Government News

April Consumer Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Filings Increase 16 Percent from Previous Year

NEW YORK/ALEXANDRIA, VA. – May 2, 2025 — The 30,961 individual chapter 7 filings in April 2025 represented a 16 percent increase over the 26,781 filings recorded in April 2024, according to data provided by Epiq AACER, the leading provider of U.S.…

Federal Debt and the Statutory Limit, March 2025

The debt limit—commonly called the debt ceiling—is the maximum amount of debt that the Department of the Treasury can issue to the public or to other federal agencies. The amount is set by law and has been increased or suspended over the…

Trump and Musk move to dismantle USAID, igniting battle with Democratic lawmakers

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration and billionaire ally Elon Musk moved to eradicate the agency that provides crucial aid that funds education and fights starvation, epidemic and poverty overseas, sparking a showdown with congressional Democrats who blasted the effort as illegal…

Medical debt reforms threatened by Trump pause on new regulations

The Trump administration’s pause on new regulations threatens reforms made to ease the burden of medical debt. Although such reforms are broadly popular, and half of Americans worry they will be bankrupted by a major medical event, Republicans have opposed allowing the medical debt…

CFPB Finalizes Rule to Remove Medical Bills from Credit Reports

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) finalized a rule that will remove an estimated $49 billion in medical bills from the credit reports of about 15 million Americans. The CFPB’s action will ban the inclusion of medical bills on…

Nearly half of credit card users are carrying debt — it may take months, or years, to pay off

Many Americans are starting 2025 a little worse off than before, at least when it comes to credit card debt. Almost half of cardholders — 48% — now carry debt from month to month, according to a new report by Bankrate. That’s…

SEC Writes Off $10 Billion in Fines It Can’t Collect

Paul Bilzerian has been on the run from the Securities and Exchange Commission for so long that he now owes the agency $180 million with interest—almost three times what a court initially ordered him to pay. For 31 years, the agency…

NYC DCWP Announces New Effective Date for Amended Debt Collection Rules

On November 1, the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (NYC DCWP) announced that the effective date for the amended debt collection rules has been officially moved to April 1, 2025. Late last month, we discussed how the NYC DCWP had…

FTC Takes Action Against Phantom Debt Collector That Collected Millions In Bogus Debt From Consumers

The Federal Trade Commission is taking action against a Georgia-based debt collector that tricked consumers into paying more than $7.6 million in bogus debt by threatening them with jail time, harassing their family members, and other unlawful actions. In response…

Diamond Sports reaches key milestone toward exiting bankruptcy

Diamond Sports moved closer to exiting bankruptcy on Thursday after a bankruptcy judge approved its reorganization plan, which slashes the hefty debt load that toppled the company. The green light is a significant milestone for the owner of regional sports…