Obama meets with credit card executives, promises reform

President Barack Obama called his Thursday meeting with top executives from the nation's largest credit card companies "constructive," and then he said he would do what he could to change the way those companies do business.

"We had a discussion with some of the top issuers here, and what I communicated to them is that I think credit cards are an important convenience for a lot of people ... so we want to preserve the credit card market," Obama said. "But we also want to do so in a way that eliminates some of the abuses and some of the problems that a lot of people are familiar with--people finding themselves starting off with a low rate and the next thing they know their interest rates have doubled; fees that they didn't know about that are suddenly tacked on to their bills; a whole lack of clarity and transparency in terms of the terms and conditions of their credit cards."

The White House will work with leaders in Congress who have already introduced credit card reform legislation, the president said. On Wednesday a House committee approved a bill that would limit credit card rates and fees. A Senate committee approved similar legislation a few weeks before.

Obama set out four points which his administration would work to change:

1. "I think that there has to be strong and reliable protections for consumers -- protections that ban unfair rate increases and forbid abusive fees and penalties.  The days of any time, any reason rate hikes and late fee traps have to end."
2. "All the forms and statements that credit card companies send out have to be written in plain language and be in plain sight.  No more fine print, no more confusing terms and conditions.  We want clarity and transparency from here on out."
3. "We have to make sure that people can comparison shop when it comes to credit cards without being afraid that they're going to be taken advantage of.  So we believe that it's important to require firms to make all their contract terms easily accessible online in a fashion that allows people to shop for the best deal for their needs."
4. "We think we need more accountability in the system.  And that means more effective oversight and more effective enforcement so that people who are issuing credit cards but violate law, they will feel the full weight of the law."

Learn more from Consumer Reports about credit card rates that jump overnight.

And, learn the dark secrets of debit cards.

$13 billion from stimulus to go to high speed rail

President Barack Obama continued to push his vision of a rebuild American economy Thursday with an event promoting high-speed rail lines, promising that a $13 billion investment would create jobs and help rebuild the nation's aging infrastructure.

Flanked by Vice President Joe Biden, an avid train traveler, and Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, the president said the money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act would be handed out to worthy projects in two stages.

"The first round of funding will focus on projects that can create jobs and benefits in the near term," Obama said. "We're not talking about starting from scratch, we're talking about using existing infrastructure to increase speeds on some routes from 70 miles an hour to over 100 miles per hour--so you're taking existing rail lines, you're upgrading them."

The second batch of funding--some $5 billion--is an investment in the future, with new trains that could travel in excess of 100 miles per hour, the president said.

"The next step is investing in high-speed rail that unleashes the economic potential of all our regions by shrinking distances within our regions," he said. "There are at least 10 major corridors in the United States of 100 to 600 miles in length with the potential for successful high-speed rail systems."

Obama again pointed out the criticisms his economic plans have met.  To those who would say that high-speed rail isn't realistic, Obama gave examples of successful lines around the world.

For those who would say the president's investment in railways does not really fight the recession, Obama replied with the story of Abraham Lincoln who built the transcontinental railroad during the Civil War.

"While fighting raged on one side of the continent, tens of thousands of Americans from all walks of life came together on the other," Obama said. "Dreamers and risk-takers willing to invest in America."

You can learn more about the White House's high-speed rail plan from the Department of Transportation.

Obama describes the rock and reasoning supporting his economic policies

In a Tuesday speech, President Barack Obama harkened back to Biblical times for a comparable situation to the economic crisis in which the country (and his administration) are mired.

Now, there's a parable at the end of the Sermon on the Mount that tells the story of two men. The first built his house on a pile of sand, and it was soon destroyed when a storm hit.  But the second is known as the wise man, for when 'the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.'

It was founded upon a rock.  We cannot rebuild this economy on the same pile of sand. We must build our house upon a rock.  We must lay a new foundation for growth and prosperity--a foundation that will move us from an era of borrow and spend to one where we save and invest; where we consume less at home and send more exports abroad.

The rock the president wants under the U.S. economy is actually made up of five "pillars," he said.

As he described them in his speech at Georgetown University:

1. "New rules for Wall Street that will reward drive and innovation, not reckless risk-taking"
2. "New investments in education that will make our workforce more skilled and competitive"
3. "New investments in renewable energy and technology that will create new jobs and new industries"
4. "New investments in health care that will cut costs for families and businesses"
5. "New savings in our federal budget that will bring down the debt for future generations"

Despite the government's efforts, Obama said that the country will not recover quickly from this recession.

