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 <title>Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2009</title>
 <link>http://themiddleclass.org/bill/patient-protection-and-affordable-care-act-2009</link>
 <description>&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-legislation field-field-legislation&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Legislation&lt;/h3&gt;
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&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-number-integer field-field-position&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;The middle class&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;Supports&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-video-cck field-field-video-summary&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Video Summary&lt;/h3&gt;
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      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;object height=&quot;185&quot; width=&quot;223&quot;&gt;&lt;param name=&quot;movie&quot; value=&quot;http://www.youtube.com/v/tIgSaDHOH7A&quot;&gt;&lt;param name=&quot;wmode&quot; value=&quot;transparent&quot;&gt;&lt;embed src=&quot;http://www.youtube.com/v/tIgSaDHOH7A&amp;rel=0&quot; type=&quot;application/x-shockwave-flash&quot; wmode=&quot;transparent&quot; height=&quot;185&quot; width=&quot;223&quot;&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-injustice-facts&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Injustice Facts&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;p&gt;Number of uninsured Americans in 2008: &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/p60-235.pdf&quot;&gt;45.7 million&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Estimated number of uninsured Americans after passage of the Affordable Health Care for America Act: &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/108xx/doc10868/12-19-Reid_Letter_Managers_Correction_Noted.pdf&quot;&gt;23 million&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Percentage growth in the uninsured between 2004 and 2007 that came from lower- and middle-income families: &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.kff.org/healthreform/upload/7951.pdf&quot;&gt;70&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Average annual worker contribution to health insurance premiums in employer-sponsored coverage in 1999: &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://ehbs.kff.org/pdf/2009/7937.pdf&quot;&gt;$1,543&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Average annual worker contribution to health insurance premiums in employer-sponsored coverage in 2009: &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://ehbs.kff.org/pdf/2009/7937.pdf&quot;&gt;$3,515&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Savings on premiums to a low-income family from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act because they do not have to buy private, nongroup insurance: &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Columns/2009/December/122109Cohn.aspx&quot;&gt;$10,076&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
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&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-summary&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Overview/Summary&lt;/h3&gt;
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&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-middle-class-position-ana&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Middle Class Position Analysis&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Middle Class Supports.&lt;/strong&gt;  Access to health care is a critical component of a middle-class standard of living.  Skyrocketing health care costs have created a vicious and destabilizing trap for middle-class Americans in which employer-sponsored coverage is offered less frequently and private coverage is increasingly unaffordable.  Meanwhile, successful public programs that effectively cover children (SCHIP), the poor (Medicaid), and the elderly (Medicare) are unavailable to middle-class adults.  Almost &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/p60-235.pdf&quot;&gt;46 million nonelderly Americans&lt;/a&gt; lack health insurance, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.kff.org/healthreform/upload/7951.pdf&quot;&gt;the majority of whom are low- and middle-income&lt;/a&gt;, and the rate of the uninsured has &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/p60-235.pdf&quot;&gt;grown significantly since 2000&lt;/a&gt;.  At the same time, the average worker’s health care premium &lt;a href=&quot;http://ehbs.kff.org/pdf/2009/7937.pdf&quot;&gt;has increased&lt;/a&gt; 128% (to $3,515) since 1999.  &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.pnhp.org/new_bankruptcy_study/Bankruptcy-2009.pdf&quot;&gt;One study&lt;/a&gt; even found that just shy of two thirds of all bankruptcies are due to medical expenses even though the vast majority of these bankruptcies involve families who have health insurance.  Because employers, too, have had to absorb similar premium increases, employer-sponsored insurance – the type of insurance most middle-class Americans obtain – &lt;a href=&quot;http://epi.3cdn.net/6356d48ae59f625af6_xxm6bnyn2.pdf&quot;&gt;has declined&lt;/a&gt; significantly in each of the last eight years.  The economic downturn has exacerbated this situation and experts &lt;a href=&quot;http://ehbs.kff.org/pdf/2009/7937.pdf&quot;&gt;estimate&lt;/a&gt; that each percentage point increase in the unemployment rate results in substantial increases in the number of uninsured Americans.  Given the high costs of obtaining insurance in the private, non-group market, which is nearly impossible without steady employment, many Americans have simply given up coverage over the last several years.  In short, a perfect storm of increasing health care costs and a down economy has undermined the financial stability and endangered the wellbeing of the middle class and the aspiring middle class.   &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act would do much to relieve the financial stress placed on these households by high health insurance costs while also extending health coverage to millions of Americans.  The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/108xx/doc10868/12-19-Reid_Letter_Managers_Correction_Noted.pdf&quot;&gt;estimates&lt;/a&gt; that the bill would reduce the number of uninsured to 23 million, leaving just 6 percent of the population without health coverage.  Expanding Medicaid to cover low-income adults is one of the most effective and cost-efficient means of covering more aspiring middle-class Americans.  The expansion would enroll &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/108xx/doc10868/12-19-Reid_Letter_Managers_Correction_Noted.pdf&quot;&gt;about 15 million individuals&lt;/a&gt; in Medicaid, providing an important public backstop for aspiring middle-class families.  Indeed, public programs &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.kff.org/uninsured/upload/8004.pdf&quot;&gt;have successfully kept&lt;/a&gt; millions of children from becoming uninsured, while the lack of such programs for low-income childless adults has led to increased numbers of the uninsured among this population.  Similarly, subsidized coverage in the Health Benefits Exchanges would &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/107xx/doc10781/11-30-Premiums.pdf&quot;&gt;reduce health care costs&lt;/a&gt; for tens of millions of households.  &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Columns/2009/December/122109Cohn.aspx&quot;&gt;Premium savings&lt;/a&gt; could be as high as $10,000 for a low-income household of four.  Such savings are targeted at the very groups that need the most help.  &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;At the same time as it helps reduce health care costs for middle-class and aspiring middle-class Americans, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act greatly improves health coverage by enacting strict requirements for the type of insurance that is offered.  The bill prevents the nightmare scenarios of being denied coverage just because you have become sick or being forced to pay higher premiums because of a preexisting condition (in many policies, being a woman is effectively considered a preexisting condition).  Eventually, it will define minimum benefits and cost limits that must be included in most health insurance plans, not just ones offered by the Health Benefits Exchanges.  And it will ensure that health insurers do not &lt;a href=&quot;http://commerce.senate.gov/public/_files/HanwayLetterPart1of2.pdf&quot;&gt;use premiums&lt;/a&gt; to pay for administrative costs and profits, instead of medical care.  In this way, affordable and adequate health insurance that protects individuals and their families during both normal medical events and extraordinary medical hardship will be available to all aspiring middle-class and middle-class households.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Finally, the Act contains cost-cutting strategies to reduce the impact of health care costs on the budget deficit and additional measures to reorient health care delivery to quality, preventive care and away from costly and unnecessary overtreatment.  Eliminating overpayments to Medicare Advantage, the ill-advised, Bush-era privatization of a chunk of Medicare and a tax on expensive health insurance plans, which is likely to result in fewer such plans being offered, are effective ways to cut costs without weakening coverage.&lt;/p&gt;
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      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;The Discussion on DMIBlog&lt;/div&gt;
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  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Quotes from Experts&lt;/h3&gt;
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&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-beyond&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Beyond this Bill&lt;/h3&gt;
