Patients Of Botched LASIK Surgery Urge FDA To Step In

Consumers Finally Allowed To Speak Out Against Abusive Credit Card Practices

Join us at 9:30 as we liveblog the Arbitration Fairness Act's second hearing before Congress. Arbitration is an extrajudicial jury-free way to resolve disputes where decisions are handed down by arbitrators who rule against consumers in 98.4% of cases. The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution will be considering S. 1782, an Act to banish mandatory binding arbitration from consumer disputes.

An October hearing on companion legislation in the House Judiciary Committee quickly devolved into a sob story, with three consumers sharing in horrifying detail how arbitration left them financially ruined. Today's hearing will be comparatively sedate, featuring one panel of academics and lawyers.

Join us at 9:30 as the professionals slice and dice the wonderful and evil qualities of the most anti-consumer practice allowed by law—for now.
(Photo: xsparrowx)
9:32: Video Link - Constitution Subcommittee hearing to examine S. 1782, to amend Chapter 1 of Title 9 of the United States Code with respect to arbitration. Coverage begins momentarily. Oh Congress, you could de-sass anything.
9:34: Here we go. Senator Feingold (D-WI) is chairing the hearing, already decrying our lost right to jury trials.

Liveblogging The Senate Permanent Subcommittee On Investigations Hearing On Arbitrary Credit Card Rate Increases

Today at 9:30 a.m., Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) will continue his investigation into the unfair and deceptive practices of the credit card industry. Today's topic: arbitrary rate increases for cardholders in good standing. The hearing picks up where Senator Levin left off in March, when he questioned the use of excessive fees, interest charges, and the abuse of grace periods.

Today's hearing will feature two panels. First, three aggrieved consumers will share their horror stories. Then, the presidents of Discover, Bank of America, and Capitol One will explain that the three consumers who just testified are not at all representative of average cardholders. Right.

The tears and lies start flowing at 9:30 a.m.
(Photo: samwilkinson)

9:25: Two choices for your viewing and listening pleasure: Video Link—Audio Link
9:34: And we're off. Levin has arranged for an interesting hearing. The first consumer we will hear from is Janet Hard. Janet is married to a steamfitter. She has a Discover card that jumped from 18% to 24% because her FICO score dropped. When Janet complained, the rate dropped to 21%. Discover's President will testify today.

Liveblogging The Senate Commerce Committee Hearing On Cigarettes, The FTC, And Deceptive Advertising

Starting today at 2:30 p.m., the Senate Commerce Committee will ask the FTC why it can't accurately measure the level of tar or nicotine in cigarettes. The Commission has admitted: "[our] ratings tend to be relatively poor predictors of tar and nicotine exposure." The Committee is concerned that "light" and "ultra light" cigarettes are really just dolled-up deathsticks slapped a pretty name, and that the FTC doesn't have sufficient legal firepower to stamp out deceptive marketing practices.

Today's smoker will feature two panels. The government agencies responsible for keeping us informed, if not safe - the FTC, the National Cancer Institute, and the CDC - will testify first, followed by scientists from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Penn State University.

Take out a cigarette and meet us in the foyer at 2:30 for the latest from Washington.
(Photo: zakgollop)

02:25: Video Link - In the olden days, hearing rooms came filled with smoke.
02:35: And we're called to order. Mostly empty room, which is surprising for a tobacco hearing.
02:36: The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has determined that light cigarettes can often be more deadly than regular cigarettes.

Liveblogging The Do Not Call Improvement Act and CPSC Reform Act Committee Markups

Get ready for dual-chamber coverage of the House and Senate markups of the Do Not Call Improvement Act and the CPSC Reform Act, starting at 2 pm. The FTC-supported Do Not Call Improvement Act would make Do Not Call registrations permanent. The House is set to consider its version, H.R. 3541, in the House Energy and Commerce Committee at 2 pm, while the Senate Commerce Committee will markup its own version, S. 2096, at 2:30 pm. The Senate will also markup S. 2045, the CPSC Reauthorization Act, which would boost the CPSC budget to almost $150 million, add 80 new staffers, and increase the CPSC's maximum fine from $1.8 million to $100 million.

Committee markups are where our Congressional representatives do actual work. Amendments will be proposed, debated, and voted on. Unlike hearings, there are no witnesses. The House and Senate versions of the Do Not Call Improvement Act are currently identical, but may emerge in different, competing forms depending on what happens in markup.

Join us starting at 2 p.m. as we fly between the chambers with the speed and alacrity of a pigeon.
(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

1:45: House Video Link
1:50: Senate Audio Link - Ted Stevens didn't want to put on makeup today, so the Senate hearing will be audio only.

Consumers may finally escape from the clutches of mandatory binding arbitration if the House Judiciary Committee smiles favorably today upon the Arbitration Fairness Act. Arbitrators rule against consumers in more than 98% of all disputes; the Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law is currently meeting to consider H.R. 3010, which would restore consumers' rights to resolve disputes fairly and openly.

