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NEWS ABOUT: bills

Congress' Productivity Plunges

Hill approving fewer bills, fewer laws being signed

(Newser) - Non-election years are typically productive times for Congress, but not this year. As of last week, the House had passed 326 bills, its fewest in the last 10 non-election years, while the Senate had green-lit 368, its lowest total since 1995, the Washington Post observes. (For comparison, the House passed... More »

Special Interests Write Laws, States Fill In Blanks

Bill templating an increasingly common practice

(Newser) - There’s a decent chance your state lawmakers aren’t writing the bills they’re sponsoring—they’re pulling them off the Internet and filling in the blanks. Bill templates are becoming an increasingly common way for special interests from both sides of the political spectrum to influence local legislatures,... More »

Dems Chip Away at Agenda, One Bill at a Time

GOP keeps its eye on the prize, lets smaller bills sail through

(Newser) - Health care reform may not be sailing through Congress, but a wave of smaller bills that Democrats have been eying for years have done so under President Obama—in most cases without much fanfare or objection. Republicans, focused on bigger fish, are giving a pass to legislation they once forcefully... More »

Quaids' Wild Ride a Tale of Drugs, Paranoia

Texas arrest for stiffing hotel bill is just the tip of the iceberg

(Newser) - The arrest of Randy and Evi Quaid in Texas for stiffing a California hotel is only the latest twist in a bizarre tale of unpaid bills and paranoid fantasies. A private investigator hired by the Quaids—she’s out $17,000—tells Diane Dimond the actor and his wife owe... More »

Poll: Few Plan Splurges With Tax Refunds

More people than ever are just paying off bills

(Newser) - Taxpayers’ refund checks are starting to arrive, but this year the economy might not see much of a boost from that money, an AP poll finds. More people are planning to spend their refunds in some way, but 54% say they’ll pay off existing bills rather than go on... More »

Green Homes Gain Heat in Cool Housing Market

Buyers willing to pay for eco-upgrades, survey says

(Newser) - Eco-friendly homebuilders are faring well despite the plunging US housing market, Newsweek reports. With home sales at a 15-year low, a national survey showed that buyers last year were ready to spend an extra $8,964 on a home that cuts utility bills. "It's taken almost as a fait ... More »

Retail Scores Big on Unused Gift Cards

$7.8B in cards unused annually; some states want cut of profit

(Newser) - Retailers are likely rubbing their hands with glee after shoppers snapped up $97 billion in gift cards this year, up from $83 billion in 2006. Why the excitement? The industry makes billions each year from “breakage," or gift card money that is never spent. Lost, discarded, or under-used... More »

10 Ways Smart People Are Stupid About Money

Wise up and hand on to your hard-earned cash

(Newser) - Hey, smarty. You went to an Ivy League school and you have a respectable job, so why are you broke? The Consumerist points out 10 money-suckers that plague otherwise intelligent people:
  1. Paying your bills late
  2. Overdrafting and ATM fees
  3. Traffic and parking tickets
More »

Service Lets Parents Watch Kids' Cells

New AT&T interface includes limits on mobile minutes, texting, downloads

(Newser) - As cell phones become ever more an extension of kids' ears and thumbs, AT&T is helping bill-paying parents avoid the sweaty-palmed opening of the monthly bill. For $4.99 a month, Smart Limits lets parents have some say in who and when their children call, and how many texts... More »

AT&T Slims Down Mammoth iPhone Bills

Online summaries will replace hefty paper records

(Newser) - AT&T will no longer mail out meticulously itemized iPhone bills after receiving a wave of complaints from consumers, some of whom had received bills tens—or even hundreds—of pages long. The bills listed each and every data transfer charge, the Times reports, even though iPhones come with an... More »

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