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      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Related Blog: Link&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.dmiblog.com/archives/2009/12/flapping_in_the_policy_breeze.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Flapping In The Policy Breeze&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-additional-resources&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Additional Resources&lt;/h3&gt;
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      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://healthreform.kff.org/&quot;&gt;“Health Reform,”&lt;/a&gt; from the Kaiser Family Foundation&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.tnr.com/blogs/the-treatment&quot;&gt;“The Treatment,”&lt;/a&gt; A Health Care Reform Blog from The New Republic&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/2009/03/pdf/competitive_health.pdf&quot;&gt;“Competitive Health Care: A Public Health Insurance Plan That Delivers Market Discipline,”&lt;/a&gt; from the Center for American Progress Action Fund&lt;/p&gt;
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</description>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/16">Consumers</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/1">Health Care</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/30">Health insurance tax credit</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/55">HMOs and insurance companies</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/60">Hospitals</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/52">Medicaid</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/63">Medical research</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/2">Medicare</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/50">Prescription drugs</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/59">Public health</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/51">SCHIP</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/57">Single-payer</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/3">Tax Fairness</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/56">Universal health care</category>
 <pubDate>Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:12:07 -0500</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>hmoroz</dc:creator>
 <guid isPermaLink="false">301 at http://themiddleclass.org</guid>
</item>
<item>
 <title>Jobs for Main Street Act of 2009</title>
 <link>http://themiddleclass.org/bill/jobs-main-street-act-2009</link>
 <description>&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-legislation field-field-legislation&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Legislation&lt;/h3&gt;
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&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-number-integer field-field-position&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;The middle class&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;Supports&lt;/div&gt;
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  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Video Summary&lt;/h3&gt;
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      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;object height=&quot;185&quot; width=&quot;223&quot;&gt;&lt;param name=&quot;movie&quot; value=&quot;http://www.youtube.com/v/h7go-suy9o8&quot;&gt;&lt;param name=&quot;wmode&quot; value=&quot;transparent&quot;&gt;&lt;embed src=&quot;http://www.youtube.com/v/h7go-suy9o8&amp;rel=0&quot; type=&quot;application/x-shockwave-flash&quot; wmode=&quot;transparent&quot; height=&quot;185&quot; width=&quot;223&quot;&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-injustice-facts&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Injustice Facts&lt;/h3&gt;
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      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;p&gt;Number of workers who will run out of unemployment insurance by January if unemployment benefits are not extended: &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://nelp.3cdn.net/83db1e0ad0574237c7_dzm6i6dl0.pdf&quot;&gt;1 million&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Number who will run out by March: &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://nelp.3cdn.net/83db1e0ad0574237c7_dzm6i6dl0.pdf&quot;&gt;3 million&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Economic activity generated by each $1 of cuts to taxes on labor when interest rates are zero: &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.newyorkfed.org/research/staff_reports/sr402.pdf&quot;&gt;-$0.81&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Economic activity generated by each $1 of government spending when interest rates are zero: &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.newyorkfed.org/research/staff_reports/sr402.pdf&quot;&gt;$2.27&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Average monthly COBRA premium with the current government subsidy: &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.nelp.org/page/-/unemployedworkers/expiration-of-cobra-subsidy.pdf?nocdn=1&quot;&gt;$389&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Average monthly COBRA premium without the current government subsidy: &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.nelp.org/page/-/unemployedworkers/expiration-of-cobra-subsidy.pdf?nocdn=1&quot;&gt;$1,111&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
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&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-summary&quot;&gt;
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&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-middle-class-position-ana&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Middle Class Position Analysis&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Middle Class Supports.&lt;/strong&gt;  While the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act stimulated economic growth and created between &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/106xx/doc10682/11-30-ARRA.pdf&quot;&gt;600,000 and 1.2 million additional jobs&lt;/a&gt;, the employment situation remains grim.  The unemployment rate stands at an extraordinary 10.0 percent and more than 15 million people are jobless.  There are &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.nelp.org/page/-/UI/NELPFinanceCommittee091509.pdf?nocdn=1&quot;&gt;six job openings&lt;/a&gt; for every worker who wants a job, while almost 40 percent of the unemployed have been jobless for longer than 26 weeks.  In short, the stimulus package was necessary, but insufficient.  Further, several of the most important provisions in the stimulus package, including extended unemployment benefits and health insurance assistance for the unemployed, are set to expire before the employment outlook has improved.  &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The Jobs for Main Street Act expands assistance for the aspiring middle-class and middle class Americans affected most by the economic downturn while allocating additional funds that can create and save jobs quickly.  Without the Act’s extension of unemployment insurance, &lt;a href=&quot;http://nelp.3cdn.net/83db1e0ad0574237c7_dzm6i6dl0.pdf&quot;&gt;1 million workers&lt;/a&gt; will run out of unemployment insurance in January and &lt;a href=&quot;http://nelp.3cdn.net/83db1e0ad0574237c7_dzm6i6dl0.pdf&quot;&gt;3 million&lt;/a&gt; will run out by the first quarter of the year.  Unemployed families relying on subsidized COBRA insurance could see their premiums &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.nelp.org/page/-/unemployedworkers/expiration-of-cobra-subsidy.pdf?nocdn=1&quot;&gt;skyrocket&lt;/a&gt; from $389 a month to $1,111 per month.  Further, workers who lose their jobs in 2010 would receive no help with their COBRA premiums.  Extending these invaluable programs would not only continue to &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cbpp.org/files/12-9-09pov-testimony.pdf&quot;&gt;assist cash-strapped middle-class families&lt;/a&gt;, but would help ensure that these households can continue to support the economy by spending on everyday necessities.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Additional spending included in the Jobs for Main Street Act will create jobs and further stimulate the economy.  Recent research by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.newyorkfed.org/research/staff_reports/sr402.pdf&quot;&gt;demonstrates&lt;/a&gt; that government spending at this time will result in well over $2 in economic activity for every dollar spent, although new tax cuts would in fact shrink the economy.  Aid to states for infrastructure projects, education, and public safety will create and maintain employment and preserve important services.  These funds will prevent &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cbpp.org/files/3-13-08sfp.pdf&quot;&gt;cash-strapped states&lt;/a&gt; from cutting public services at a time Americans most need them and will encourage additional public sector hiring.  Indeed, funding for education in the original stimulus package similar to that included in the Jobs for Main Street Act created or saved &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/leg/recovery/spending/arra-program-summary.pdf&quot;&gt;more than 300,000 jobs&lt;/a&gt;.  The maintenance of the increased federal share of Medicaid payments will serve a similar function in addition to preventing reductions in health care for low-income children and adults.  The Jobs for Main Street Act invests significant resources in areas that can generate both economic activity and jobs for middle-class Americans.&lt;/p&gt;
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&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-related-blog-header&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Related Blog: Header&lt;/h3&gt;
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      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;The Discussion on DMIBlog&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-quotes&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Quotes from Experts&lt;/h3&gt;
