CEI Today: $26 billion foreclosure settlement, STOCK Act muzzling, Solyndra scandal latest and more

Monday, February 13, 2012
In the News Today

Media Contacts: Christine Hall 202.331.2258 Nicole Ciandella 202.331.2773 CEI Experts by Issue Advancing Capitalism Constitutional and Legal Issues Energy and Environment Finance and Entrepreneurship Health and Safety Labor Nanny State Regulatory Reform Tech and Telecom Trade and International Transportation   Also featuring... CEI IN THE NEWS THE "FRED WEEKLY" February 2, 2012: McDonald's and Pepsi's Different Response to Pressure CEI Podcast for February 2, 2012: The FDA’s Latest Power Grab Fellow in Consumer Policy Studies Michelle Minton breaks down the FDA’s behind-the-scenes push to regulate dietary supplements nearly as strictly as prescription drugs. >Listen at Libertyweek.org

SOLYNDRA SCANDAL - MYRON EBELL Globalwarming.org: House Ratchets Up Probe of White House Involvement in Solyndra Scandal Fourteen Republican members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, led by Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) sent a strongly-worded, five-page letter to the White House on 9th February setting a 21st February deadline for turning over documents related to the White House’s involvement in the Solyndra scandal.   The letter also demands that five officials be made available for interviews by 17th February. > Read the full commentary on Globalwarming.org   > Interview Myron Ebell, Director of CEI's Center on Energy and Environment FINANCIAL REGULATION & THE "STOCK ACT" - JOHN BERLAU OpenMarket.org:The STOCK Act’s Muzzle and How to Fix it in Conference Both the Senate and the House have now passed to STOCK Act aimed at stopping insider trading by lawmakers and staff.  But, as CEI's John Berlau warns, the bill as presented to the conference committee contains dangerous, excessive restrictions on communictaion: "Both bills must go to “conference” to produce a final identical bill to be voted on by both houses, giving members an opportunity for a fix to help make sure that whistleblowing and routine communication with outside groups from being caught in the law’s web." > Read the full commentary on Openmarket.org > Interview John Berlau, Director of CEI's Center for Investors and Entrepreneurs   BANK FORECLOSURE SETTLEMENT - HANS BADER Openmarket.org: $26 Billion Mortgage Settlement Rips Off Investors to Trim Banks’ Massive Costs of Bailing Out Deadbeat Borrowers On Friday, the Justice Department and state attorneys general announced a settlement agreement, perhaps the largest federal-state civil settlement in American history, with five banks including Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. over foreclosure practices. CEI's Hans Bader explains why investors and others will now get ripped off: "By ripping off mortgage investors, this deal will make investing in mortgages more risky, which will in turn drive up interest rates that homebuyers have to pay in the future.  This deal only covers borrowers at certain banks, not those borrowers who mortgages are held by the government-sponsored mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which (unlike the private banks) have never repaid their bailout, and are currently still being bailed out at an ever-increasing tab of $170 billion. This deal is not the only way that federal and state officials are messing up the housing market.  The Obama administration is forcing banks to make risky loans (in the name of 'fair lending'), thus planting the seeds of a future financial crisis. The Justice Department is suing banks that refuse to do so, and forcing them both to award preferential loans based on race, and to cough up money in 'settlements,' some of which goes to left-wing 'community' groups. > Read the full commentary on Openmarket.org > Interview Hans Bader CPAC Roundup CEI co-sponsored this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Thursday, February 9 to Saturday, February 11 in Washington, D.C. CEI speakers addressed a range of provocative topics, from energy regulation to immigration, labor union politics to government regulation of the Internet.  We'll be posting video soon.  Today, video for the immigration debate is now available: CPAC panel featuring Alex Nowrasteh: Immigration - High Fences, Wide Gates: States vs. the Feds, the Rule of Law & American Identity Saturday, February 11, 2012 > View the video > Read more by Alex Nowrasteh > Interview Alex Nowrasteh Ten Thousand Commandments By Wayne Crews Welcome to The Other National Debt -- The Cost of Regulation -> Read Today's Decrees CEI is a non-profit, non-partisan public policy group dedicated to the principles of free enterprise and limited government.  For more information about CEI, please visit our website, cei.org, and blogs, Globalwarming.org and OpenMarket.org.  Follow CEI on Twitter! Twitter.com/ceidotorg.

2/10/12 Daily Grind: Obama the Usurper

Feb. 10, 2012

Obama the Usurper

Obama is tearing down the constitutional firewalls between state and church, and imposing his will alone. But it's even worse than that.

Cartoon: Your Will Be Done

The state imposes its will on the church.

Free Willy… from slavery?

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) brought suit against SeaWorld on behalf of the orcas performing in their aquatics show, citing that it violates the 13th amendment which prohibits slavery.

That jobs thing sure didn't last long

It is hard for most Americans to understand how it is contrary to the national interest to create 20,000 construction and manufacturing jobs.