"There is no doubt that times are still tough," he said. "By no means are we out of the woods just yet.  But from where we stand, for the very first time, we're beginning to see glimmers of hope.  And beyond that, way off in the distance, we can see a vision of an America's future that is far different than our troubled economic past."

As the Obamas welcome the first pooch, some Consumer Reports advice on living with pets

Bo, the six-month old Portuguese water dog who just took up residency at the White House, seems to be captivating the nation. (Here's his official introduction on whitehouse.gov.)

As the Obamas get used to living with their new pooch, here's some of the advice Consumer Reports has offered recently on living safely and happily with pets.

For the First Family from the Safety Blog: Retractable leashes pose problems for people and their pets

In 2007 there were 16,564 hospital-treated injuries associated with leashes, according to Consumer Union's analysis of statistics collected by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Of those, about 10.5 percent involved children 10 and younger; 23.5 percent involved injuries to the finger. The CPSC's data does not parse the leashes into types but it's likely that the amputations were caused by retractable leashes.

The most common injuries reported were burns and cuts, usually sustained when the cord came in contact with skin as it rapidly paid out from the handle of a leash. Others occurred when the cord got wrapped around part of the owner or the dog.

For the Obama girls (who are supposed to take care of Bo) from the Home & Garden Blog: Are our dogs destroying our lawn?

Small brown blotches surrounded by dark green grass are a telltale sign that your pooches are pe... , er, using your lawn as an outhouse. The nitrogen in the urine kills the grass in the center, where its concentration is highest, and darkens the grass at the edges. The appearance of spots only in summer doesn’t mean the dogs are holding it in the other three seasons. These dead patches are most likely to show up during hot, dry weather, when your lawn is under greater stress.

For the White House groundskeepers from the Home & Garden Blog: Cocoa mulch can be toxic to dogs

A fear-inducing e-mail has circulated alerting pet owners to the fact that fragrant cocoa mulch (shown) can kill dogs that eat it. There is truth to the claim, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). Some dogs are attracted by the mulch's chocolate aroma, and according to a warning from the ASPCA in 2003, "Eaten by a 50-pound dog, about 2 ounces of cocoa bean mulch may cause gastrointestinal upset; about 4.5 ounces, increased heart rate; about 5.3 ounces, seizures; and over 9 ounces, death."

For the motorcade drivers from the Cars Blog: Dogs need show cars, too

With the Honda Element Dog Friendly Concept, Honda has acknowledged what some animal lovers figured out a while back. The funky, utilitarian Element SUV makes a dandy vehicle for transporting pets.

It comes with an easy-to-clean, “hose-outable” urethane floor and moisture resistant seats right out of the box, making the standard Element particularly well suited for pet duty. The Dog Friendly version takes things a step or two further, with a cushioned, raised pet bed and pet restraint system in the cargo area, another restraint in the rear seat, and a spill resistant water bowl.

For the Secret Service from the Home & Garden Blog: Emergency-preparedness plans for your pets

If you own pets, read "Don't Leave Home Without Them," which includes information about preparing for and dealing with emergencies—a few basic steps can help you safely evacuate yourself and your pets. When an emergency does occur, take these bare necessities for your pet with you:

• Harnesses, carriers, crates, and cages
• ID, contact information, and medical records
• Food, water, and medicine
• Sanitation

President Obama tries to sell America on mortgage refinancing

Nearly two months after first announcing his plan to stem foreclosures and rescue the housing market, President Barack Obama convened a "Housing Refinance Roundtable" at the White House to talk about the mortgage meltdown.

In a brief public statement, the president said the nation's economic crisis could partially be blamed on the housing market "because in some areas housing values got way overheated, in some cases you had a lack of regulation."

But, Obama added:

Here's the good news.  At the beginning of this administration we said we are -- we were going to tackle directly the problems that homeowners were experiencing and figure out ways in which we could provide them assistance in reducing their interest rates, modifying their loans so that they would be in a position to stay in their homes and reduce their monthly payments.  And around the table here you see some wonderful families who have taken advantage of what are now historically low mortgage rates, brought about in part by some extraordinary actions by the Federal Reserve, but also brought about by the housing plan that [Treasury Secretary] Tim Geithner and [Housing and Urban Development Secretary]Shaun Donovan helped to design.

The housing market, however, is still in a crisis. As the Consumer Reports Home & Garden Blog has written, about 7 percent of U.S. homeowners were at least 30 days late on their mortgage payments in February. That's a 50 percent jump from a year ago. The percentage of delinquent mortgages for people with subprime loans is significantly higher—almost 40 percent were at least 30 days behind on their loans in February.

