Federal and State Agencies Target Mortgage Foreclosure Rescue and Loan Modification Scams
Source: Federal Trade Commission
Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz, joined by California Attorney General Jerry Brown, today announced Operation Loan Lies, a coordinated national law enforcement effort to crack down on mortgage modification scams. The operation involves 189 actions by 25 federal and state agencies against defendants who deceptively marketed foreclosure rescue and mortgage modification services. The FTC actions, which affect consumers throughout the nation, are being announced in southern California, where the scams originated.
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The FTC announced four lawsuits, bringing to 14 the number of mortgage foreclosure rescue and loan modification scam cases the Commission has brought since April. Twenty-three state attorneys general and other agencies are participating in the operation, taking action against 178 companies engaged in these types of deception. The FTC also announced a settlement in a lawsuit filed last November.The FTC charged that the defendants falsely claimed that they would either obtain a mortgage loan modification or stop foreclosure, or both, and that some of the defendants falsely represented that they would give consumers refunds if they failed to do so. After charging consumers the equivalent of one month’s mortgage payment or more in advance, these companies often did little or nothing to help homeowners renegotiate their mortgages or stop foreclosure. After failing to provide the promised services, the defendants that promised refunds did not honor those promises. In each case the FTC is asking the court for consumer redress and a permanent bar on the deceptive practices. The FTC would like to thank the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) of the Department of the Treasury and the Special Inspector General of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIG-TARP) for their invaluable assistance in these cases.
+ Real People, Real Stories (video)
+ Money Matters: Your Home
Board issues interim final rule amending credit card provisions of Regulation Z (Truth in Lending)
Source: Federal Reserve Board
The Federal Reserve Board on Wednesday approved an interim final rule amending Regulation Z (Truth in Lending) to require creditors to increase the amount of notice consumers receive before the rate on a credit card account is increased or a significant change is made to the account’s terms. The amendments also allow consumers to reject such increases and changes by informing the creditor before the increase or change goes into effect.
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The interim final rule implements the requirements in the Credit Card Act as follows:
- Creditors must provide written notice to consumers 45 days before the creditor increases an annual percentage rate on a credit card account or makes a significant change to the terms of a credit card account.
- Creditors must inform consumers in the same notice of their right to cancel the credit card account before the increase or change goes into effect. If a consumer does so, the creditor is generally prohibited from applying the increase or change to the account.
- Creditors generally must mail or deliver periodic statements for credit cards and other open-end consumer credit accounts at least 21 days before payment is due.
+ Full Document (PDF; 247 KB)
Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism : Korea (Mutual Evaluation Report)
Source: Financial Action Task Force
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) have jointly conducted an assessment of the implementation of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) standards in the Republic of Korea (Korea). The key findings of this evaluation are:
- Korea has demonstrated political commitment, and commitment by government agencies and the private sector, to anti-money laundering (AML) efforts since the mid 1990s.
- There have been no confirmed cases of terrorist financing (TF) in Korea to date. Korea’s counter-terrorist financing (CFT) system is new, coming into effect in December 2008, and it could be further strengthened.
- Korea does not have structured organised crime syndicates, but rather has ‘brotherhoods’ which are primarily involved in online gambling, loan-sharking, extortion and prostitution. The most prevalent offences in Korea are fraud; theft; forgery; and, copyright and trademark violations.
- The most common money laundering (ML) techniques involve cash transactions and accounts in other persons’ names.
- The ML offences are largely in line with international requirements but penalties available and applied are not sufficiently effective, proportionate or dissuasive and there is a lack of focus on ML investigations. The confiscation regime is sound but, given the size of the economy and the risk of money being laundered in Korea, the number of confiscations each year and the value confiscated is low.
- The Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU), is Korea’s financial intelligence unit (FIU) and the lead agency in Korea for AML/CFT matters. The Korean AML/CFT system is heavily reliant on KoFIU’s work on financial intelligence, AML/CFT supervision, training of obliged entities, policy, reform, national co-ordination and international co-operation.
- Customer identification and verification represents a strength in the Korean preventive measures but issues such as beneficial ownership, politically exposed persons and correspondent banking have yet to be addressed. In addition, the obligation to file suspicious transaction reports (STRs) only applies to transactions over KRW 20 million (USD 17 227).
- The level of sanctions available for breaches of AML/CFT obligations is low and sanctions are not often applied by supervisory authorities. However the compliance culture within Korean financial institutions is very strong.
