Economists on Monday urged congressional staffers against creating a Value Added Tax (VAT) unless lawmakers repealed one of the other taxes currently in law. 

"The VAT could help the economy only if it is used to replace other taxes that are harder on capital formation," said Stephen Entin, president and executive director at the Institute for Research on the Economics of Taxation, in prepared remarks. "It could not help (in fact would weaken) the economy if it were added to other taxes to increase revenues for added government spending." 

As the investigation continues into the May 6 "flash crash," market regulators will hear first-hand accounts on Tuesday from exchanges representatives. 

The Joint SEC-CFTC Advisory Committee on Emerging Regulatory Issues is still gathering information about what happened nearly two months ago when the market dropped nearly 1,000 points in a matter of minutes. 

At Tuesday's meeting and at another scheduled for July, market participants such as representatives from brokerage houses, issuers, institutional traders and retail investors are expected to provide the bulk of information about the market slide. 

Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro and Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Gary Gensler co-chair the committee.

"The insights and views of these market participants will provide the Committee and CFTC and SEC staff with valuable information to aid our regulatory efforts going forward," Gensler said in a release Monday.

The Obama administration on Monday launched a new push for the reinstatement of lapsed taxes on oil companies and chemical makers used to fund cleanups of hazardous waste sites through the federal Superfund program.

The tax that supports the Superfund trust fund lapsed in 1995, and repeated efforts to revive it have faltered in Congress over the years.

But the new push comes as Democrats and the White House are ramping up political pressure on the petroleum industry following the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Nearly half a million borrowers have exited a federal program that provides trial mortgage modifications, more than the total number of people who have received long-term help, a report showed Monday. 

Approximately 430,000 homeowners fell out of the $75 billion plan through the end of last month, representing more than one-third of those who started the program in March 2009, the Treasury Department said in a report Monday.

So far, about 340,500 trial modifications have been made permanent, about 27 percent of the 1.24 million who enrolled more than a year ago as the housing crisis gripped the economy. 

Although the drop-outs could signal additional foreclosures, about half of those borrowers received other help, holding down the foreclosure rate to about 7 percent, according to figures from the Obama administration. 

In May alone, about 153,000 modifications were canceled as part of the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) for various reasons, including an inability to document income or income that exceeds the program's limits, compared with 122,467 in April. 

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is expected to return his attention to the so-called tax extenders bill after his chamber dispenses with nominations, his spokesperson told The Hill on Monday. 

The staffer's comment puts to rest several rumors floating around K Street that back-to-back defeats on extenders might have prompted the majority leader into tabling the debate on the bill and moving to legislation providing tax relief and loan opportunities to small businesses. 

The new rules would represent a significant defeat for banks lobbying on the Wall Street reform bill.

Goldman Sachs will have more time to respond to an April 16 government lawsuit alleging the firm defrauded investors while selling securities linked to subprime mortgages. 

In New York on Monday, U.S. District Judge Barbara Jones agreed to give Goldman an extra month, extending the deadline to July 19 from June 21, according to news reports. 

The Securities and Exchange Commission, which filed the suit about two months ago, signed off on the extension.

The SEC has accused Goldman employee Fabrice Tourre of not disclosing the role the hedge fund Paulson & Co. played in selecting and betting against mortgage securities. 

A clear majority (62 percent) of adults say politicians want more power and money for the government, according to a new poll from Rassmussen Reports. 

Meanwhile, 52 percent of respondents believe most voters want the government to have less power and money, and only 21 percent of voters nationwide believe the government has the consent of the governed, the report found. 

The move followed pressure from lawmakers including Sen. Schumer, who continues to push legislation.