October 22, 2009

Campaign for America's Future co-director Robert Borosage today praised the House Financial Services Committee for taking steps to protect consumers from predatory financial practices by approving the creation of a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency. In praising the legislation, Borosage noted that the bill should be strengthened as it moves through Congress to prevent another economic crisis. STATEMENT OF ROBERT BOROSAGE: Although the legislation has far to go, the committee created a much-needed independent agency to protect consumers from predatory lending and deceptive practices. Now the House and Senate must strengthen and pass the bill. Chairman Frank should be complimented for fending off a fierce effort against the legislation by the big banking lobby. They couldn't kill it, but they did weaken it significantly. The Committee limited enforcement authority for 98 percent of the nation's banks, which control 20 percent of assets; exempted auto loan and insurance products; and omitted provisions to enforce important community lending standards. Most damaging, it replaced President Obama's proposed independent oversight board with an advisory committee of financial regulators who failed to protect the American public from Wall Street in the first place. Full release.

The first-ever deliberative global survey of citizen opinion, World Wide Views on Global Warming (WWViews) has found that people from diverse backgrounds in the US and worldwide overwhelmingly want faster action, deeper GHG emissions cuts and stronger enforcement than either US climate legislation proposals or Copenhagen treaty conference preparations are currently contemplating. Among the survey's findings: * 90% of U. S. participants say it is urgent to reach a tough, new agreement at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December and not punt to subsequent meetings; * 89% said by 2020 emissions should be cut 25-40% below 1990 levels (the Kerry Boxer Senate bill would cut US emissions 20% below 2005 levels); * 71% want nations that fail to meet their obligations under a new agreement to be penalized severely or significantly; * 69% believe the price of fossil fuels should be increased. Full release.

The House Financial Services Committee approved a key amendment, 47-21, to keep automobile dealers under the already effective federal and state laws which govern vehicle financing. The amendment, sponsored by Rep. John Campbell, R-Calif., will not subject auto retailers to the regulations of the proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA), but will continue the full range of consumer protection rules of the Federal Reserve, the Federal Trade Commission and state laws. The National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) led a grassroots campaign in support of the Campbell Amendment. "NADA and dealers across the country applaud the overwhelming bipartisan support for the Campbell Amendment," said David Westcott, chairman of NADA's Government Affairs Committee and a multi-franchise dealer from North Carolina. "It makes sense to exclude dealers. Dealers had absolutely nothing to do with the credit crisis." Full release.

Indicted Wall Street hedge fund manager Rajakumara Rajaratnam and his father, J. M. Rajaratnam, knowingly provided financial and other support to the Tamil Tigers, more than 30 victims and survivors of the terrorist group's attacks alleged today. In a complaint filed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, family members of those killed and survivors of bombings committed by the group formally known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE), alleged that Rajaratnam and the family foundation headed by his father provided millions of dollars in funds used for terrorist attacks. The seven-count complaint, the result of a year-long investigation, was filed under the Alien Tort Claims Act of 1789 which grants non U.S. citizens access to the U.S. Courts to seek justice for violations of "the law of nations," such as crimes against humanity and terrorism, no matter where they occur. "I will do anything to stop the LTTE menace and its suicide bombings," said Diyawadanage Subashini Sagarika Priyadarshani, widow of Kuruppu Appuhamylage Karunaratna, an Olympic athlete and champion marathon runner who was killed when an LTTE suicide bomber attacked the marathon in which he was running on April 6, 2008 in Weliweriya, Sri Lanka. Full release.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement today after the House Financial Services Committee approved legislation to establish a Consumer Protection Financial Agency. The bill, which was approved by a vote of 39 to 29, represents a key part of a broader effort by Congress and President Obama to modernize America's financial regulatory system in response to last year's financial crisis. "With today's historic vote to establish a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency, we move a step closer to answering President Obama's call for strengthened accountability and responsibility by corporate America. This new agency represents a key component of the groundbreaking and comprehensive reform of financial regulation the House will consider in the coming weeks. "The new agency will curtail abusive industry practices and will protect consumers from mistreatment and protect the broader financial market from the abuses of the past. For example, this new agency will be responsible for enforcing the landmark Credit Cardholders Bill of Rights passed by Congress and signed by President Obama this year, and the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending bill that has already passed the House. Full release.

