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Housing Issues in the 110th Congress

Description: This report examines housing-related issues that have become prominent in the 110th Congress. Possibly the most visible issue is the prevalence of subprime loans and growing mortgage default and foreclosure rates. Congress has responded with numerous hearings and legislative proposals both to change the way in which the lending and home-buying industry is regulated and to assist borrowers who are facing default and foreclosure.
Date: November 1, 2007
Creator: Perl, Libby; McCarty, Maggie; Foote, Bruce E.; Boyd, Eugene; Getter, Darryl E.; Jackson, Pamela J. et al.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Credit Card Minimum Payments

Description: Recently, credit card issuers began adjusting their minimum payment formulas, raising the amount of the required monthly payment. Congress has focused on the need to increase consumer awareness of the financial jeopardy that can result from paying only the required minimum. This report provides an overview of the issues and congressional action. It will be updated as events warrant.
Date: December 21, 2005
Creator: Smale, Pauline
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Why is the Household Saving Rate So Low?

Description: This report begins by showing how much the household saving rate has declined in recent years. Next, it explains how household saving is measured, and provides some detail on how saving varies across the income distribution. Finally, it discusses factors that may account for the decline in household saving, as well as how much of a policy concern the decline in household saving may be.
Date: January 9, 2008
Creator: Cashell, Brian W.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC): Efforts to Support Financial and Housing Markets

Description: This report discusses recent actions taken by the FDIC in support of financial and housing markets, which include restoration of the Deposit Insurance Fund, the development of the Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program, efforts to reduce foreclosures, and establishment of the proposed Public-Private Investment Fund. Legislation such as H.R. 786 (introduced by Representative Barney Frank); H.R. 1106, Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009 (introduced by Representative John Conyers, Jr., wi… more
Date: March 27, 2009
Creator: Getter, Darryl E. & Gonzales, Oscar R.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Understanding Mortgage Foreclosure: Recent Events, the Process, and Costs

Description: This report provides a general analysis and overview of current foreclosure issues addressed in the bills cited above. It begins with a description of the behavior of aggregate foreclosure rates. The behaviors of foreclosure rates are placed in the context of activity in the housing and mortgage market to illustrate any relationships. The foreclosure process is then explained, first from the point of view of a traditional financial lending institution, and then from the viewpoint of securitizat… more
Date: November 5, 2007
Creator: Getter, Darryl E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Federal Credit Reform: Implementation Of the Changed Budgetary Treatment of Direct Loans and Loan Guarantees

Description: This report explains the provisions of the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (FCRA), examine the implementation of credit reform including credit reform provisions of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA97), and discusses proposed modifications of credit reform. In order to achieve these objectives, it is necessary to initially discuss justifications for credit programs, federal credit concepts, and the budgetary treatment of federal credit before the FCRA.
Date: April 25, 2006
Creator: Bickley, James M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Predatory Lending: Background on the Issue and Overview of Legislation in the 106th Congress

Description: This report presents an overview of the predatory lending issue, a summary of present law, a summary of joint HUD and Treasury recommendations to address the issue, and a side-by-side summary of five bills introduced in the 106th Congress that addressed the issue. Though no action occurred on these bills, the issue is expected to continue in the 107th Congress.
Date: March 7, 2001
Creator: Foote, Bruce E.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Agricultural Credit: Institutions and Issues

Description: The federal government has a long history of providing credit assistance to farmers by issuing direct loans and guarantees, and creating rural lending institutions. These institutions include the Farm Service Agency (FSA) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which makes or guarantees loans to farmers who cannot qualify at other lenders, and the Farm Credit System (FCS), which is a network of borrower-owned lending institutions operating as a government-sponsored enterprise. This report… more
Date: March 8, 2007
Creator: Monke, Jim
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Tax Gap: Proposals in the 110th Congress to Require Brokers to Report Basis on Publicly Traded Securities

Description: Recent and projected large deficits and the need for revenue to offset spending or tax reduction proposals generated congressional and executive branch interest in different proposals to reduce the tax gap; and consequently, raise additional revenue. Proposals in the 110th Congress to require brokers to report adjusted basis on publicly traded securities sold by individuals are examined in this report.
Date: October 8, 2008
Creator: Bickley, James M.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Insurance Regulation: Issues, Background, and Legislation in the 111th Congress

Description: This report discusses congressional and action on insurance regulation in the wake of the recent financial crisis. Although the financial crisis has changed the focus of the debate surrounding insurance regulatory reform, many of the pre-crisis pressures for regulatory changes continue.
Date: August 19, 2009
Creator: Webel, Baird
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Industrial Loan Companies/Banks and the Separation of Banking and Commerce: Legislative and Regulatory Perspectives

Description: Industrial Loan Companies (ILCs), are state-chartered and state-regulated depository institutions whose deposits the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) may insure. This report addresses the controversy over expansion of ILCs by line of business and by branching across the nation as follows, providing: (1) a historical overview of the U.S. separation of banking and commerce; (2) information on ILCs and their regulation; and (3) identifying and analyzing relevant legislation in Congress. more
Date: June 27, 2005
Creator: Jackson, William D.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Risk Management and Critical Infrastructure Protection: Assessing, Integrating, and Managing Threats, Vulnerabilities and Consequences

Description: This report is meant to support congressional oversight by discussing, in more detail, what this task entails and issues that need to be addressed. In particular, the report defines terms (e.g., threat, vulnerability, and risk), discusses how they fit together in a systematic analysis, describes processes and techniques that have been used to assess them, and discusses how the results of that analysis can inform resource allocation and policy.
Date: July 17, 2007
Creator: Moteff, John
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The New York Stock Exchange: Governance and Market Reform

Description: As the world’s largest stock exchange and a key part of the U.S. economy, the NYSE is a central focus of Congress’s oversight of financial markets. This report sets out the basic issues in NYSE governance and market structure.
Date: November 5, 2003
Creator: Jickling, Mark D.
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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