[VIDEO] House Moves to Stop Operation Choke Point

Making clear its official stance against Operation Choke Point, the House passed a measure that prohibits the Justice Department from using any funds to carry out the controversial program. Critics say it unfairly targets legal businesses like pawn shops, gun dealers and payday lenders.

On Wednesday, lawmakers approved the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, which allocates funding to a range of agencies and also includes a provision to defund Operation Choke Point.

“While I had hoped that the unprecedented Operation Choke Point would have been far behind us by now, it was once again necessary to offer an amendment to the annual Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations legislation to prohibit funding for it,” said Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo., who sponsored the amendment.

My colleagues and I will continue to ensure [the Justice Department] and FDIC enforcement actions are focused on actual threats and risks and not politics and ideology as we continue to move forward with the fight to end this illegal program once and for all.

After failed past attempts by Congress to end Operation Choke Point, members this time are “hopeful” this strategy will work.

“The House has done its job and now we hope the second legislative branch and the executive branch will join us on behalf of standing up for the American people,” Rep. Scott Tipton, R-Colo., a member of the House Financial Services Committee, which has been critical of Operation Choke Point, told The Daily Signal.

Operation Choke Point was launched by the Justice Department in 2013 as a way to combat consumer fraud by working with multiple government agencies—among them, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation—to discourage banks from doing business with “high risk” industries.

Since its inception, critics say the program is being used to drive industries that are politically unpopular out of business.

Via: The Daily Signal

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HILLARY CLINTON: WE ARE OUT OF THE ECONOMIC HOLE

We have put the word stupid in her brain!!!

Meanwhile, numbers are out today on the first quarter of this year and the economy is still shrinking! They had predicted 0.2% growth but it didn’t even do that well. It shrank 0.7%.

If a shrinking economy is Hillary’s idea of an economy that is doing well, then I’d hate to see her idea of an economy that is in trouble:

USA TODAY – The U.S. economy shrank in the first quarter as the nation’s trade deficit widened and business stockpiling slowed.

Gross domestic product — the value of goods and services produced in the U.S. — contracted at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 0.7% in the January-March period, the Commerce Department said Friday. That’s well below the modest 0.2% growth the government initially estimated.

The report was the government’s second estimate of first-quarter GDP. It will publish a final estimate in June.

Via: The Right Scoop

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TEAM OBAMA BLAMES ‘HARSH WINTER WEATHER’ FOR GDP REVISION; RECOMMENDS TPP TRADE BILL

The Obama administration reacted to news that broke this morning about the economy shrinking 0.7 percent in the first quarter of 2015. The number was lower even than the bad economic news first reported, as the Commerce Department’s first estimate showed 0.2 percent growth in the first quarter.

But Jason Furman, the Chairman of Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, cautioned Americans from over reacting to the news.

“The first-quarter slowdown was the result of harsh winter weather, tepid foreign demand, and consumers saving the windfall from lower oil prices,” he wrote in a statement.

Furman pointed out Obama’s efforts to pass a Trans-Pacific Partnership trade bill might help improve the economy, by increasing national exports.

“The President is committed to further strengthening these positive trends by opening our exports to new markets with new high-standards free trade agreements that create opportunities for the middle class,” he wrote.

He also pointed to Obama’s commitment to infrastructure spending and his attempt to block sequestration in the upcoming budget as another positive step for the economy and cautioned Americans from not focusing too much on one report.

“As the Administration stresses every quarter, GDP figures can be volatile and are subject to substantial revision,” he concluded. “Therefore, it is important not to read too much into any one single report, and it is informative to consider each report in the context of other data that are becoming available.”

Via: Breitbart

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4TH QUARTER GDP SLASHED 25%

The Commerce Department announced Friday that its revised estimate of GDP growth in the 4th Quarter was revised down to 2.4% annual growth. Initial estimates had put GDP growth at 3.2%. Economists had expected a downward revision to 2.5%, making Friday's report a disappointment. It is a dramatic drop from the 3rd Quarter estimate of 4.1% growth. 

For the full year, the economy grew by a weak 1.9% in 2013. This is down sharply from the 2.8% growth registered in 2012. The downward revisions in the 4th Quarter numbers reflected smaller than estimated increases in personal consumption and private inventory build-ups. 

The markets and many economists continue to expect an acceleration in economic growth in 2014. Recent data, however, counters this sentiment. The economy did seem to pick up steam in the 3rd Quarter last year, but the year ended with a clear deceleration in the economy. 

One surprise in Friday's report was an increase in inflation higher than initial estimated. Prices increased 1.5% in the 4th Quarter, 25% higher than originally reported. Excluding food and energy, prices rose 1.8% in the quarter, compared to a 1.5% increase in the 3rd Quarter. 

Via: Bretibart

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NEW HOME SALES COLLAPSE 13.4% IN JULY

Wednesday, Breitbart News reported that over the last 30 days Gallup measured a sharp spike in unemployment, from 7.7% to 8.9%. Friday, the Commerce Department released another startling and unexpected statistic: New home sales collapsed in July by a full 13.4%. According to the AP this is a 9-month low.

A rise in interest rates has also resulted in a decrease in mortgage applications.

This isn't the only bad news coming out of July. Only 162,000 jobs were created during the entire month; most of them part-time.

Thursday,  jobless claims rose by 13,000 over the previous week to 336,000.

There was good news in July. Existing home sales rose to their highest level since 2009. Unfortunately, no one is put to work building, landscaping, selling and manufacturing materials for a home that already exists.

Via: Breitbart

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