Today's hearing will feature two panels. Four separate law firms will testify, along with the American Arbitration Association and Public Citizen. Join us as we struggle to interpret the Committee's legalese - which may prove just as futile as binding arbitration.
(Photo: xsparrowx)

2:00: Video Link
2:05: Today's commentary is brought to you by both Carey and Meghann in the hope that two pairs of ears will be able to decipher the Committee's legalese.
2:41: FINALLY! The hearing has been called to order.

Liveblogging The Senate Commerce Committee Hearing On Toys, Children's Products, And The Chinese Sweatshops In Which They're Made

Starting today at 9:30 a.m., the Senate Commerce Committee will examine the lives of the young Chinese workers who assemble our Barbies and Tiggers without the workforce protections or social safety nets enjoyed by western workers.

Today's hearing will feature just one panel. Labor activists from the National Labor Committee and the International Labor Rights Forum will appear beside a past president of the Toy Industry Association - formerly called the Toy Manufacturers Association, before the widespread use of Chinese sweatshops.

Storytime kicks off at 9:30 a.m., complete with heart-wrenching testimonials, pictures of sweatshops, and maybe even a surprise appearance from Senator Stevens. Cookies and apple juice, optional.
(AP Photo/Lee Celano)

09:30: The Committee has provided 20 kpbs of video link goodness.
09:40: Subcommittee Chairman Dorgan will be leading the hearing; we always enjoy the when Chairman takes the reigns and doesn't punt to a junior Senator.
09:41: 80% of our toys are manufactured in China.

Liveblogging The Senate Commerce Committee Hearing: Cellphone Companies And The Customers They Hate

Today at 10 a.m., the Senate Commerce Committee will pry through bone and muscle to see if cellphone companies really do have hearts of pure stone. The Committee will question the industry's most egregious practices: junk fees, illegal contract extensions, and early termination fees. The industry is working overtime to cast itself as the consumer's best friend, with AT&T recently agreeing to prorate ETFs as part of a desperate attempt to show that federal regulation is unnecessary.

AT&T doesn't have the cojones to appear before the committee, so the heavy task of defending the industry will fall solely to Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam. Facing off against the industry, Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson - who sued Sprint for illegally extending contracts - and representatives from Consumers Union, the Public Service Commission of West Virginia, and a researcher from George Mason University.

Set your phones to vibrate and keeping hitting refresh to watch as the Senate asks Verizon: "Can you hear me now?"
(Photo: KB35)

09:50: The video feed is alive and well.
10:05: C-SPAN was going to cover this hearing, but apparently the Attorney General confirmation hearing is more important.
10:09: "Meeting to order!" "Let me say two things: I will have to leave soon." Looks like Amy Klobuchar is going to chair this meeting. Good, we like her style.

Liveblogging the Senate Commerce Committee Hearing On CPSC Reform

Starting today at 2:30, the Senate Commerce Committee will take up S. 2045, the CPSC Reform Act of 2007. Beyond reauthorizing the Consumer Product Safety Commission for the next seven years, the Act would:

• Boost the CPSC budget from $62 million to $147 million by 2015;
• Add 80 new staffers;
• Repair the CPSC's decrepit inspection facilities;
• Fund a full slate of 5 Commissioners;
• Increase civil penalties from $8,000 per violation to $250,000;
• Increase the maximum penalty for a series of violations from $1.8 million to a staggering $100 million;

Keep hitting refresh as we watch Congress go Scrooge McDuck and dive into the unlimited tower of gold.
(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

2:34: Hey, Commerce Committee. Your official webcast link has gone Strom on us. Please fix!
2:39: Ok, it's not video, but we have an audio link that will suffice for the moment. Grrr, the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee is underwhelming us with their technology. C-SPAN3 had promised to cover the hearing, but something about Iraq is apparently more important than toys.

Starting today at 10 a.m., the powerful Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, John Dingell (D-MI), will hold a hearing on H.R. 3610, The Food and Drug Import Safety Act of 2007, or, as we have dubbed the bill, The Poison-Free Food Act. The bill would dramatically alter the FDA's handling of imported foods, empowering the agency to:

• Issue mandatory recalls;
• Limit food imports to ports clustered near FDA inspection labs;
• Require a country of origin labels for food, drugs and medical devices;
• Subject exporters to a strict certification program administered by the Department of Health and Human Services.

Start hitting refresh at 10 a.m. for up-to-the-minute coverage of overly politicized opening statements and excessively verbose questioning.
(Photo: Associated Press)

9:40: Video Link
10:07: And we're off! Chairman Dingell must be sleeping in - Frank Pallone of New Jersey has taken over his seat.

Starting at 10 a.m., the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection will ask how best to protect children from lead-tainted imports. The hearing will be chaired by former Black Panther, Bobby Rush (D-IL), and comes exactly one week after the Senate Appropriations Committee grilled the CPSC and toy industry representatives at a similar hearing.

Parading before you today will be two familiar panels: The first will feature acting Consumer Product Safety Commission Chair Nancy Nord and Commissioner Thomas Moore, who skipped out of last week's hearing for a dentists appointment. The second will be devoted solely to Mattel CEO Robert Eckert.

