CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News
1. FINANCE
Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke testifies before Congress on the alleged abuse of “subprime” loans.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Senior Fellow Iain Murray on why lending markets need informed consumers, not government restrictions:
“A leader in the fight against what it calls ‘predatory lending’ is the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), part of the Self-Help group of non-profits run by Martin Eakes in North Carolina. CRL wants to outlaw all sorts of financial products from the portfolio currently available to the ‘subprime’ market, i.e. those with weak or bad credit.”
2. CONGRESS
The House Transportation Committee considers a bill to expand the scope of the Clean Water Act.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Director of Risk & Environmental Policy Angela Logomasini on the state of environmental politics in Washington:
“Environmental activists, policy scholars, and others claim that the environmental movement is in decline, suffering from attacks on the right on Capitol Hill and from the White House in recent years. Yet given some distinctive attributes associated with this issue, the progressive environmental cause is uniquely situated to ensure that it receives considerable attention in Washington.”
3. ENVIRONMENT
Federal land managers issue a wildfire alert for western states.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Senior Fellow Robert H. Nelson in the Wall Street Journal on how the federal government’s disastrous land management policies have led to increasingly destructive wildfires:
“Even the strongest environmental advocates recognize that forest fire can never be allowed to ‘run free,’ as wolves and grizzlies — also suppressed in the 20th century — are now increasingly encouraged to do. Yet, environmentalism has shown a virtual religious commitment to the idea that the forests must be restored to their ‘natural’ condition.”
Blog feature: For more news and analysis, updated throughout the day, visit CEI’s blog, Open Market.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
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