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June 14, 2016

S.E.C. Pressed On Unfinished Dodd-Frank Conflict of Interest Rule

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Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) hit out at the Securities and Exchange Commission for dawdling on a conflict of interest rule it was ordered to implement by the Dodd-Frank Act. Merkley pressed SEC Chair Mary Jo White on Tuesday, asking about the state of the regulation before a Senate Bakning Committee oversight hearing. “Here we are six years later,” he said, referring to the timing of Dodd-Frank’s passage. “We don’t even have a draft rule.” White replied, calling the proposal “enormously important,” but said the matter was…

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Net Neutrality Preserved in the Courts…For Now

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The telecoms industry’s legal assault on the Federal Communications Commission’s “Net Neutrality” rule has been momentarily halted. A ruling handed down by the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit on Tuesday upheld the FCC’s regulations. Finalized in early 2015, they reclassified service providers, and subjected them to new rules, in a bid to ensure equal treatment of online traffic. The commission’s Open Internet Order—perhaps the most significant progressive policy achievement of last year—was the culmination of years of grassroots organizing and agitating in response…

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Amid Fresh Relief Proposals, Student Debt Strikers Still Skeptical of Education Dept.

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The Department of Education proposed a new set of rules aimed at easing the debt relief application process for students bilked by for-profit colleges. The initiative, revealed this week, would bar corporate schools from making prospective students relinquish their rights to sue—whether individually or in class action lawsuits. It would also grant the department more authority to discharge a group of students’ loan obligations, when it is determined they have been deceived by school administrators. The rules, if finalized, would also force for-profit schools to…

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Obama to Sign FOIA Reform Bill, Calls on Congress to be More Transparent

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The White House on Tuesday morning signaled that it would support legislation passed by Congress to update and modernize how agencies handle Freedom of Information Act requests. The House approved the FOIA Improvement Act on Monday night. The legislation passed the Senate in March by unanimous consent. The bill would require federal bodies to default on the side of transparency when processing records requests. It stipulates that if agencies intend to withhold documents, they have to provide specific reasons why release could lead to “foreseeable…

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