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  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Related Blog: Text&lt;/h3&gt;
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&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-beyond&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Beyond this Bill&lt;/h3&gt;
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&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-link field-field-related-blog-link&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Related Blog: Link&lt;/h3&gt;
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      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.dmiblog.com/archives/2009/11/in_search_of_yet_another_joble.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;In Search of Yet ANOTHER Jobless Fix&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-additional-resources&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Additional Resources&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.nelp.org/site/issues/category/unemployment_insurance/&quot;&gt;“Unemployment Insurance,”&lt;/a&gt; from the National Employment Law Project&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://finance.senate.gov/sitepages/hearing091509.html&quot;&gt;“Unemployment Insurance Benefits: Where Do We Go From Here?”&lt;/a&gt; from the Senate Finance Committee&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cbpp.org/files/12-9-09pov-testimony.pdf&quot;&gt;Testimony of LaDonna Pavetti of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities on the Impact of the Recession and the Recovery Act on Social Safety Net Programs&lt;/a&gt;, before the House Budget Committee&lt;/p&gt;
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  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
</description>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/topics/housing/affordablehousingtrustfund">Affordable Housing Trust Fund</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/44">Child care</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/74">Community college</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/topics/workplaceampjobcreation/economicstimulus">Economic stimulus</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/4">Education</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/109">Efficient technology</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/76">Elementary school</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/5">Energy &amp;amp; Environment</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/10">Government Accountability</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/103">Green buildings</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/104">Green jobs</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/1">Health Care</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/75">High school</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/15">Housing</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/136">Job training</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/38">Layoffs</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/52">Medicaid</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/77">Middle school</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/42">Public employment</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/129">Public housing</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/97">Public infrastructure</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/71">Teachers</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/35">Unemployment</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/12">Workplace &amp;amp; Job Creation</category>
 <pubDate>Thu, 17 Dec 2009 12:55:34 -0500</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>hmoroz</dc:creator>
 <guid isPermaLink="false">294 at http://themiddleclass.org</guid>
</item>
<item>
 <title>Amendment #534 (Mortgage “Cramdown” Amendment) to Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009</title>
 <link>http://themiddleclass.org/bill/amendment-534-mortgage-%E2%80%9Ccramdown%E2%80%9D-amendment-wall-street-reform-and-consumer-protection-act-2009</link>
 <description>&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-legislation field-field-legislation&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Legislation&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-number-integer field-field-position&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;The middle class&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;Supports&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-video-cck field-field-video-summary&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Video Summary&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;object height=&quot;185&quot; width=&quot;223&quot;&gt;&lt;param name=&quot;movie&quot; value=&quot;http://www.youtube.com/v/2RC1b38fCCk&quot;&gt;&lt;param name=&quot;wmode&quot; value=&quot;transparent&quot;&gt;&lt;embed src=&quot;http://www.youtube.com/v/2RC1b38fCCk&amp;rel=0&quot; type=&quot;application/x-shockwave-flash&quot; wmode=&quot;transparent&quot; height=&quot;185&quot; width=&quot;223&quot;&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-injustice-facts&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Injustice Facts&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;p&gt;Number of properties on which foreclosure notices were filed in 2008: &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.realtytrac.com/ContentManagement/pressrelease.aspx?ChannelID=9&amp;amp;ItemID=5681&amp;amp;accnt=64847&quot;&gt;2,330,483&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Percentage increase in foreclosure notices between November 2008 and November 2009: &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.realtytrac.com/contentmanagement/pressrelease.aspx?channelid=9&amp;amp;itemid=8116&quot;&gt;18&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Number of foreclosures likely in the next five years, according to the Center for Responsible Lending: &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.responsiblelending.org/mortgage-lending/research-analysis/snapshot-of-foreclosure-crisis.pdf&quot;&gt;13 million&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Proportion of homes where owners are underwater, owing more on their mortgage than their property is worth: &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.responsiblelending.org/mortgage-lending/research-analysis/snapshot-of-foreclosure-crisis.pdf&quot;&gt;Nearly 1:4&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Number of homes that the Center for Responsible Lending estimates will be saved from foreclosure by the bankruptcy modification provision: &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.responsiblelending.org/mortgage-lending/tools-resources/crl-state-projected-foreclosures-1.pdf&quot;&gt;800,000&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Average decrease in the property value of each home in the neighborhoods surrounding the foreclosures that are likely to occur in 2009, in dollars: &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.responsiblelending.org/mortgage-lending/research-analysis/snapshot-of-foreclosure-crisis.pdf&quot;&gt;7,200&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-summary&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Overview/Summary&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-middle-class-position-ana&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Middle Class Position Analysis&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Middle Class Supports.&lt;/strong&gt;  Even as the economy has stabilized in recent months, the housing and job markets have worsened, middle-class families have continued to lose equity in their homes, and households are less able to afford abusive mortgages with exorbitant interest rates.  The federal government and the mortgage industry’s continued failure to address the subprime mortgage and foreclosure crisis adequately could result in as many as &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.responsiblelending.org/mortgage-lending/research-analysis/snapshot-of-foreclosure-crisis.pdf&quot;&gt;13 million foreclosures&lt;/a&gt; during the next 5 years.  Despite widespread calls for action to confront the crisis, foreclosures &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.realtytrac.com/ContentManagement/pressrelease.aspx?ChannelID=9&amp;amp;ItemID=5681&amp;amp;accnt=64847&quot;&gt;increased 81% in 2008&lt;/a&gt;.  Although the administration’s Home Affordable Modification Program seeks to modify 3-4 million mortgages, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.financialstability.gov/docs/MHA%20Public%20121009%20FINAL.PDF&quot;&gt;only 4 percent&lt;/a&gt; of the 700,000 trial modifications made so far have been made permanent.  Voluntary mortgage modifications by lenders and banks, encouraged by policymakers in place of comprehensive federal action, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.responsiblelending.org/pdfs/calhoun-testimony-1-13-09-final.pdf&quot;&gt;have failed&lt;/a&gt; to make mortgages more affordable and prevent widespread foreclosures.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Extending the same bankruptcy protections to primary residences that currently apply to luxury yachts and vacation homes is not only fair, but will reduce foreclosures &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.responsiblelending.org/mortgage-lending/policy-legislation/congress/crl-s-summary-of-credit-suisse-findings-on-bankruptcy-reform.html&quot;&gt;by about 20%&lt;/a&gt;, according to Credit Suisse, and benefit &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.responsiblelending.org/mortgage-lending/tools-resources/factsheets/us-foreclosure-fact-sheet.pdf&quot;&gt;about 800,000 households&lt;/a&gt;, according to the Center for Responsible Lending.  