Yahoo has announced a deal with Google on June 12 through which the two companies will sell together advertising. The move was necessary to bring in a steady flow of cash to ensure that the company, just out of a battle with Microsoft, is going forward and keeps stockholders happy. The additional funds will enable Yahoo to invest in long-term strategies which should keep the company running strong in the future.

However, some lawmakers are questioning the deal, concerned that an arrangement between two large rivals might hurt competition. U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) and Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) have said they are planning a hearing this summer over the deal.

Also, U.S. Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), the House Energy and Commerce Committee's ranking Republican, wrote to Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang on June 18 claiming that he is concerned by the fact that three companies are dominating the U.S. online search market. Also, U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., chairman of the Senate Antitrust Subcommittee, said his panel will review the deal.

These concerns over at Washington have prompted Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang to travel to Capitol Hill and meet with both Kohl and U.S. Rep. Ed Markey, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet. The companies have a somewhat failsafe provision in their agreement, which allows other companies to display ads on Yahoo's pages. Thus, it is not an exclusive deal.

The deal is aimed at bringing Google paid search results to some Yahoo search terms. Yahoo expects to get between $250 and $450 million in incremental operation cash flow out of the agreement. Yahoo President Susan Decker declined to indicate the exact percentage which goes to Google, but she said it is a "competitive" split between the two companies.

The deal strengthens the portal company's board further thwarts the efforts put out by greedy investor Carl Icahn, who would apparently stop at nothing to see the company sold to rival Microsoft.

The deal also includes a special provision which further weakens Icahn's position, which has received quite a few blows recently. Yahoo says in the contract that it will pay Google up to $250 million in early termination fees if control of the company changes within 24 months, which would be a deterrent for any prospective buyer.