The Senate rejected two amendments to the farm bill Tuesday that would have changed the $4 billion-worth of cuts to food stamps.

Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) introduced an amendment that would have cut at least an additional $12 billion for the supplemental food assistance program (SNAP), also known as food stamps. His amendment failed on a 40-58 vote.

“My goal is simple to restore integrity to the supplemental food assistance program,” Roberts said ahead of the vote.

A set of regulations contained in the Dodd-Frank financial reform law is having unintended consequences in war-torn central Africa, lawmakers and witnesses said during a hearing Tuesday on Capitol Hill.

A federal court tossed out an appeal on Tuesday from more than 25 hedge fund and investment firms worried of losing money to bigger Wall Street players after the 2008 downfall of Washington Mutual Bank.

Two senators from opposite sides of the aisle want to reel in a catfish inspection program that they say is redundant.

The 2008 farm bill directs the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to build a program to inspect catfish, even though the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) already reviews the fish. The new USDA program is expected to cost $14 million a year to operate.

That's a waste of government money, say Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.).

Doug Shulman told the Senate Finance panel he only learned of the IRS targeting after he left in November 2012.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is suing the Internal Revenue Service, demanding the agency change its requirements for the 501(c)(4) tax-exempt status.

The Treasury secretary says he only learned full extent of the problems when inspector general report was released.

Legislators on the Senate Budget Committee gave a warm welcome to President Obama's nominee for deputy budget director on Tuesday.

Republicans on the panel did not show up to question or oppose Brian Deese, Obama's choice for second in command at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

Deese pledged to bring renewed transparency to the regulatory structure, and Democratic lawmakers praised his focus on fiscal soundness and durable economic growth.

Treasury Secretary Jack Lew vowed to Congress that the Obama administration is taking steps to address the ongoing scandal swirling around the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

"We're going to make sure that nothing like this ever happens again," he told the Senate Banking Committee Tuesday.

Lew called the targeting of Tea Party groups for added scrutiny by the IRS "unacceptable and inexcusable," but insisted it was not motivated by partisan politics. Nonetheless, the behavior by the agency violated its "solemn obligation" to administer the tax codes without a hint of political bias, he said.

But Lew was eager to describe what the administration has done to address the matter, noting that within 48 hours of the Treasury inspector general report detailing the action he had forced the acting IRS commissioner to resign, and the president had appointed a new one to replace him.

"I moved quickly to take steps to restore confidence in the IRS," he said.