Strengthened bankruptcy protection is also beneficial to middle-class families who are not themselves facing foreclosure: foreclosures in 2009 will result in a &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.responsiblelending.org/mortgage-lending/research-analysis/snapshot-of-foreclosure-crisis.pdf&quot;&gt;$502 billion decline&lt;/a&gt; in property values for homes in neighborhoods surrounding those foreclosures, with an average decrease in property value per home of &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.responsiblelending.org/mortgage-lending/research-analysis/snapshot-of-foreclosure-crisis.pdf&quot;&gt;$7,200&lt;/a&gt;.  Preventing foreclosures in those neighborhoods will keep property values up, benefiting all households.  Indeed, an analysis by the Center for Responsible Lending found that similar legislation would avoid 600,000 foreclosures and thus maintain &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.responsiblelending.org/mortgage-lending/policy-legislation/congress/court-supervised-modifications-would-make-large-scale-foreclosure-prevention-possible.pdf&quot;&gt;$72.5 billion in wealth&lt;/a&gt; for families not facing foreclosure.   Modification of mortgages in bankruptcy will help maintain property values, while keeping middle-class families in their homes, limiting the self-reinforcing spiral of foreclosures and falling home prices.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Additionally, the bankruptcy provision provides a powerful incentive to banks to offer homeowners affordable loan modifications in order to avoid costly bankruptcy proceedings over which they have little control.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-related-blog-header&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Related Blog: Header&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;The Discussion on DMIBlog&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-quotes&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Quotes from Experts&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-related-blog&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Related Blog: Text&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-beyond&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Beyond this Bill&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-link field-field-related-blog-link&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Related Blog: Link&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.dmiblog.com/archives/2009/03/your_wealth_is_in_a_safe_place.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Your Wealth Is In A Safe Place Now&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-additional-resources&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Additional Resources&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.responsiblelending.org/mortgage-lending/policy-legislation/congress/a-tax-free-foreclosure-solution.pdf&quot;&gt;“A Tax-Free Foreclosure Solution: Loan Mods Through the Courts,”&lt;/a&gt; from the Center for Responsible Lending&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/pdf/Levitin090122.pdf&quot;&gt;Testimony of Adam J. Levitin, Georgetown Associate Professor of Law&lt;/a&gt;, on the Helping Families Save Their Homes in Bankruptcy Act, before the House Judiciary Committee &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://makinghomeaffordable.gov/about.html&quot;&gt;MakingHomeAffordable.gov&lt;/a&gt;, an Obama administration site with information about mortgage modification programs&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
</description>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/16">Consumers</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/6">Debt &amp;amp; Bankruptcy</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/15">Housing</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/126">Mortgage lending</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/135">Personal bankruptcy</category>
 <pubDate>Thu, 17 Dec 2009 12:13:16 -0500</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>hmoroz</dc:creator>
 <guid isPermaLink="false">293 at http://themiddleclass.org</guid>
</item>
<item>
 <title>Wall Street Accountability and Consumer Protection Act</title>
 <link>http://themiddleclass.org/bill/wall-street-accountability-and-consumer-protection-act</link>
 <description>&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-legislation field-field-legislation&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Legislation&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-number-integer field-field-position&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;The middle class&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;Supports&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-video-cck field-field-video-summary&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Video Summary&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;object height=&quot;185&quot; width=&quot;223&quot;&gt;&lt;param name=&quot;movie&quot; value=&quot;http://www.youtube.com/v/lYd08e5Cjvs&quot;&gt;&lt;param name=&quot;wmode&quot; value=&quot;transparent&quot;&gt;&lt;embed src=&quot;http://www.youtube.com/v/lYd08e5Cjvs&amp;rel=0&quot; type=&quot;application/x-shockwave-flash&quot; wmode=&quot;transparent&quot; height=&quot;185&quot; width=&quot;223&quot;&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-injustice-facts&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Injustice Facts&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;p&gt;Percentage of delinquent loans originated by IndyMac, which failed in the summer of 2008, that required either very little or no documentation: &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://cop.senate.gov/documents/cop-030609-report.pdf&quot;&gt;81.9&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Estimated total support made available by the federal government to the financial system since 2007: &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.sigtarp.gov/reports/congress/2009/July2009_Quarterly_Report_to_Congress.pdf&quot;&gt;$23.7 trillion&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Year in which Goldman Sachs paid its highest bonuses ever: &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.businessinsider.com/goldman-bonuses-will-break-2007-record-analysts-2009-7&quot;&gt;2007&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Year in which Goldman Sachs is expected to break this record: &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.businessinsider.com/goldman-bonuses-will-break-2007-record-analysts-2009-7&quot;&gt;2009&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Total federal TARP funds used to bail out Goldman Sachs Group: &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.oag.state.ny.us/media_center/2009/july/pdfs/Bonus%20Report%20Final%207.30.09.pdf&quot;&gt;$10 billion&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Number of homes the Center for Responsible Lending estimates could be saved by court-supervised modifications of mortgages in bankruptcy: &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.responsiblelending.org/mortgage-lending/tools-resources/crl-state-projected-foreclosures-1.pdf&quot;&gt;800,000&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-summary&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Overview/Summary&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-middle-class-position-ana&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Middle Class Position Analysis&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Middle Class Supports.&lt;/strong&gt;  The economic and financial crisis has demonstrated that the current financial regulatory system permits banks, mortgage brokers and servicers, and other firms to enrich themselves at the expense of ordinary Americans.  Abusive and fraudulent mortgages sold to unsuspecting homeowners fueled the housing crisis while credit card companies used deceptive billing practices to mire cardholders in debt.  The federal government leaped into action to assist the financial services industry when firms like AIG, Morgan Stanley, and Citigroup were at risk.  The &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.themiddleclass.org/bill/emergency-economic-stabilization-act-2008&quot;&gt;$700 billion TARP program&lt;/a&gt; and trillions of dollars more in cheap loans and guarantees have nurtured the financial services sector back to health, profits, and gigantic compensation packages.  Meanwhile, middle-class Americans continue to face foreclosure and abusive lending and credit card practices in addition to extended bouts of unemployment.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act’s creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency is a critical innovation to protect ordinary Americans from deceptive and abusive lending practices.  While consumers are currently guarded from faulty products like toasters, no single agency is tasked with overseeing the financial products and services – from credit cards to mortgages and student loans – that Americans rely on every day to earn a middle-class standard of living.  The CFPA will be empowered to root out products and services that are harmful to aspiring middle-class and middle-class Americans.  It will promote equal access to safe credit products and root out harmful ones like certain subprime mortgages, abusive credit card practices, and usurious payday loans.  The Agency is critical to making the financial services sector work for ordinary Americans.  The &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.themiddleclass.org/bill/mortgage-reform-and-antipredatory-lending-act-2009&quot;&gt;Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act&lt;/a&gt;, which is included in the bill, also takes important steps to combat and end the abusive lending practices at the root of the financial crisis.