+ Executive Summary (PDF; 303.8 KB)
Statement of Administration Policy: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 (PDF; 33 KB)
Source: Office of Management and Budget
From OMB Blog (Peter R. Orszag, Director):
Today, the Administration sent a Statement of Administration Policy (SAP) on the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2010. It emphasizes the President’s commitment to spend taxpayer dollars on what is needed to keep our country safe and secure — and not on programs that are unnecessary or ineffective. To that end, the President made clear that he would veto any bill that supports acquiring more F-22 fighter aircraft beyond the 187 already funded by Congress.
As part of their review of the defense budget, Secretary of Defense Gates and the military leadership put forward a series of recommendations on how to configure our fighting forces and strengthen our national security (these recommendations were part of the Terminations, Reductions, and Savings volume we released with the full FY 2010 Budget in May). One of their key recommendations was that we did not need any more F-22s than have already been funded. Indeed, as early as December 2004, the Pentagon determined that we did not need any more F-22s. In the 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review, the Pentagon again concluded that the number of F-22s already procured was adequate. And both the GAO and CBO have questioned the affordability of continuing this program.
In today’s SAP, the Administration also strongly objects to the addition of $438.9 million for development of the alternative engine program for the Joint Strike Fighter. As President Obama put it: “the Defense Department is already pleased with the engine it has. The engine it has works. The Pentagon does not want and does not plan to use the alternative version. That’s why the Pentagon stopped requesting this funding two years ago. Yet it’s still being funded.” We should not be procuring weapons systems for which we do not have a military need.
For too long, we’ve pursued costly weapons systems that were not suited for the types of threats we face or have proven not to be effective and efficient – wasting hundreds of billions of dollars. That is why the President made his thoughts on the F-22 and JSF funding clear to Congress today, and will work with leaders on the Hill as well as with Secretary Gates and the military leadership to reform Pentagon contracting and keep our Nation safe and secure.
New Report Shows Employers Struggle with Ill-Prepared Workforce
Source: Corporate Voices for Working Families, the American Society for Training & Development, The Conference Board, and the Society for Human Resource Management
As the Obama administration shines a light on the training and skills workers will need for the jobs of tomorrow, a new report shows that U.S. employers continue to struggle with an ill-prepared workforce, finding new hires lack crucial basic and applied skills.
For the most part, employer-sponsored readiness training is not successfully correcting these deficiencies, according to the report, The Ill-Prepared U.S. Workforce: Exploring the Challenges of Employer-Provided Workforce Readiness Training, produced by Corporate Voices for Working Families, the American Society for Training & Development (ASTD), The Conference Board, and the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).
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The report published today, The Ill-Prepared U.S. Workforce: Exploring the Challenges of Employer-Provided Workforce Readiness Training, draws from a survey of 217 employers about their training of newly hired graduates of high school and two- and four-year colleges. The survey, conducted during 2008, included employers in manufacturing; financial services; non-financial services; and education, government, and other non-profits.Almost half of respondents said they have to provide readiness training for new hires – and the majority rate their programs as only “moderately” or “somewhat successful.”
+ Key Findings (PDF: 532 KB)
+ Full Report (PDF; 1.2 MB)
House Leadership’s Health Care Plan Pushes Top Tax Rates Over 50% in 39 States
Source: Tax Foundation
A third updated Tax Foundation report shows that 39 states would see top tax rates exceed 50% under a health care funding plan announced today by House Democrats.
The latest proposal—one of several floated on Capitol Hill in the past few days and the third analyzed by the Tax Foundation since Friday—would impose a surtax of 1 percent on married couples with adjusted gross incomes (AGI) between $350,000 and $500,000 (singles between $280,000 and $400,000); 1.5 percent on couples with incomes between $500,000 and $1 million (singles earning between $400,000and $800,000); and 5.4 percent on couples earning more than $1 million (singles beyond $800,000).
The Tax Foundation released an initial report Friday based on another plan that had been floated that included a 4 percent surtax, as well as an updated report yesterday based on a three-tiered structured with a maximum rate of 3% for couples earning more than $1 million.