Forty-five percent of existing home sales in February involved distressed-sale properties, including short sales and REOs (real-estate-owned properties).

President Obama advised homeowners to look into refinancing their mortgages to stay out of trouble or just to save a little money:

And what we want to do is to send a message that if you are having problems with your mortgage, and even if you're not and you just want to save some money, you can go to MakingHomeAffordable.gov -- MakingHomeAffordable.gov -- and the way the web site is designed, you can plug in your information and immediately find out whether or not you are potentially eligible for one of these -- one of these mortgage refinancings.

To back up the president's call for refinancing, the White House released some statistics about the housing market since the president made his initial rescue plan announcement:

• Rates on 30-year mortgages have dropped to an all-time low of 4.78 percent.
• Refinancing applications are up 88 percent (Mortgage Banker’s Association).
• Fannie Mae refinanced $77 billion of mortgages in March, nearly twice the February amount, and their highest volume in one month since 2003.
• Over 500,000 borrowers have accessed Fannie Mae online to learn about refinancing and Fannie Mae is now processing applications to complete refinancing for eligible borrowers.

The president also brought up the growing danger of fraud.

"As people have become aware that the government is helping to promote refinancing, we're starting to see some scam artists out there who are contacting people saying, 'you can refinance your home, the government has got a program, we're ready to help -- oh, but by the way, first you've got to pay some money,'" Obama said. "I just want everybody who is watching today to know that if somebody is asking you for money up front before they help you with your refinancing, it's probably a scam."

That's just one of the tips to avoid a foreclosure fiasco which Consumer Reports offered in our March issue. Read the rest of our advice on how to avoid refinancing scams here.

Senator asks Obama to change leadership at CPSC

Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida sent a letter to the White House yesterday asking to president to change the leadership of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

After writing that he'd already discussed the matter with White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, Nelson's letter identifies his main issue with the CPSC's current approach:

I believe we have a serious problem with the CPSC. More specifically, the agency is doing too little, too late to help residents of Florida and other states who are reporting serious health and safety problems associated with living in homes built with tainted drywall imported from China.

The CPSC has the power to ban future imports or issua a recall on defective or hazardous products. But the commission hasn't take any action.

As the Consumer Reports Safety Blog has reported, the federal government is now ramping up a multi-agency investigation of drywall imported from China that is suspected of releasing sulfur gases believed to be causing corrosion and health problems.

A spokesman for the CPSC told Consumer Reports the agency has been looking into possible defects surrounding drywall imported from China for the last two months and has now initiated a formal compliance investigation.

“The agency is on the ground in Florida in a fact-finding mode,” said CPSC spokesman Joe Martyak. “Our goal is to determine if, and to what extent, there is any safety risk involved with imported Chinese drywall.”

Sen. Nelson, however, wrote that the CPSC's problems go beyond the recent drywall issue:

And this is no the first time the commission has failed to act quickly to protect consumers from dangerous products. When confronted with the issue of Chinese-made toys found to contain extreme levels of lead, it took far too long to act.

For the past three years, the commission has been under the leadership and direction of acting Chairwoman Nancy Nord, who has come under bipartisan criticsm for, among other things, being too cozy with manufacturers. Given her record, it's my belief new leadership is required.

Mr. President, I'm asking you to call on Ms. Nord to resign. I believe that the CPSC needs leaders who will stand up and protect the rights of consumers. It is my hope that you will take action to remove her from office for "neglect of duty" pursuant to Section 4(a) of the Consumer Product Safety Act, as amended (15 U.S.C. 2053 (a)), prior to the expiration of her term in 2012.

Nord was nominated for the CPSC by President George W. Bush and began her term in 2005. The other sitting commissioner is Thomas Moore, who was first tapped by President Bill Clinton in 1995. The third commissioner's seat has been vacant since 2006 when Hal Stratton resigned.

Secretary of defense proposes pared down budget

In what he characterized as a "fundamental overhaul" of the defense budget, Defense Secretary Robert Gates today proposed a $534 billion budget that represents deep cuts to many of the military's biggest weapons programs, according to the Associated Press.

What does this mean for consumers? Some members of Congress are concerned about losing defense contractor jobs with unemployment rates at or near record levels. Lockheed Martin Corp., which makes the F-22 fighter jet, has warned of huge layoffs if programs are cut, the AP reported. But while some weapons programs may be scaled back, others such as the unmanned Predator drone are likely to grow, according to Politico.com.

The proposed budget represents "the first broad rethinking of American military strategy under the Obama administration, which wants to spend more of its money countering terrorism and insurgencies ... and less on preparations for conventional warfare," the New York Times reports.