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The legislation’s increased regulation of executive compensation, improved protections for investors, and expanded oversight of derivatives all address factors – compensation structures that encouraged excessive risk taking, fraudulent investment practices like Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, and opaque derivatives contracts – that contributed to the financial crisis.  These steps will help ensure that similar practices do not precipitate another crisis.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The Financial Services Oversight Council, the regulatory powers granted to the Council, and the dissolution authority included in the legislation make the development of a financial threat into an agent of financial and economic destabilization less likely.  By regularizing a process for oversight of financial markets and creating a mechanism for regulators to impose capital, leverage, and other standards on at-risk firms, the legislation significantly enhances the federal government’s capacity to stem an outbreak of instability before it begins.  Most importantly for middle-class Americans, this process and the dissolution authority created by the legislation rely on assessments of the largest financial firms for funding.  Thus, if future bailouts become necessary, they are much less likely to use taxpayer dollars.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-related-blog-header&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Related Blog: Header&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;The Discussion on DMIBlog&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-quotes&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Quotes from Experts&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-related-blog&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Related Blog: Text&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-beyond&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Beyond this Bill&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-link field-field-related-blog-link&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Related Blog: Link&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.dmiblog.com/archives/2009/12/banking_on_disaster.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Banking on Disaster&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-additional-resources&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Additional Resources&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://ourfinancialsecurity.org/&quot;&gt;Americans for Financial Reform&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://financialservices.house.gov/Key_Issues/Financial_Regulatory_Reform/Financial_Regulatory_Reform.html&quot;&gt;“Financial Regulatory Reform,”&lt;/a&gt; from the House Financial Services Committee&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.consumerfed.org/finance/Consumer_Financial_Protection_Agency.asp&quot;&gt;“Consumer Financial Protection Agency,”&lt;/a&gt; from the Consumer Federation of America&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
</description>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/16">Consumers</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/14">Corporate Accountability</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/125">Corporate bankruptcy</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/19">Corporate taxes</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/130">Credit cards</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/6">Debt &amp;amp; Bankruptcy</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/topics/corporateaccountability/consumers/deceptiveadvertisingandmarketing">Deceptive advertising and marketing</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/123">Executive compensation</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/133">Financial literacy</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/10">Government Accountability</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/15">Housing</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/126">Mortgage lending</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/131">Payday loans</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/135">Personal bankruptcy</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/132">Refund Anticipation Loans</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/124">Shareholder rights</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/66">Student loans</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/3">Tax Fairness</category>
 <pubDate>Thu, 17 Dec 2009 11:24:17 -0500</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>hmoroz</dc:creator>
 <guid isPermaLink="false">292 at http://themiddleclass.org</guid>
</item>
<item>
 <title>Permanent Estate Tax Relief for Families, Farmers, and Small Businesses Act of 2009</title>
 <link>http://themiddleclass.org/bill/permanent-estate-tax-relief-families-farmers-and-small-businesses-act-2009</link>
 <description>&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-legislation field-field-legislation&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Legislation&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-number-integer field-field-position&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;The middle class&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;Opposes&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-video-cck field-field-video-summary&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Video Summary&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;object height=&quot;185&quot; width=&quot;223&quot;&gt;&lt;param name=&quot;movie&quot; value=&quot;http://www.youtube.com/v/QLD0p1QpcI8&quot;&gt;&lt;param name=&quot;wmode&quot; value=&quot;transparent&quot;&gt;&lt;embed src=&quot;http://www.youtube.com/v/QLD0p1QpcI8&amp;rel=0&quot; type=&quot;application/x-shockwave-flash&quot; wmode=&quot;transparent&quot; height=&quot;185&quot; width=&quot;223&quot;&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-injustice-facts&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Injustice Facts&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;p&gt;Percentage of deaths that trigger the estate tax: &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://taxpolicycenter.org/numbers/displayatab.cfm?Docid=2475&quot;&gt;0.2&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Top estate tax rate and maximum exemption in 2001, respectively: &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxtopics/estatetax.cfm&quot;&gt;60%, $675,000&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Top estate tax rate and maximum exemption provided by the Permanent Estate Tax Relief for Families, Farmers, and Small Businesses Act, respectively: &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;//frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&amp;amp;docid=f:h4154ih.txt.pdf&quot;&gt;45%, $3,500,000&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Loss in revenue from the legislation over ten years: &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;//www.jct.gov/publications.html?func=startdown&amp;amp;id=3558&quot;&gt;$244 billion&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Percentage of the estate tax paid by households in the top 1% of earners: &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;//taxpolicycenter.org/numbers/displayatab.cfm?Docid=2477&quot;&gt;72.0&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Percentage of the estate tax paid by households in the top 20% of earners: &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;//taxpolicycenter.org/numbers/displayatab.cfm?Docid=2477&quot;&gt;96.2&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-summary&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Overview/Summary&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-middle-class-position-ana&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Middle Class Position Analysis&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Middle Class Opposes.&lt;/strong&gt;  The estate tax, the most progressive component of the federal tax code, applies only to Americans lucky enough to inherit substantial fortunes.  In fact, only &lt;a href=&quot;http://taxpolicycenter.org/numbers/displayatab.cfm?Docid=2475&quot;&gt;0.2 percent of deaths&lt;/a&gt; currently result in taxable estates.  By taxing inherited wealth, the tax preserves the American tradition of rewarding hard work, not inherited privilege and wealth.  Although the legislation does ensure that the estate tax does not disappear completely in 2010 as current law would require, the bill’s increased exemption allowance and lower top tax rate would mean &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.jct.gov/publications.html?func=startdown&amp;amp;id=3558&quot;&gt;$244 billion&lt;/a&gt; in lost revenue over ten years.  This significant reduction would benefit only the wealthiest American estates worth millions of dollars at a time when the federal government is struggling to fund benefits for families hit by unemployment and extend health coverage to people who cannot afford the care they need.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;If Congress takes no action on the estate tax, current law would reinstate a $1 million exemption and a top tax rate of 60 percent in 2011, both of which are consistent with – or more generous than – &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-soi/ninetyestate.pdf&quot;&gt;historical levels&lt;/a&gt;.  Although more estates would be subject to the estate tax, &lt;a href=&quot;http://taxpolicycenter.org/numbers/displayatab.cfm?DocID=2471&amp;amp;topic2ID=60&amp;amp;topic3ID=66&amp;amp;DocTypeID=7&quot;&gt;99.9 percent of them&lt;/a&gt; would be millionaires and &lt;a href=&quot;http://taxpolicycenter.org/numbers/Content/PDF/T09-0396.pdf&quot;&gt;very few would&lt;/a&gt; be small businesses and farms.  In contrast, the Permanent Estate Tax Relief for Families, Farmers, and Small Businesses Act would adversely affect aspiring middle-class and middle-class Americans by burdening them with more of the cost of public services while allowing additional accumulated wealth to be passed on for generations.  