New CBO Reports (PDFs)
Source: Congressional Budget Office
+ Preliminary analysis of the insurance coverage specifications provided by the House tri-committee group
+ Cost estimate for the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2010
+ An analysis of the Statutory Pay-as-you-go Act of 2009
+ Intergovernmental mandates in federal legislation
+ Effects of changes to the health insurance system on labor markets
+ The Long-Term Budget Outlook
+ The Federal Government’s Responsibilities and Liabilities Under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act
CBP Announces FY 2009 Third-Quarter Statistics
Source: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (DHS)
Narcotics seizures are at an all time high and illegal immigration apprehensions are at multi-year lows with one quarter remaining in U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s fiscal year 2009. During the first three quarters of the fiscal year, CBP interdicted more than 3.3 million pounds of drugs, an increase of 64.3 percent compared to the same period the previous fiscal year.
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From October 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009, CBP’s law enforcement personnel interdicted more than 2.7 million pounds of illicit narcotics at and between the ports of entry, an increase of 52.24 percent compared to the same period the previous fiscal year. Seizures included more than 2.6 million pounds of marijuana, 60,411 pounds of cocaine, 4,384 pounds of methamphetamines, and 1,463 pounds of heroin. Marijuana seizures are up 52.2 percent compared to the same period the previous fiscal year.
Differences in Prevalence of Obesity Among Black, White, and Hispanic Adults — United States, 2006–2008
Source: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (CDC)
The prevalence of obesity in the United States has more than doubled in the past three decades, and certain racial/ethnic populations have been affected disproportionally. Data from the 2003?2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), for which height and weight of adults aged ?20 years are measured by survey staff members, indicated the prevalence of obesity was 45.0% among non-Hispanic blacks, 36.8% among Mexican-Americans, and 30.6% among non-Hispanic whites. This report found smaller prevalences, using height and weight data that were self-reported to BRFSS and, therefore, likely to produce underestimates. However, differences among non-Hispanic blacks, non-Hispanic whites, and Hispanics in this report were similar to those found in the NHANES study: non-Hispanic blacks had the greatest prevalence of obesity, followed by Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites.
At least three reasons might account for the differences in the prevalence of obesity among the study populations observed in this and other studies. First, racial/ethnic populations differ in behaviors that contribute to weight gain. For example, compared with non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic blacks and Hispanics are less likely to engage in regular (nonoccupational) physical activity. In addition, differences exist in attitudes and cultural norms regarding body weight. For example, according to one study, both non-Hispanic black and Hispanic women are more satisfied with their body size than non-Hispanic white women; persons who are satisfied with their body size are less likely to try to lose weight. Finally, certain populations have less access to affordable, healthful foods and safe locations for physical activity. Evidence suggests that neighborhoods with large minority populations have fewer chain supermarkets and produce stores and that healthful foods are relatively more expensive than energy-dense foods, especially in minority and low-income communities. Evidence also indicates that minority and low-income populations have less access to physical activity facilities and resources and that traffic and neighborhood safety might inhibit walking.
New GAO Reports and Testimonies (PDFs)
Source: Government Accountability Office
16 July 2009
+ Reports
1. National Park Service: Donations and Related Partnerships Benefit Parks, but Management Refinements Could Better Target Risks and Enhance Accountability
2. Tax Compliance: Opportunities Exist to Improve Tax Compliance of Applicants for State Business Licenses
3. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief: Partner Selection and Oversight Follow Accepted Practices but Would Benefit from Enhanced Planning and Accountability
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+ Testimonies
1. Aviation Weather: FAA and the National Weather Service Are Considering Plans to Consolidate Weather Service Offices, but Face Significant Challenges, by David A. Powner, director, information technology management issues, before the Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight, House Committee on Science and Technology
2. Clean Water Infrastructure: Design Issues and Funding Options for a Clean Water Trust Fund, by Anu K. Mittal, director, natural resources and environment, before the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
3. VA Health Care: Preliminary Findings on VA’s Provision of Health Care Services to Women Veterans, by Randall B. Williamson, director, health care, before a joint hearing of the Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs and the Subcommittee on Health, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
Sixteen Percent Of High-Impact, High-Tech Firms Founded By Immigrant Entrepreneurs
Source: U.S. Small Business Administration
Sixteen percent of high-impact, high-tech firms have at least one immigrant founder, according to a study released today by the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration. Although these firms are concentrated in states with large immigrant populations, in most other respects they resemble high-impact, high-tech firms founded by native-born entrepreneurs.