Paul Rieckhoff, Founder and Executive Director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) quotes:

"Today, the President's signature transformed VA care for America's veterans forever. At the signing, I witnessed the President put an end to the rationing of care for our country's veterans, even when Congress fails to deliver the VA budget on time. This is a historic investment in the future of veterans' health care that will benefit millions of American heroes. With this legislation, politics can no longer stand in the way of VA funding and VA Secretary Shinseki is more effectively set up for success. Just two weeks ago the Senate failed to pass the VA budget for the twentieth time in twenty-three years. This failure further illustrates the need for advanced appropriations; as the VA cannot count on Congress to pass their budget on time. Veterans deserve better than late budgets and month-to-month planning. Advance Funding has been the goal of veteran service organizations for over two decades. Working together, we were able to achieve this landmark legislation. IAVA thanks the President for his leadership and Congress for their continued support of this issue for our nation's veterans." Full release.

As Washington wrestles with reforming the healthcare insurance system, The Center for Modeling Optimal Outcomes® LLC, a Jackson, NJ-based think tank, developed an organizational operating model that focuses on eliminating inefficient processes and wasteful spending. The Center's portfolio, which consists of a variety of process models and services, is available for industry-wide adoption and implementation. Founded by one of the nation's leading healthcare expense management experts, William J. McFaul, and fortified by a diverse team of clinical and operational staff and advisers, The Center created and developed a series of cost-reduction and management service lines designed to generate meaningful and realistic reductions in operating expenses, as well as a series of clinically focused specialties geared toward improving patient outcomes. Full release.

After visiting more than 3,000 cities in all 50 states, the Partnership for Prescription Assistance (PPA) has reached a historic milestone today by helping the six millionth person at an event in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The PPA is a nationwide effort sponsored by America's pharmaceutical research and biotechnology companies that links uninsured and financially struggling Americans to programs that provide prescription medicine for free or nearly free. The help provided by the PPA is particularly important in these troubling economic times, when Pennsylvania's unemployment rate is 8.6% and residents are increasingly facing layoffs and the loss of health benefits. The PPA "Help is Here Express" bus tour stopped at the Capitol Building Complex on Commonwealth Avenue, joined by Super Bowl-winning running back, likely Hall-of-Famer and asthma patient Jerome Bettis. Bettis had a stellar career - first during four years at the University of Notre Dame and then 12 years in the National Football League (NFL) with the St. Louis Rams and the Pittsburgh Steelers. The tenacity that he displayed on the field and in dealing with his asthma paid off, and in 2005 -- his final season in the NFL -- he helped lead the Pittsburgh Steelers to a Super Bowl victory. However, despite his success in football, the chronic disease that Bettis calls his "toughest linebacker" still managed to knock him down occasionally. Full release.

A critical need for more revenue is causing many governments worldwide to turn increasingly to indirect taxes such as Value-Added Tax (VAT) as a source of funds, according to KPMG International's latest annual survey of worldwide tax rates affecting businesses. Findings from KPMG's 2009 Corporate and Indirect Tax Rate Survey indicate that many countries increased their indirect tax rates particularly their VAT or Goods and Services Tax (GST) for 2009. The survey also revealed that the long-term slide in tax rates on company profits came to a halt in many countries in 2009, with 86 percent of the 116 countries studied holding their rates at 2008 levels such as the United States at 40 percent or in some cases increasing them. "These shifts present clear evidence of a major, and a potential long-term change in the way that many governments around the world are funded," said Tim Gillis, partner-in-charge of KPMG LLP's State and Local Tax practice. "For U.S. multinationals, it means that the management of indirect taxes will become much more important from a compliance, risk management and performance perspective." Full release.

The U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) Office of Justice Programs (OJP) today announced more than $7.3 million in Fiscal Year 2009 grant assistance for state, local, and tribal governments for use in implementing, training, and maintaining and enhancing sex offender programs throughout the United States. These grants, administered by OJP's Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering and Tracking (SMART), break down into three areas of funding: Adam Walsh Act (Title I) implementation, Comprehensive Approaches to Sex Offender Management (CASOM) support, and Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website (NSOPW) operation. More than $4.6 million will be used to develop or enhance sex offender registration programs; improve law enforcement and other justice agency information sharing as it relates to sex offender registration and notification; and implement other efforts aimed at furthering the objectives of Title I of the Adam Walsh Act, the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). Full release.

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