Those who work for their money would be forced either to pick up a bigger share of the tax bill or to suffer cuts in services essential to middle-class families and communities.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-related-blog-header&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Related Blog: Header&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;The Discussion on DMIBlog&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-quotes&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Quotes from Experts&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-related-blog&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Related Blog: Text&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-beyond&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Beyond this Bill&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-link field-field-related-blog-link&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Related Blog: Link&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.dmiblog.com/archives/2009/12/of_death_panels_and_tax_policy.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Of Death Panels and Tax Policy&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-additional-resources&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Additional Resources&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxtopics/estatetax.cfm&quot;&gt;“Tax Topics: Estate and Gift Taxes,”&lt;/a&gt; from the Tax Policy Center&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.faireconomy.org/estatetax/&quot;&gt;&quot;Estate Tax,&quot;&lt;/a&gt; from United for a Fair Economy&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&amp;amp;id=2655&quot;&gt;“The Estate Tax: Myths and Realities,”&lt;/a&gt; from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cnbc.com/id/21791804/%5D&quot;&gt;Testimony of Warren Buffet&lt;/a&gt;, Before the Senate Finance Committee&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
</description>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/17">Estate tax</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/3">Tax Fairness</category>
 <pubDate>Fri, 04 Dec 2009 13:35:56 -0500</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>hmoroz</dc:creator>
 <guid isPermaLink="false">290 at http://themiddleclass.org</guid>
</item>
<item>
 <title>Too Big To Fail, Too Big To Exist Act</title>
 <link>http://themiddleclass.org/bill/too-big-fail-too-big-exist-act</link>
 <description>&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-legislation field-field-legislation&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Legislation&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-number-integer field-field-position&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;The middle class&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-video-cck field-field-video-summary&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Video Summary&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-injustice-facts&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Injustice Facts&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-summary&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Overview/Summary&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-middle-class-position-ana&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Middle Class Position Analysis&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-related-blog-header&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Related Blog: Header&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;The Discussion on DMIBlog&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-quotes&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Quotes from Experts&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-related-blog&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Related Blog: Text&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-beyond&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Beyond this Bill&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-link field-field-related-blog-link&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Related Blog: Link&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-additional-resources&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Additional Resources&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
</description>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/16">Consumers</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/14">Corporate Accountability</category>
 <pubDate>Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:18:44 -0500</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>hmoroz</dc:creator>
 <guid isPermaLink="false">289 at http://themiddleclass.org</guid>
</item>
<item>
 <title>Affordable Health Care for America Act of 2009</title>
 <link>http://themiddleclass.org/bill/affordable-health-care-america-act-2009</link>
 <description>&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-legislation field-field-legislation&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Legislation&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-number-integer field-field-position&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;The middle class&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;Supports&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-video-cck field-field-video-summary&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Video Summary&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;object height=&quot;185&quot; width=&quot;223&quot;&gt;&lt;param name=&quot;movie&quot; value=&quot;http://www.youtube.com/v/FY23H-ft8xU&quot;&gt;&lt;param name=&quot;wmode&quot; value=&quot;transparent&quot;&gt;&lt;embed src=&quot;http://www.youtube.com/v/FY23H-ft8xU&amp;rel=0&quot; type=&quot;application/x-shockwave-flash&quot; wmode=&quot;transparent&quot; height=&quot;185&quot; width=&quot;223&quot;&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-injustice-facts&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Injustice Facts&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;p&gt;Number of uninsured Americans in 2008: &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/p60-235.pdf&quot;&gt;45.7 million&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Estimated number of uninsured Americans after passage of the Affordable Health Care for America Act: &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/107xx/doc10710/hr3962Dingell_mgr_amendment_update.pdf&quot;&gt;18 million&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Percentage growth in the uninsured between 2004 and 2007 that came from lower- and middle-income families: &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.kff.org/healthreform/upload/7951.pdf&quot;&gt;70&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Average annual worker contribution to health insurance premiums in employer-sponsored coverage in 1999: &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://ehbs.kff.org/pdf/2009/7937.pdf&quot;&gt;$1,543&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Average annual worker contribution to health insurance premiums in employer-sponsored coverage in 2009: &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://ehbs.kff.org/pdf/2009/7937.pdf&quot;&gt;$3,515&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Savings to a low-income family and a higher-income family, respectively, from the Affordable Health Care for America Act because they do not have to buy private, nongroup insurance: &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/Gruber%20House%20nongroup%20premium%20analysis%2011-2.doc&quot;&gt;$9,000, $1,260&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-summary&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Overview/Summary&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-middle-class-position-ana&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Middle Class Position Analysis&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Middle Class Supports.&lt;/strong&gt;  Skyrocketing health care costs have created a vicious and destabilizing trap for middle-class Americans in which employer-sponsored coverage is offered less frequently and private coverage is increasingly unaffordable.  Meanwhile, successful public programs that effectively cover children (SCHIP), the poor (Medicaid), and the elderly (Medicare) are unavailable to middle-class adults.  Almost &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/p60-235.pdf&quot;&gt;46 million nonelderly Americans&lt;/a&gt; lack health insurance, the &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.kff.org/healthreform/upload/7951.pdf&quot;&gt;majority of whom&lt;/a&gt; are low- and middle-income, and the rate of the uninsured &lt;a href=&quot;http://epi.3cdn.net/6356d48ae59f625af6_xxm6bnyn2.pdf&quot;&gt;has grown&lt;/a&gt; significantly since 2000.  At the same time, the average worker’s health care premium has &lt;a href=&quot;http://ehbs.kff.org/pdf/2009/7937.pdf&quot;&gt;increased&lt;/a&gt; 128% (to $3,515) since 1999.  One study has even found that just shy of two thirds of all bankruptcies are due to medical expenses even though the vast majority of these bankruptcies involve families who have health insurance.  Because employers, too, have had to absorb similar premium increases, employer-sponsored insurance – the type of insurance most middle-class Americans obtain – has &lt;a href=&quot;http://epi.3cdn.net/6356d48ae59f625af6_xxm6bnyn2.pdf&quot;&gt;declined&lt;/a&gt; significantly in each of the last eight years.  The economic downturn has exacerbated this situation and experts &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.kff.org/uninsured/upload/8004.pdf&quot;&gt;estimate&lt;/a&gt; that each percentage point increase in the unemployment rate results in substantial increases in the number of uninsured Americans.  Given the high costs of obtaining insurance in the private, non-group market, which is nearly impossible without steady employment, many Americans have simply given up coverage over the last several years.  