Moreover, these immigrant entrepreneurs are highly educated and appear to be strongly rooted in the United States. Roughly 55 percent of the foreign-born founders hold a masters degree or a doctorate. In addition, they are more than twice as likely as native-born founders to hold a doctorate. Furthermore, 77 percent of the foreign-born high-tech entrepreneurs are American citizens and, on average, they have lived over 25 years in the United States. Two-thirds of them received their college degrees here, as well.
“Immigrant entrepreneurs clearly contribute a significant amount to our country’s cutting edge high-tech firms,” said Shawne McGibbon, acting Chief Counsel for Advocacy. “This report outlines these contributions and delivers important new data about immigrant entrepreneurs.”
High-tech Immigrant Entrepreneurship in the United States, written by David Hart, Zoltan Acs, and Spencer Tracy, Jr. with funding from Advocacy, defines high-impact firms as those with sales that have at least doubled over the 2002-2006 period and which have significant employment growth during that time. The authors defined high-tech industries using research and development employment as a share of total employment as the key criterion.
+ Research Summary (PDF; 36 KB)
+ Full Report (PDF; 391 KB)
Getting the Lead Out Kills Small Businesses, Doesn’t Save Children
Source: National Center for Policy Analysis
Products intended for use by children may not contain lead amounts greater than 100 parts per million (ppm) starting in 2011. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has ordered manufacturers, distributors and retailers to reduce the lead content of children’s products from the current standard of 600 ppm.
The new regulations were required by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, which was passed hastily in response to 2007 recalls of toys imported from China. The law was intended to protect children (12 years old and younger) from lead poisoning, however, it targets products that pose a miniscule risk to children. It threatens to shutter small businesses, thrift retailers (including some large charities) and public libraries, and it limits the availability of consumer goods for children. Unless the law is modified, it is estimated that more than $1 billion of inventory will be destroyed, hurting producers, sellers, workers, consumers and the children the law was intended to protect.
Study reports “direct use” of natural gas saves energy costs and reduces greenhouse gas emissions
Source: American Gas Association
The American Gas Association (AGA) today called attention to a recent study by the Gas Technology Institute that reports the increased “direct use” of natural gas in homes and businesses will reduce energy consumption, consumer energy costs and national CO2 emissions. Direct use refers to using natural gas in a residential or commercial capacity such as space heating, water heating, cooking and clothes drying.
The study, “Validation of Direct Natural Gas Use to Reduce CO2 Emissions,” found that when a societal subsidy such as a rebate or a tax credit is put in place to encourage the use of natural gas appliances, significant savings in energy costs, CO2 emissions, energy use, and electricity use can be achieved.
+ Full Report (PDF; 1.9 MB)
Federal Law Increasingly Encourages ‘Pay-to-Play’ Among State AGs and Personal Injury Lawyers
Source: American Tort Reform Association
A new Legal Backgrounder published today by the Washington Legal Foundation spotlights a growing body of provisions within federal law that, in effect, deputizes state attorneys general to enforce federal law. The paper also cites the personal injury bar’s multimillion-dollar lobbying support for such provisions as its members stand to profit when attorneys general they support politically hire them to carry out resulting litigation.
The paper, written by ATRA general counsel Victor Schwartz and his Shook, Hardy & Bacon law firm colleague Christopher Appel, is entitled “The Plaintiffs’ Bar’s Effort to Expand State Attorney General Federal Enforcement Power.”
+ Full Paper (PDF; 32 KB)
New America Releases In-Depth Report on Federal Student Loan Guaranty Agencies
Source: New America Foundation
Today the New America Foundation’s Education Policy Program released “Rethinking the Middleman: Federal Student Loan Guaranty Agencies,” by Benjamin Miller. The policy paper provides an overview of the history and current responsibilities of guaranty agencies, complex entities that provide administrative functions within the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program. The paper also provides recommendations for policymakers to reform these agencies’ current functions. The paper comes at an important time, as Congress considers proposals put forth by the Obama administration to significantly change the federal student loan programs.
“Guaranty agencies are little understood by the general public but receive over a billion dollars in federal subsidies each year and have significant political clout at the local and national level,” Miller said. “Understanding the program’s current design flaws, which leave the program extremely vulnerable to fraud and abuse, is crucial for comprehending the ongoing debate over proposed reforms to the Federal Family Education Loan Program.”
+ Full Report (PDF; 186 KB)
