government bailout must detail policies to limit "luxury" expenses starting Monday, officials said.
The corporations, which received government loans under the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, must disclose on their Web sites policies on expenses including entertainment or other events, office and facility renovations, aviation or other transportation services, the Detroit News reported Sunday.
The Treasury Department imposed the requirement in June after Congress said companies that get TARP funds must adopt and disclose policies for four categories of "excessive or luxury expenditures."
The requirements came after widespread criticism targeting high-profile examples of spending deemed excessive.
Auto executives, for instance, flew in private jets last year to congressional hearings where they sought emergency loans. Other companies had been roundly criticized after ordering new planes or spending millions on overhauls of offices and tickets to entertainment events.
The Treasury Department's special master, Kenneth Feinberg, will announce his assessment of the companies' policies by the end of October, the News said.
Feinberg is also scrutinizing the wages of the the most highly compensated TARP recipient executives.
Durbin: Healthcare bill doable this year WASHINGTON, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- U.S. healthcare reform is achievable this year with or without the cooperation of Republicans, a senior Democratic senator said Sunday.
Illinois Sen. Richard Durbin, the Democrats' second-ranking senator, told NBC's "Meet the Press" that he believes a healthcare overhaul can be accomplished and suggested there may be enough to votes to enact a controversial government-run "public option" component.
"We've got to understand that just taking small steps at this point won't stop the obvious increase in healthcare premiums, which are making it very difficult for individuals and families to pay for health insurance and a lot of businesses are dropping health insurance," Durbin said.
Asked if a "public option" would fail in the Senate, Durbin said: "I wouldn't go that far. I would say at this point that the House of Representatives includes a clear public option."
Netanyahu announces Egypt trip JERUSALEM, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said he would leave for Egypt Sunday to meet with President Hosni Mubarak on the stalled Mideast peace process.
Netanyahu, speaking at the start of the weekly Israeli Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, said he's hopeful progress can be made in resolving the seemingly intractable conflict, CNN reported.
"There is still work to do," the Israeli leader said. "We have made progress on certain items. There are also certain items on which we have yet to make progress. I hope that we will succeed in reducing the gaps. Maybe we will bridge them, so that we can move the process forward."
An unnamed senior Israeli official told CNN the two leaders are also expected to discuss weapons smuggling into Gaza from Egypt.
The Israeli leader's trip is part of a new effort by U.S. President Barack Obama to restart the Mideast peace process, an unnamed Netanyahu aide told The Jerusalem Post. The goal, he said, is to have the outlines of a new initiative ready in the coming weeks -- perhaps as early as this week's start of the United Nations General Assembly session in New York.
