ShareThisWASHINGTON - The Pentagon has a third war on its hands, this one with America's auto dealers.
The Department of Defense, which has long battled car lots that cluster around military bases for being less than scrupulous in their dealings with the troops, is putting muscle into the fight to include car dealers under the jurisdiction of the Senate's financial-regulation bill.
The Pentagon, backed by 31 advocacy groups including the Military Officers Association of America and the National Military Family Association, says the history of shady deals has earned the car-sales industry a place under the eye of a new "consumer financial protection bureau," which the Senate is considering.
But the Pentagon's might may have met its match with that of the nation's 55,000 car dealers, who dispatched a phalanx of 100 to the halls of the Senate to lobby passionately against the idea. As a compromise, the dealers are backing an amendment that would put only those dealerships that actually make loans under the new regulatory bureau.
No doubt adding heft to their arguments is the $3 million the National Automobile Dealers Association spent on lobbying last year.
Turns out the Cash for Clunkers program last year resulted in the trade-in of nearly 678,000 cars and trucks, and the payout of $2.85 billion in credits.
Even so, the U.S. Government Accountability Office, which audited the program's books, said it was unable to determine how many of those trade-ins would have occurred if there hadn't been a program set up to lure drivers to ditch their old vehicles for ones that pollute less.
That is largely because the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which was in charge of assessing the success of the program, didn't follow careful enough survey methods to allow a solid conclusion, the GAO said.
NHTSA's data did show that Fords were the most popular trade-in, accounting for about 29 percent of the clunkers surrendered. Other leaders: Chevrolet (17 percent); Dodge (11 percent); and Jeep (9 percent).
The most popular makes selected by consumers in the trades: Toyota (about 18 percent); Ford (13 percent); Honda and Chevrolet (about 13 percent each); and Nissan (about 9 percent).
Adopting the concept of publicly listing sex offenders and child abusers to protect others from victimization, several groups around the country are advocating the creation of registries for those who abuse animals.
The rationale: Evidence exists that cruelty against animals is often a precursor to violence against humans, with those who harm spouses and children often being found to have hurt animals, too. The FBI has learned that a common element in the pasts of many serial killers has been a history of animal torture or killing.
Measures to establish animal-abuser registries have been introduced, or are being considered, in Arizona, California, Louisiana, New York, Oregon and Tennessee. Interest is surfacing on Capitol Hill, as well.
Among the opponents: the American Civil Liberties Union.
A bill moving through Congress has some wine lovers worried they won't be able to get their favorite boutique wine by mail anymore.
But supporters of the measure say it won't end direct shipping. Instead, they counter, it is meant to provide clarity to the federal courts that have been dealing with alcohol regulation cases.
Known as the Comprehensive Alcohol Regulatory Effectiveness Act of 2010, the measure surfaced in the House in mid-April, and its supporters says it is meant to strengthen state governments' control of alcohol distribution.
Backers of the bill -- which include the National Beer Wholesalers Association and the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America -- also argue that direct shipping encourages over-consumption and provides easy access to minors.
Oenophiles call those arguments absurd and thinly veiled attempts to protect the traditional bricks-and-mortar markets. And scores are signing petitions and otherwise trying to put a cork in the bill, which they fear will limit their ability to get the specialty wines they love from a growing market of small distributors and small-town wineries.
(E-mail Lisa Hoffman at hoffmanl(at)shns.com. For more columns, go to www.scrippsnews.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
Washington Calling
We all apperceive the
We all apperceive the stereotypes about car salesman. Every already in awhile you ability luck out and get an acceptable one who is beeline with you, but for a lot of part, the stereotypes aren’t too far off. There are some things you can do to action any ambiguous agreement or tricks and get an acceptable deal.