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Daily Archives: March 20, 2009

FTC Tells U.S. Civil Rights Commission About Efforts to Protect Consumers from Unfair Mortgage Lending Practices

News release: “In a statement presented today to the United States Commission on Civil Rights, the Federal Trade Commission described its efforts to protect consumers from unfair, deceptive, and discriminatory practices in the mortgage lending market…To help consumers protect themselves, the statement noted, the FTC engages in extensive consumer education, in English and Spanish, about deceptive mortgage advertising, buying a home, mortgage discrimination, and steps for avoiding foreclosure and foreclosure rescue scams. The Commission also engages in research and policy development to enhance its consumer protection abilities. Based on research on mortgage disclosures, for example, the agency has recommended reforming federal mortgage disclosure documents to make them clearer and more useful for consumers.”

New GAO Reports: FOIA, Seafood Fraud

Freedom of Information Act: DHS Has Taken Steps to Enhance Its Program, but Opportunities Exist to Improve Efficiency and Cost-Effectiveness, GAO-09-260, March 20, 2009: “DHS has taken steps to enhance its FOIA program. DHS developed an improvement plan that focused on eliminating its backlog of overdue requests, implementing enhanced training requirements, and deploying more advanced… Continue Reading

State of the Birds Report 2009

“Birds are a priceless part of America’s heritage. They are beautiful, they are economically important—and they reflect the health of our environment. This State of the Birds report reveals troubling declines of bird populations during the past 40 years—a warning signal of the failing health of our ecosystems. At the same time, we see heartening… Continue Reading

Postal Service Continues Aggressive Steps to Cut Costs

News release: “With no signs of economic recovery in sight, the U.S. Postal Service is taking bold actions in response to its ongoing financial crisis. Today the Postal Service announced it would be closing six of its 80 district offices, eliminating positions across the country and offering another early retirement opportunity. These actions are expected… Continue Reading

A Preliminary Analysis of the President's Budget and an Update of CBO's Budget and Economic Outlook

Congressional Budget Office, A Preliminary Analysis of the President’s Budget and an Update of CBO’s Budget and Economic Outlook, March 2009 “Largely as a result of the enactment of recent legislation and the continuing turmoil in financial markets, CBO’s baseline projections of the deficit have risen by more than $400 billion in both 2009 and… Continue Reading