In short, a perfect storm of increasing health care costs and a down economy has undermined the financial stability and endangered the wellbeing of the middle class and the aspiring middle class.   &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The Affordable Health Care for America Act would do much to relieve the financial stress placed on these households by high health insurance costs while also extending health coverage to millions of Americans.  The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/107xx/doc10710/hr3962Dingell_mgr_amendment_update.pdf&quot;&gt;reckons&lt;/a&gt; that the bill would reduce the number of uninsured to 18 million, leaving just 4 percent of the population without health coverage.  Expanding Medicaid to cover low-income adults is one of the most effective and cost-efficient means of covering more aspiring middle-class Americans.  The expansion would enroll about 15 million individuals in Medicaid, providing an important public backstop for low-income families.  Indeed, public programs have successfully &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.kff.org/uninsured/upload/8004.pdf&quot;&gt;kept&lt;/a&gt; millions of children from becoming uninsured, while the lack of such programs for low-income childless adults has led to increased numbers of the uninsured among this population.  Similarly, coverage in the Health Insurance Exchange would reduce health care costs for &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/106xx/doc10688/hr3962Rangel.pdf&quot;&gt;tens of millions of households&lt;/a&gt;: the savings &lt;a href=&quot;http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/Gruber%20House%20nongroup%20premium%20analysis%2011-2.doc&quot;&gt;range&lt;/a&gt; from more than $9,000 for a low-income household of four which receives payment assistance to $1,260 for a higher-income family making more than $90,000 that does not receive such assistance.  Such savings are targeted at the very groups that need the most help.  The inclusion of a public option in the Exchange, in which a relatively meager 6 million individuals are expected to enroll, will create competition with the Exchange’s private insurance plans driving costs even lower. &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;At the same time as it helps reduce health care costs for middle-class and aspiring middle-class Americans, the Affordable Health Care for America Act greatly improves health coverage by enacting strict requirements for the type of insurance that is offered.  The bill prevents the nightmare scenarios of being denied coverage just because you have become sick or being forced to pay higher premiums because of a preexisting condition (in many policies, being a woman is effectively considered a preexisting condition).  Eventually, it will define minimum benefits and cost limits that must be included in all health insurance plans, not just ones offered by the Health Insurance Exchange.  And it will ensure that health insurers do not &lt;a href=&quot;http://commerce.senate.gov/public/_files/HanwayLetterPart1of2.pdf&quot;&gt;use premiums&lt;/a&gt; to pay for administrative costs and profits, instead of medical care.  In this way, affordable and adequate health insurance that protects individuals and their families during both normal medical events and extraordinary medical hardship will be available to all aspiring middle-class and middle-class households.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Finally, the Act contains cost-cutting strategies to reduce the impact of health care costs on the budget deficit and additional measures to reorient health care delivery to quality, preventive care and away from costly and unnecessary overtreatment.  Eliminating overpayments to Medicare Advantage, the ill-advised, Bush-era privatization of a chunk of Medicare, and empowering the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate Medicare drug prices are effective ways to cut costs without weakening coverage.  The tax surcharge on the wealthiest Americans, who benefited most from the economic growth of the 2000s and who are weathering the current economic downturn best, is a sensible method of increasing access to and the affordability of health insurance coverage in a fiscally responsible manner.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-related-blog-header&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Related Blog: Header&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;The Discussion on DMIBlog&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-quotes&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Quotes from Experts&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-related-blog&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Related Blog: Text&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-beyond&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Beyond this Bill&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-link field-field-related-blog-link&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Related Blog: Link&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.dmiblog.com/archives/2009/11/putting_off_health_care.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Putting Off Health Care&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-additional-resources&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Additional Resources&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://healthreform.kff.org/&quot;&gt;“Health Reform,”&lt;/a&gt; from the Kaiser Family Foundation&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.cbpp.org/files/10-31-09health.pdf&quot;&gt;“House Health Reform Bill Expands Coverage And Lowers Health Cost Growth, While Reducing Deficits,”&lt;/a&gt; from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/2009/03/pdf/competitive_health.pdf&quot;&gt;“Competitive Health Care: A Public Health Insurance Plan That Delivers Market Discipline,”&lt;/a&gt; from the Center for American Progress Action Fund&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.tnr.com/blogs/the-treatment&quot;&gt;“The Treatment,”&lt;/a&gt; A Health Care Reform Blog from The New Republic&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
</description>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/16">Consumers</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/14">Corporate Accountability</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/1">Health Care</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/55">HMOs and insurance companies</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/60">Hospitals</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/52">Medicaid</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/63">Medical research</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/2">Medicare</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/50">Prescription drugs</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/59">Public health</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/51">SCHIP</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/3">Tax Fairness</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/56">Universal health care</category>
 <pubDate>Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:04:32 -0500</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>hmoroz</dc:creator>
 <guid isPermaLink="false">287 at http://themiddleclass.org</guid>
</item>
<item>
 <title>Emergency Influenza Containment Act of 2009</title>
 <link>http://themiddleclass.org/bill/emergency-influenza-containment-act-2009</link>
 <description>&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-legislation field-field-legislation&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Legislation&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-number-integer field-field-position&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;The middle class&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-video-cck field-field-video-summary&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Video Summary&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-injustice-facts&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Injustice Facts&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-summary&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Overview/Summary&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-middle-class-position-ana&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Middle Class Position Analysis&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-related-blog-header&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Related Blog: Header&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;The Discussion on DMIBlog&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-quotes&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Quotes from Experts&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-related-blog&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Related Blog: Text&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-beyond&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Beyond this Bill&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-link field-field-related-blog-link&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Related Blog: Link&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-additional-resources&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Additional Resources&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
</description>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/41">Sick leave</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/12">Workplace &amp;amp; Job Creation</category>
 <pubDate>Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:36:33 -0500</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>hmoroz</dc:creator>
 <guid isPermaLink="false">280 at http://themiddleclass.org</guid>
</item>
<item>
 <title>Expedited CARD Reform for Consumers Act of 2009</title>
 <link>http://themiddleclass.org/bill/expedited-card-reform-consumers-act-2009</link>
