Travelers paying $60 to expedite their passport application should prepare to wait three weeks, not three business days, for their passport to arrive. The State Department published the change last week in the Federal Register, shifting the target processing date for expedited applications from “three business days” to “a number of business days,” which, according to the Washington Post, means three weeks. Members of Congress lambasted the change:
news from the swamp
FDA Reverses Course, Decides Now Might Not Be The Time To Close Half Its Field Labs
By 8.18.07
Bowing to pressure from Congress, the FDA has decided not to close more than half of its field labs. The ill-timed plan to consolidate seven of the agency’s thirteen labs in the name of efficiency and modernization was already under review by a Presidential panel, and had raised the ire of the powerful Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, John Dingell, who recently introduced legislation to block the reorganization.
Congress Prepares The FDA For Battle With The Chinese Poison Train
By 8.12.07
House Energy and Commerce Chairman John Dingell (D-MI) has drafted a bill that will dramatically alter the way the FDA handles imported food. Under the draft bill, food imports would be limited to ports clustered near FDA field labs, and would need to display a label identifying the country of origin. Exporters would be subject to a strict new certification program established by the Department of Health and Human Services. And that is just the start.
Attention: The Subprime Meltdown Will Be Politicized
By 8.8.07
The subprime meltdown has made its way into campaign speeches, thanks to one Sen. H. Clinton (D-NY).
Senate Committee Votes To Give FDA Power To Regulate Tobacco
By 8.3.07
The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee voted 13-8 to empower the FDA to regulate tobacco products. States and municipalities have spent years shoving cigarettes out of the public domain, but the FDA would be able to control cigarette advertising, mandate bigger, European-style warning labels, and regulate nicotine content. Only Congress has the power to ban cigarettes outright. From the Boston Globe:
Yesterday’s slim majority however, came as Republican-sponsored amendments loom that could gut the bill’s main intent.
New York Times To Congress: Fix Our Broken !@$% Banking System!
By 8.1.07
The New York Times published an editorial damning Congress’ unwillingness to protect consumers from a rising tide of unreasonable fees and penalties that have boosted the financial sector’s bottom line, while impoverishing millions of Americans.
Wireless Consumers Both Win and Lose With New FCC Rules
By 8.1.07
You win some, you lose some. Google’s bid to created an open wireless network was only partially sucessful today as the FCC rejected some of the search giant’s conditions, but adopted others.
Liveblogging the Senate Commerce Committee Oversight Hearing On Telemarketing Fraud
By 7.31.07
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.)
House Passes Food Farm Bill
By 7.31.07
Farm policy for the next five years will remain largely the same under a bill passed Friday by the House. The $286 billion measure, H.R. 2419, was approved 231-191. Despite Michael Pollan’s pleas, the farm bill never transformed into a consumer-friendly food bill; though several billion dollars will go towards conservation spending, nutrition programs, and aid to fruit and vegetable growers, a significant chunk of the bill, $42 billion, will fund subsidies to farmers and agribusiness. The Senate is expected to write its own version of the farm bill in September.
The Senate's New Student Loan Plan: Give Aid To Students, Not Corporations
By 7.28.07
Hey kids, good news! Student loans will become cheaper under a bill approved last week by the Senate. H.R. 2669, passed 78-17, will recast the Department of Education as Robin Hood, diverting money from lending companies to students.
Are Aribitrators Punished By Credit Card Companies For Ruling In Favor Of The Consumer?
By 7.23.07
According to a study by the Christian Science Monitor, the top 10 most used arbitrators ruled for consumers only 1.6% of the time, as opposed to 38% for those who were not dependent on arbitration fees.
Minimum Wage Bumps Up To $5.85 This Week
By 7.21.07
The federal minimum wage is rising to $5.85 this week, up from $5.15. The change is part of a plan to give minimum-wage workers an additional 70 cent boost each summer until 2009, when the minimum wage will be $7.50, or about $15,000 a year before taxes and without taking time off.
Congress Wants Consumers To Have More Information About Their Broadband Connection
By 7.21.07
The government may soon help consumers pick between competing broadband offers, if a Senate bill becomes law. Last week, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation unanimously approved S. 1492, the Broadband Data Improvement Act. The bill focuses primarily on refining the FCC’s analysis of broadband deployment: the Commission would have to reevaluate the definition of broadband as anything over 200 kbps; broadband access would be evaluated by smaller zip+4 codes, rather than full zip codes; and, the Commission would need to create a new metric for services such as high definition video. Most helpful to consumers, however, is a provision calling for the Government Accountability Office to provide consumers with information about their broadband connection’s costs and capabilities:
Bill To Outlaw "Fleeting" Swear Words Passes Senate Committee
By 7.21.07
Ars Technica says that a bill to give the FCC power over even”fleeting” swear words has passed a Senate committee and now moves on to the full Senate.
Liveblogging The Senate Commerce Committee Hearing On The Chinese Poison Train
By 7.18.07
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.
Cigarette Taxes Rising To $1 Per Pack
By 7.17.07
Sorry smokers, the federal cigarette tax will soon be $1 per pack, a 61 cent increase, if the Senate Finance Committee has its way. Both chambers of Congress agree that a higher tax is needed to help finance an expansion of the Children’s Health Insurance Program. From the Times-News Online:
Video Of Ted Stevens Wanting To Switch Between Phones "As I Ride My Motorcycle"
By 7.17.07
In it, he says, “Is it coming? Why shouldn’t I be able to say, just by a little switch on my phone at home that’s wired, I’m going off on the wireless now, I want to use this as I ride my motorcycle…I’m bad. Pardon me.”
The Consumer Product Safety Commission Wants New, Improved Powers
By 7.14.07
• The Commission wants the power to quickly codify voluntary industry standards, which are currently unenforceable by the CPSC.