CNNMoney.com: Mortgage deal—What the critics say

ALG President Bill Wilson rips $26 billion settlement between banks and government over alleged fraud in mortgage lending.

CEI Today: Banks Settlement, Overregulation, and the CEI Podcast

Friday, February 10, 2012
In the News Today

Media Contacts: Christine Hall 202.331.2258 Nicole Ciandella 202.331.2773 CEI Experts by Issue Advancing Capitalism Constitutional and Legal Issues Energy and Environment Finance and Entrepreneurship Health and Safety Labor Nanny State Regulatory Reform Tech and Telecom Trade and International Transportation   Also featuring... CEI IN THE NEWS THE "FRED WEEKLY" February 2, 2012: McDonald's and Pepsi's Different Response to Pressure CEI Podcast for February 2, 2012: The FDA’s Latest Power Grab Fellow in Consumer Policy Studies Michelle Minton breaks down the FDA’s behind-the-scenes push to regulate dietary supplements nearly as strictly as prescription drugs. >Listen at Libertyweek.org

BANKS SETTLEMENT - HANS BADER OpenMarket.org: Time to Pay Your Neighbor's Mortgage, Again "The Justice Department, state attorneys general, and the biggest banks have reached an agreement to provide at least $26 billion to delinquent mortgage borrowers and others, such as left-wing housing counseling groups similar to ACORN. But if you were financially responsible, you very likely won’t benefit from this settlement, but may actually be harmed by it. It only benefits a small fraction of people who were foreclosed upon, as well as some underwater borrowers, most of them delinquent, whose mortgages were serviced by certain banks. You likely won’t get any money or principal reduction under this settlement if you paid your mortgage on time, especially if you were thrifty enough to make a large down payment (which usually prevents you from ending up underwater on your mortgage unless there is a huge decline in housing values). Instead, you may suffer, because the settlement may lead to mortgage interest rates rising in the future.  (Politicians’ desire for this settlement was based onvoodoo economics)."     OVERREGULATION - RYAN YOUNG OpenMarket.org: Principles of Law: Simplicity is Beautiful "The U.S. Constitution is a model of simplicity. You can read the whole thing in under a half hour. And that is the secret of its success. It doesn’t need to outline the specifics of agricultural or trade policy. That’s Congress’ job. The EU’s de facto constitution runs well over 200 pages. Where the U.S. Constitution paints with a broad brush, the European Union fills in every last detail. Most countries, including the U.S., are turning to this top-down model and rejecting the Constitution’s more bottom-up approach. The thinking goes, “How can something so simple be effective when the modern world is such a complicated place? The 21st century is very different from the 18th century.” Good question. The answer is that those extra layers of complexity are precisely why a bottom-up approach is more important than ever. Top-down governance is hard enough even in a simple agrarian economy. It is impossible in a world like ours. Too many variables. The more rules there are, the easier they are to subvert." CEI PODCAST - RYAN YOUNG & ALEX NOWRASTEH  Immigration Tariffs "In the latest CEI Podcast, Fellow in Regulatory Studies Ryan Young interviews Alex Nowrasteh on immigration tarrifs.  Listen here." CEI AT CPAC! CEI is a co-sponsor of this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Thursday, February 9 to Saturday, February 11 in Washington, D.C. CEI will have a table in the exhibit hall of the hotel, the Marriot Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, DC.  Please stop by booth 1509 and say hello if you are attending CPAC. > Book CEI experts on Radio Row. > See CEI Speakers at CPAC: CPAC panel featuring Sam Kazman: The Red Tape War: How the Regulatory Burden and Growing Nanny State Threaten Prosperity Thursday, February 09, 2012 10:00 - 11:00 am Room "Wilson C" CPAC panel featuring Vincent Vernuccio: Return of Big Labor: What Can We Learn from Wisconsin & Ohio? Thursday, February 09, 2012 11:15 am – 12:00 pm Marshall Ballroom CPAC panel featuring Fred L. Smith, Jr. & Myron Ebell: The Obama EPA's Green Assault on American Jobs Thursday, February 09, 2012 4:15 - 5:00 pm Marshall Ballroom CPAC panel featuring Ryan Radia: Digital Liberty: Tying Government's Hands on Tech, Telecom, and the Web Friday, February 10, 2012 2:30 - 3:30 pm Maryland Room   CPAC panel featuring Alex Nowrasteh: Immigration - High Fences, Wide Gates: States vs. the Feds, the Rule of Law & American Identity Saturday, February 11, 2012 9:50 - 10:50 am Marriott Ballroom Visit Conservative.org/cpac for the full conference agenda. Ten Thousand Commandments By Wayne Crews Welcome to The Other National Debt -- The Cost of Regulation -> Read Today's Decrees CEI is a non-profit, non-partisan public policy group dedicated to the principles of free enterprise and limited government.  For more information about CEI, please visit our website, cei.org, and blogs, Globalwarming.org and OpenMarket.org.  Follow CEI on Twitter! Twitter.com/ceidotorg.