 <description>&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-legislation field-field-legislation&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Legislation&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-number-integer field-field-position&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;The middle class&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;Supports&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-video-cck field-field-video-summary&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Video Summary&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;object height=&quot;185&quot; width=&quot;223&quot;&gt;&lt;param name=&quot;movie&quot; value=&quot;http://www.youtube.com/v/S804_AVVXwI&quot;&gt;&lt;param name=&quot;wmode&quot; value=&quot;transparent&quot;&gt;&lt;embed src=&quot;http://www.youtube.com/v/S804_AVVXwI&amp;rel=0&quot; type=&quot;application/x-shockwave-flash&quot; wmode=&quot;transparent&quot; height=&quot;185&quot; width=&quot;223&quot;&gt;&lt;/object&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-injustice-facts&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Injustice Facts&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;p&gt;Effective date of most provisions of the originally introduced version of the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act: &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&amp;amp;docid=f:h627ih.txt.pdf&quot;&gt;3 months after passage&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Effective date of most provisions of the version of the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act that was signed into law: &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&amp;amp;docid=f:h627enr.txt.pdf&quot;&gt;9 months to 15 months after passage&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Percentage of credit cards from the 12 largest banks that use practices deemed “unfair or deceptive” by the Federal Reserve: &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.pewtrusts.org/uploadedFiles/wwwpewtrustsorg/Reports/Credit_Cards/Pew_Credit_Cards_Oct09_Final.pdf&quot;&gt;100&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Median advertised range of APRs for credit cards issued in December of 2008: &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.pewtrusts.org/uploadedFiles/wwwpewtrustsorg/Reports/Credit_Cards/Pew_Credit_Cards_Oct09_Final.pdf&quot;&gt;9.99%-15.99%&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Median advertised range of APRs for credit cards issued in July of 2009, after the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act’s passage: &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.pewtrusts.org/uploadedFiles/wwwpewtrustsorg/Reports/Credit_Cards/Pew_Credit_Cards_Oct09_Final.pdf&quot;&gt;12.24%-17.99%&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Maximum annual fee instituted by Citigroup in August that is imposed when a cardholder does not spend enough: &lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.house.gov/apps/list/hearing/financialsvcs_dem/susswein.pdf&quot;&gt;$90&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-summary&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Overview/Summary&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-middle-class-position-ana&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Middle Class Position Analysis&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Middle Class Supports.&lt;/strong&gt;  The &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.themiddleclass.org/bill/credit-card-accountability-responsibility-and-disclosure-act-2009-0&quot;&gt;Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act&lt;/a&gt; was a major step forward for consumer protections.  The legislation ended the most insidious practices employed by credit card companies, protecting consumers from policies that can keep them mired in debt despite their best efforts to dig themselves out.  However, the Act delayed implementation of these vital consumer protections for over a year in some cases, allowing card companies to raise interest rates, increase fees, and jack up minimum payments in the meantime.  The Pew Safe Credit Cards Project &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.pewtrusts.org/uploadedFiles/wwwpewtrustsorg/Reports/Credit_Cards/Pew_Credit_Cards_Oct09_Final.pdf&quot;&gt;finds&lt;/a&gt; that many credit card companies worsened their treatment of consumers in anticipation of the legislation.  The Expedited CARD Reform for Consumers Act would ensure that these unfair and deceptive practices end immediately.  Although the bill will not aid consumers whose interest rates and fees have been raised in recent months, the Act will prevent card companies from continuing to intensify the financial strain on households already struggling to make ends meet.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-related-blog-header&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Related Blog: Header&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;The Discussion on DMIBlog&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-quotes&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Quotes from Experts&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-related-blog&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Related Blog: Text&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-beyond&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Beyond this Bill&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-link field-field-related-blog-link&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Related Blog: Link&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.dmiblog.com/archives/2009/11/faux_stimulus_is_no_stimulus.html&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Faux Stimulus Is No Stimulus&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-additional-resources&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Additional Resources&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.house.gov/apps/list/hearing/financialsvcs_dem/fchrCC_100809.shtml&quot;&gt;“H.R. 2382, the Credit Card Interchange Fees Act of 2009 and H.R. 3639, the Expedited CARD Reform for Consumers Act,”&lt;/a&gt; Hearing of the House Financial Services Committee&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.pewtrusts.org/uploadedFiles/wwwpewtrustsorg/Reports/Credit_Cards/Pew_Credit_Cards_Oct09_Final.pdf&quot;&gt;“Still Waiting: ‘Unfair or Deceptive’ Credit Card Practices Continue as Americans Wait for New Reforms to Take Effect,”&lt;/a&gt; from Pew Safe Credit Cards Project&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://banking.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.Hearing&amp;amp;Hearing_ID=33c569e7-82d6-432f-a1c7-c055219dd557&quot;&gt;“Modernizing Consumer Protection in the Financial Regulatory System: Strengthening Credit Card Protections,”&lt;/a&gt; from the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
</description>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/16">Consumers</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/130">Credit cards</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/6">Debt &amp;amp; Bankruptcy</category>
 <pubDate>Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:57:51 -0500</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>hmoroz</dc:creator>
 <guid isPermaLink="false">278 at http://themiddleclass.org</guid>
</item>
<item>
 <title>Protecting America’s Workers Act of 2009</title>
 <link>http://themiddleclass.org/bill/protecting-america%E2%80%99s-workers-act-2009</link>
 <description>&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-legislation field-field-legislation&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Legislation&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-number-integer field-field-position&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;The middle class&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-video-cck field-field-video-summary&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Video Summary&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-injustice-facts&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Injustice Facts&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-summary&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Overview/Summary&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-middle-class-position-ana&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Middle Class Position Analysis&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-related-blog-header&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Related Blog: Header&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;The Discussion on DMIBlog&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-quotes&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Quotes from Experts&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-related-blog&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Related Blog: Text&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-beyond&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Beyond this Bill&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-link field-field-related-blog-link&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Related Blog: Link&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

&lt;div class=&quot;field field-type-text field-field-additional-resources&quot;&gt;
  &lt;h3 class=&quot;field-label&quot;&gt;Additional Resources&lt;/h3&gt;
  &lt;div class=&quot;field-items&quot;&gt;
      &lt;div class=&quot;field-item&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  &lt;/div&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
</description>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/12">Workplace &amp;amp; Job Creation</category>
 <category domain="http://themiddleclass.org/taxonomy/term/48">Workplace safety</category>
 <pubDate>Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:56:38 -0400</pubDate>
 <dc:creator>hmoroz</dc:creator>
 <guid isPermaLink="false">276 at http://themiddleclass.org</guid>
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