW80GRWtJc:yIl2AUoC8zA"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=x3gudZM0Z9E:BBW80GRWtJc:F7zBnMyn0Lo"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?i=x3gudZM0Z9E:BBW80GRWtJc:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=x3gudZM0Z9E:BBW80GRWtJc:V_sGLiPBpWU"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?i=x3gudZM0Z9E:BBW80GRWtJc:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Reuters/PoliticsNews/~4/x3gudZM0Z9E" height="1" width="1"/

WASHINGTON, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - The United States on Friday accused Guatemala of violating labor provisions of a free-trade agreement and said it would file a formal complaint that could lead to hefty monetary fines.div class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=gCfiUB0PgJw:BgvKAUtUcv0:yIl2AUoC8zA"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=gCfiUB0PgJw:BgvKAUtUcv0:F7zBnMyn0Lo"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?i=gCfiUB0PgJw:BgvKAUtUcv0:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=gCfiUB0PgJw:BgvKAUtUcv0:V_sGLiPBpWU"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?i=gCfiUB0PgJw:BgvKAUtUcv0:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Reuters/PoliticsNews/~4/gCfiUB0PgJw" height="1" width="1"/

DETROIT (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Friday he welcomed news that the U.S. economy grew by 2.4 percent in the second quarter, but said more work was needed to increase that growth rate and generate jobs.div class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=bap7_EOSDL4:k6FsZC1yJGs:yIl2AUoC8zA"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=bap7_EOSDL4:k6FsZC1yJGs:F7zBnMyn0Lo"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?i=bap7_EOSDL4:k6FsZC1yJGs:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=bap7_EOSDL4:k6FsZC1yJGs:V_sGLiPBpWU"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?i=bap7_EOSDL4:k6FsZC1yJGs:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Reuters/PoliticsNews/~4/bap7_EOSDL4" height="1" width="1"/

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Three months after the catastrophic oil rig explosion that sent millions of gallons of crude spewing into the Gulf of Mexico, the U.S. House of Representatives was poised on Friday to debate legislation clamping down on the industry's offshore drilling practices.div class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=iW_xm9wUZ9Y:hZQUUfWOwBI:yIl2AUoC8zA"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=iW_xm9wUZ9Y:hZQUUfWOwBI:F7zBnMyn0Lo"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?i=iW_xm9wUZ9Y:hZQUUfWOwBI:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=iW_xm9wUZ9Y:hZQUUfWOwBI:V_sGLiPBpWU"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?i=iW_xm9wUZ9Y:hZQUUfWOwBI:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Reuters/PoliticsNews/~4/iW_xm9wUZ9Y" height="1" width="1"/

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve officials clashed on Thursday over whether the central bank should be more aggressive in supporting the stumbling economy and one said the Fed's current policy may be contributing to worryingly low levels of inflation.div class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=2lmzPPT9e6M:-JwcHczMFc0:yIl2AUoC8zA"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=2lmzPPT9e6M:-JwcHczMFc0:F7zBnMyn0Lo"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?i=2lmzPPT9e6M:-JwcHczMFc0:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=2lmzPPT9e6M:-JwcHczMFc0:V_sGLiPBpWU"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?i=2lmzPPT9e6M:-JwcHczMFc0:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Reuters/PoliticsNews/~4/2lmzPPT9e6M" height="1" width="1"/

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve officials clashed on Thursday over whether the central bank should be more aggressive in supporting the stumbling economy and one said the Fed's current policy may be contributing to worryingly low levels of inflation.div class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=-5nPPqxAc_I:vBty90_FW6A:yIl2AUoC8zA"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=-5nPPqxAc_I:vBty90_FW6A:F7zBnMyn0Lo"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?i=-5nPPqxAc_I:vBty90_FW6A:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=-5nPPqxAc_I:vBty90_FW6A:V_sGLiPBpWU"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?i=-5nPPqxAc_I:vBty90_FW6A:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Reuters/PoliticsNews/~4/-5nPPqxAc_I" height="1" width="1"/

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Republicans blocked a $30-billion plan to help community banks boost lending to small businesses, dealing a blow to President Barack Obama's election-year battle to reduce unemployment.div class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=_T1963_tyVI:FVr9gF9NAs4:yIl2AUoC8zA"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=_T1963_tyVI:FVr9gF9NAs4:F7zBnMyn0Lo"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?i=_T1963_tyVI:FVr9gF9NAs4:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=_T1963_tyVI:FVr9gF9NAs4:V_sGLiPBpWU"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?i=_T1963_tyVI:FVr9gF9NAs4:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Reuters/PoliticsNews/~4/_T1963_tyVI" height="1" width="1"/

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Republicans blocked a $30-billion plan to help community banks boost lending to small businesses, dealing a blow to President Barack Obama's election-year battle to reduce unemployment.div class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=FKuCpaIE7pU:8LvBTQ6erJM:yIl2AUoC8zA"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=FKuCpaIE7pU:8LvBTQ6erJM:F7zBnMyn0Lo"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?i=FKuCpaIE7pU:8LvBTQ6erJM:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?a=FKuCpaIE7pU:8LvBTQ6erJM:V_sGLiPBpWU"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/Reuters/PoliticsNews?i=FKuCpaIE7pU:8LvBTQ6erJM:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Reuters/PoliticsNews/~4/FKuCpaIE7pU" height="1" width="1"/