USDA Declares Additional E. Coli Strains as Adulterants The Obama Administration announced last week that it is adding six strains of E. coli to the list of pathogenic strains prohibited in ground beef, a step CFA and others have been urging for years.  Industry has six months to make changes in their safety controls before … Continued

USDA Urged to Declare Antibiotic-Resistant Salmonella an Adulterant In the wake of a recent outbreak of antibiotic-resistant Salmonella Heidelberg in which at least 107 people in 31 states were sickened and one person died, the Safe Food Coalition has called on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to declare certain strains of antibiotic-resistant Salmonella as … Continued

Administration Makes Fuel Economy Increase Official Nearly lost in last week’s coverage of the debt ceiling crisis was the official announcement by the White House that it had reached agreement on a plan to raise the average fuel economy standards for passenger vehicles to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. Under the new standards, fuel … Continued

Financial Reform is On Track but Remains at Risk One year after enactment of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, federal financial regulators have made great strides implementing its sweeping reforms, according to a progress report issued this week by CFA. That progress is threatened, however, by the unrelenting efforts of industry … Continued

56 MPG Fuel Economy Standard by 2025 Good for Consumers and Automakers With the Obama Administration poised to make a decision on extending fuel efficiency requirements to 2025, CFA released an issue brief two weeks ago arguing that the “scenario of a five percent per year increase to 56 mpg is the lowest level at … Continued

Consumer Protection Funding Cuts Would Be “Devastating” As the House Appropriations Committee prepared to mark up the financial services appropriations bill this week, CFA urged the committee members to avoid devastating cuts to consumer protection from unsafe financial and consumer products alike. In a statement issued in advance of the scheduled markup, CFA Legislative Director … Continued

House Panel Votes to Cut Food Safety Funding The House Appropriations Committee approved a 2012 agriculture funding bill (H.R. 2112) last week that makes dramatic and dangerous cuts to food safety funding. The House bill would cut the Food and Drug Administration’s food safety program by $87 million below FY 2011 funding levels and would … Continued

Rising Gas Costs Drive Support for Tough Fuel Economy Standards The vast majority of Americans are concerned about gasoline prices (85 percent), think it is important to reduce oil consumption (87 percent), and believe it is important to increase fuel economy standards (75 percent), according to a survey released last week by CFA. The survey, … Continued

House Panel Votes to Weaken New Consumer Agency The House Financial Services Committee approved three bills last week designed to undermine the ability of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to stop abusive financial practices by significantly increasing the ability of financial regulators to block important consumer protection measures initiated by the CFPB, by … Continued

Mark-up Set for Bills to Weaken CFPB Authority The Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee is scheduled to mark up two bills this week that would dramatically undermine the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau before it even opens its doors. A broad coalition of groups, including CFA, wrote to members of the subcommittee this week … Continued

Most Consumer Protections Avoid 2011 Budget Cuts After weeks of sometimes testy negotiations, Congress approved a budget (H.R. 1473) for the remainder of 2011 last week that imposes painful cuts on many vital government programs but from which the most harmful measures related to consumer issues had been removed. The bill passed both the House … Continued

Senate Urged To Pass Appliance Energy Standards Bill In testimony before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee earlier this month, CFA Research Director Mark Cooper called on the Senate to adopt legislation (S. 398) promoting appliance energy efficiency and to oppose legislation (S. 395) repealing lighting standards that were adopted by the Congress and … Continued

Increased Fuel Economy Urged as Part of Energy Initiative With gasoline prices spiking, House Republicans rolled out their “American Energy Initiative” last month, reviving proposals to expand domestic oil and gas production, promote nuclear energy, and encourage development of natural gas powered vehicles. At a hearing on the package of proposals in the Energy and … Continued

Adjustments Urged in Debit Interchange Rules One of the more contentious issues to emerge during implementation of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act is a requirement that the Federal Reserve issue rules regarding debit card interchange fees, debit card payment network exclusivity requirements and the routing of debit transactions. Among other things, … Continued

Congress Returns to Stepped Up Budget Negotiations With time set to run out at the end of this week on the Continuing Resolution that is currently funding the federal government, negotiations over the 2011 spending bill are expected to dominate the congressional agenda this week. On the positive side, the threat of an immediate government … Continued

Administration Housing Plan Threatens Access to Affordable Housing The Administration recently released plans for mortgage finance reform that housing advocates argue could threaten consumers’ access to affordable mortgage credit. Promised in the wake of the real estate bust and failure of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the plan contains three options for future … Continued

FCC Urged To Proceed with Bill Shock Rules Consumer groups reiterated their support for strong rules to prevent wireless “bill shock” in reply comments submitted earlier this week to the Federal Communications Commission. The comments refute arguments put forward by industry members in opposition to the proposed rule. Contrary to industry claims, the rules are … Continued

SEC Advocates Fiduciary Duty for Advice by Brokers In a major reversal of decades-old agency policy, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a report Saturday calling for brokers to be held to the same high standard to act in the best interests of their customers that all other advisers face when they give investment advice … Continued

Food Safety Bill Becomes Law Last week, President Obama signed into law legislation that Chris Waldrop, Director of CFA’s Food Policy Institute, called “the most comprehensive reform of the Food and Drug Administration’s microbiological food safety program in 70 years.” In a press statement praising the President for signing the bill into law, Waldrop said … Continued

Congress Passes Food Safety Bill With the clock ticking down on the end of the legislative session, Congress passed the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (S. 510) this week. The Senate passed the bill late Sunday, followed by House passage on Tuesday. Despite its broad bipartisan support, the bill ran into trouble when a technical … Continued

CPSC Adopts Strong New Crib Safety Standards The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) adopted a new mandatory safety standard for cribs last week that consumer advocates called the strongest in the world. The action follows recalls of millions of cribs in recent years due to entrapment deaths and injuries. The new standards, which become mandatory … Continued

CPSC Approves Product Safety Database The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has voted 3-2 to implement a Consumer Product Safety Information Database that will allow people to share and access safety information about the products they own and consider buying. The database, which is required under the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), is now … Continued

Senate Votes to Take up Food Safety Bill In an important step forward on a top consumer priority, the Senate agreed to take up the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (S. 510) when Congress returns from Thanksgiving Recess. The bill, which has already passed the House in similar form, has been pending in the Senate … Continued