Keep hitting refresh for up-to-the-minute coverage, including pictures of Members playing with lead-ridden children's toys.
(Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

9:30: Video Link - The House knows better than to use Real Player. Fun fact: before entering the Senate, Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) was the Vice-President of Marketing for Real Networks.
10:10: Nancy Nord just snuck in, holding up the start.
10:13: Bang a gong, we are on! Good turnout today. It looks like ten members are in their seats and ready to give opening statements.

Today is a big day for Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL). Starting at 11am, the Chairman of the powerful Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government will kick off a series of hearings examining the toy industry's seemingly magnetic attraction to lead paint. Durbin, whose Subcommittee has jurisdiction over the Consumer Product Safety Commission's budget, will grill toy industry representatives, consumer advocates, and members of the government over plans to protect America's children from the dangers silently lurking on toy shelves by establishing an independent testing regime.

The Subcommittee will haul not one, but two Consumer Product Safety Commissioners to testify, along with the heads of Toys R Us and Mattel, who recently agreed to start testing their products for lead paint contamination. Representatives from Consumers Union and the official-sounding American National Standards Institute will round out the motley crew of pedoprotectionists.

Keep hitting refresh for hot, steamy, liveblogging action!
(AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

10:35: Video Link - Today's hearing will be carried live on C-SPAN. If you can't wait until 11, hit the link now for coverage of the U.S.-China Consumer Product Safety Summit.
11:00: Right on time! Looks like this will be a family affair; members from the Senate Commerce Committee will be stopping in. Expect to see Senators Pryor (D-AR), Nelson (D-FL), and Klobuchar (D-MN) soon.

Over 300 Complaints: Maryland Public Service Commission Goes After Verizon

Liveblogging the Senate Commerce Committee Oversight Hearing On Telemarketing Fraud

Join us at 2:30 we liveblog the Senate Commerce Committee's oversight hearing on telemarketing fraud. The Committee wants to fight telemarketers who target vulnerable senior citizens, so they're going to ask the FTC to take center stage and explain its implementation of the Do-Not-Call list and the Credit Reporting Organizations Act (CROA.)

The Committee will hear from two panels. The first will spotlight the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, while the second will feature an assortment of interested parties, including AARP, the Direct Marketing Association, Equifax, and the Assistant Attorney General of Iowa.

Keep hitting refresh for up-to-the-minute analysis and the Senator Steven's meme watch!
(AP Photo/Brian Bohannon)

2:30: Looks like we'll be starting late. Again.
2:36: Here we go! Use this handy video feed to peer into room 253, the Senate Commerce Committee's preferred hearing room in the Russell Senate office building.

Join us at 10 am as we liveblog the progress of the Senate Commerce Committee's China-bashing posse. Though common sense, and a report from the New York Times, shows that the U.S. imports tainted goods from several countries, the committee, and its smorgasbord of panelists, will only discuss the problems plaguing goods from China.

Five agencies will share their experiences jumping in front of the Chinese Poison Train: the National Highway Safety Institute (tire recall,) the National Marine Fisheries Service (fish recall,) the Consumer Product Safety Commission (Thomas the Poison Train recall,) and of course, the Food and Drug Administration. Several consumer advocacy groups will testify, including Consumers Union, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the American Enterprise Institute, and the National Association of Manufacturers, former home of former CPSC Chair nominee Michael Baroody.

Keep hitting refresh as we liveblog the latest calls for reform sprinkled liberally with (apparently) xenophobic fear-mongering!
(Photo: AsiaNews)

09:57: There are two feeds: an audio feed from CaptiolHearings.org, and a video feed from the Senate Commerce Committee.
10:05: Coverage begins momentarily... maybe their Chinese-made cameras broke?
10:07: Here we go!

Ted Stevens Wants To Switch Between Phones "As I Ride My Motorcycle"

Carey has a hot new Ted Stevens bon mot, gleaned from his liveblogging of the Senate Commerce Committee Hearing On Number Portability, coming from the same crazy-old-man-stratosphere as his infamous "series of tubes" remark.

Listen to the clip

Transcript inside...

Liveblogging The Senate Commerce Committee Hearing On Number Portability

Join us today at 10 am Eastern as we liveblog the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation hearing on telephone number portability. These are the laws and procedures governing your ability to take a phone number started with one carrier to another. Historically, telephone companies have sought to limit customer's portability rights.

The full committee will hear testimony from both industry representatives, and from a spunky former Eagle Scout representing the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners. Telcos have spent over $18 million in the past two years lobbying Congress; let's see what their money has bought.

Keep hitting refresh for up-to-the-minute analysis and breaking off-the-cuff remarks!

10:00: Quoth C-SPAN: "Hearing on telephone number portability. Coverage being momentarily." Exciting!
10:07: And we're off! To watch the hearing, click this link, which will open in Real Player.
10:08: Chairman Inouye didn't bother to show up for his own hearing. How odd. Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) gets to run the show
10:09: Senator Stevens is making his opening remarks. There was a notable, worried stumble as he said "internet, internet services."
10:10: Today will be all about expanding number portability not just between wireless and wireline services, but to all voice services, including VoIP. We now have dreams of porting our number to GrandCentral.