Obama hails G-20 progress as Republicans continue attacks on the budget

The President this week hailed the progress made at the recent G-20 summit in London, saying that his visit helped lay the groundwork for a newly strengthened global financial system that would help safeguard America's future prosperity.

The President faced several daunting challenges in London, including earning support for broader stimulus packages in other countries, and projecting the view of a strong America capable of asserting global leadership.

The President used his weekly address to help explain how the week's challenging work related to America's future. "If people in other countries cannot spend," Obama said, "that means they cannot buy the goods we produce here in America, which means more lost jobs and more families hurting."

The President said that working with other nations to stabilize the global financial system presented "the challenge of our time." "Ultimately," he said, "the only way out of a recession that is global in scope is with a response that is global in coordination."

Congressman Paul Ryan, the ranking member of the House Budget Committee, defended the alternate budget this week proposed by Congressional Republicans, characterizing it as a measured and appropriate response during a time of fiscal crisis.

"Our budget gives priority to national defense and veterans health care," he explained. "We freeze all other discretionary spending for five years we enact a spending cap backed up by tough budget enforcement. American families are making sacrifices and tightening their belts Washington should do the same. Our budget also takes steps toward health care reform and retirement security."

By contrast, Ryan warned that the President's budget would make the crisis "much much worse."

"America is not the greatest nation on Earth by chance," he said. "We earned this greatness by rewarding individual achievement, by advancing and protecting natural rights, and by embracing freedom. Our budget reflects those principles, and we offer the American people a better way forward."

Nord joins push for new leadership at CPSC

Groups urging President Obama to appoint new leadership to the Consumer Product Safety Commission -- including Consumers Union, the non-profit publisher of Consumer Reports -- have a surprising new ally: the CPSC's current acting head, Nancy Nord. In a letter to the president, Commissioner Nord, a Bush appointee, urged the White House to "name a nominee to chair" the agency. "The addition of a third vote, hopefully, will streamline the process of lengthy staff discussions and negotiations currently required to reach the unanimity needed to advance the agency's safety mission," Nord wrote. Her concerns echo those of activists and legislators, who have pushed for the administration to bring on new leadership. Last week, Rep. John Dingell (D., MI), sent a letter to the president urging him to appoint a new head of the agency "as expeditiously as possible."

According to The Wall Street Journal, the White House responded by saying, "we are moving ahead in an aggressive fashion on a whole array of issues. When it comes to staffing, we are remarkably ahead of where previous administrations were at this point." The administration did not directly respond to Nord's comments.

The agency has been without a head since July 2006, when previous chair Hal Stratton resigned. In 2007, President Bush attempted to appoint a manufacturing industry lobbyist, Michael Baroody, to run the product safety agency. Baroody later withdrew his name from consideration, and Bush did not nominate any other candidates for the position.

The need for a new CPSC head has become more critical in recent months, as the agency has attempted to deal with the implementation of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). In a letter to the President in February, Consumers Union and other groups urged the White House to address the "climate of confusion" by appointing "effective leadership at the CPSC," to "implement the critical new product safety law and begin to tackle the myriad of issues facing this agency." Nord’s letter seems to echo these concerns, saying that new leadership is required to “implement the much needed update of our statutes, thus increasing the protection of American families.”

Sebelius says health reform would be her mission if confirmed

Senate hearings for Kathleen Sebelius to be confirmed as the Secretary of Health and Human Services began today in the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, a mostly friendly panel for the Kansas governor to face.

Sen. Ted Kennedy, a long-time advocate for health care reform and chair of the committee, kicked off the proceedings by praising Sebelius.

"I’ve benefitted from the best of medicine, but we have too many uninsured Americans. We have sickness care and not health care. We have too much paperwork and bureaucracy. Costs are out of control. But today we have an opportunity like never before to reform health care," Kennedy, who is battling cancer, said. "And we need a secretary of health who has the vision, the skill, and the knowledge to help us get there. Governor Kathleen Sebelius has those traits and more."

Sebelius said in her opening statement that she would fight to achieve one of President Barack Obama's campaign promises and early initiatives.

"Should I be confirmed, health reform would be my mission--as it is the president’s--along with the tremendous responsibility of running this critical department," she said.

But Sebelius also said she would work to improve the Centers For Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration, which has been much criticized after several disease outbreaks caused by tainted food. (Read about the latest recall of pistachios.)

"As Americans focus more on prevention and leading healthier lifestyles, HHS must live up to its responsibility to protect the public from health risks," Sebelius said. "It is a core responsibility of HHS, through the FDA, to ensure the food we eat and the medications we take are safe."