Consumer issues

Begich Co-sponsors Act to Save Taxpayer Funds and Ensure Efficient Spending

October 8, 2009 -- In an effort to end irresponsible and illegal expenditures of taxpayer money by federal employees the U.S. Senate has passed the Government Charge Card Abuse Act S.942, co-sponsored by Senator Mark Begich. A bipartisan piece of legislation passed by unanimous consent, the law will work to increase levels of accountability for federal employees, create new policies to improve transparency, and provide training to federal employees.    » read more »

Tracking Volatile Energy Prices

Energy prices are volatile. They change as market participants adjust their expectations to new information from physical energy markets and markets for energy-related financial derivatives. Futures and options markets are a valuable source of information regarding these changing expectations.    » read more »

Credit Card Holders’ Bill of Rights will curtail predatory practices, but Kilroy wants to make sure companies are not taking advantage of the timeframe to adversely affect constituents

October 7, 2009 -- WASHINGTON -- Congresswoman Mary Jo Kilroy today joined 18 House members calling on country’s major credit card companies to not change the terms on consumer credit card accounts ahead of federal credit card reform legislation slated to go into effect early next year.    » read more »

10/07/09 -- Washington, D.C. - Wednesday, Representatives Teague, Heinrich and Lujan joined 15 of their colleagues in the House in sending a letter to the country’s major credit card companies, calling on them to pledge to not change the terms on consumer credit card accounts ahead of federal credit card reform legislation slated to go into effect early next year.    » read more »

Calls on companies to provide relief for middle class families

07 October 2009 -- Washington DC - Congressman John Adler, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, sent a letter to the country's major credit card companies, calling on them to pledge to not change the terms on consumer credit card accounts ahead of federal credit card reform legislation slated to go into effect early next year.

The letter came in response to claims that credit card companies are unfairly hiking their interest rates before the Credit CARD Act takes effect.    » read more »

Energy sources may include wind, biomass, solar, falling water

RICHMOND, Va., Oct. 5 -- Dominion Virginia Power customers can help the environment for as little as $2 per month by supporting renewable "green power." This year, more than 3,500 customers have discovered how easy it is to sign up. A short video about the Dominion Green Power program is available online.

Dominion Green Power has been available since January 1 to customers seeking a way to demonstrate their commitment to protecting the environment by purchasing renewable energy certificates in support of the production and development of renewable energy.    » read more »

October 6, 2009 -- WASHINGTON — Four Members of Congress who played key roles in enactment of the Credit CARD Act, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., and Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., sent a letter today to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke urging him to strengthen collection of credit card data to enable policymakers to monitor changing credit card practices and evaluate the impact of the new law. A copy of the letter is attached and available below.

October 6, 2009

The Honorable Ben Bernanke
Chairman
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Twentieth and Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20551

Dear Mr. Chairman:    » read more »

Big Bank “Reforms” Fail to Protect Customers, Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) Needed

October 5, 2009 -- Washington, DC --- Announced changes to overdraft programs at the nation’s largest banks will not protect American consumers from exorbitantly expensive short-term loans or extend federal consumer protections to the most expensive loans banks make.    » read more »

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2, 2009 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that the number of farmers markets in the United States is up more than 13 percent from a year ago. A recent update of the online Farmers Market Directory lists 5,274 markets nationwide, up from 4,685 reported in 2008.

"Farmers markets assure that consumers have easier access to local fruits and vegetables and this growth demonstrates incredible interest consumers have in purchasing from local producers," said Vilsack. "Farmers market also connects the community to the local farmers who produce the fresh food, and play an important role in the direct marketing of produce to local consumers."    » read more »

Groups call for enactment of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) to oversee shifting credit card practices

September 28, 2009 -- Washington, DC – A Consumer Action and Consumer Federation of America analysis of recent credit card industry practices found that card issuers are using a variety of costly, unfair tactics that will not be eliminated under an impending new law. These expensive and exploitive practices demonstrate the need for ongoing oversight of the credit card industry by a new consumer agency.

Card issuers are also hitting consumers with charges that will be forbidden under the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act, which takes effect in February, 2010.    » read more »

September, 2009 -- More than a full year after gas prices peaked above $4.00 a gallon, Americans still report changing driving habits and worrying about gas costs.

In AARP’s Closer Look poll, the first of a series of quarterly polls of boomers and older Americans planned for regular release by AARP, half (51%) of all Americans age 45+ reported having had trouble paying for gas or driving less to cut costs in the past year. In fact, more people age 45+ reported problems with gas prices than reported problems paying their medical bills or experiencing losses in the financial markets.    » read more »

Winter Fuels: How Inventories are Stacking Up

September 30, 2009 -- One of the critical factors energy analysts focus on each fall, ahead of the rise in demand for heating fuels, is the pre-winter build-up of fuel inventories. This year, inventories are unusually high for all winter fuels, including distillates (which includes heating oil), natural gas, propane, and coal used for electricity generation.

Current high inventories stem primarily from the recession. As the economic downturn deepened throughout 2008 and 2009, energy demand fell, but supply was relatively slow to respond. As a result, stocks of many fuels were pushed well above typical historical levels.    » read more »

9/30/09 -- WASHINGTON – Today, the Senate and House conference committee approved the FY2010 Agriculture Appropriations bill including $3.376 billion for food and drug safety. The bill provides funding for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). Under the bill, funding for these two agencies would increase $353 million over last year's level. Kohl is the Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee.    » read more »

Cantwell Amendment Included in Finance Committee Health Care Bill to Require Pharmacy Benefit Managers to Report Pricing, Other Information to Government

September 25, 2009 -- Washington, DC – The Senate Finance Committee today approved an amendment authored by U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) to require reporting by pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to ensure that savings from drug price negotiations are being passed on to consumers and not contributing more to pharmaceuticals’ bottom lines.    » read more »

West Virginia Continues to Lead Collision Likelihood List

Bloomington, Ill., Sept. 28, 2009 – The number of vehicles on U.S. roadways has grown by 7 percent over the last five years. But the number of times those vehicles have collided with deer has swelled by much more than that.

Using its claims data, auto insurer State Farm estimates 2.4 million collisions between deer and vehicles occurred in the U.S. during the two-year period between July 1, 2007 and June 30, 2009 (100,000 per month). That’s 18.3 percent more than five years earlier. To put it another way, one of these unfortunate encounters occurs every 26 seconds (although they are much more likely during the last three months of the year and in the early evening).

MORE DEER-VEHICLE COLLISIONS    » read more »