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Congressional Testimonies

The Resilient Homeland: How DHS Intelligence Should Empower America to Prepare for, Prevent, and Withstand Terrorist Attacks Amos Guiora May 15, 2008 In this testimony delivered before the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Homeland Security Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing, and Terrorism Risk Assessment, Amos Guiora, a Professor of Law at the S.J.Quinney College of Law, University of Utah addresses the requirements needed to shape a resilient homeland in a post-9/11 society and builds on the ideas discussed in the Mercatus primer “A Framework for Evaluating Counterterrorism Regulations” that he co-authored.

Executive Pay and the Role of Compensation Consultants Houman B. Shadab December 5, 2007 This testimony was delivered before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Mercatus Senior Research Fellow Houman Shadab discusses the academic law and economics literature regarding explanations for increased compensation among public company executives and other empirical findings relevant to potential conflicts of interest among executive compensation consultants.

Transparency and Accountability in Louisiana Maurice McTigue November 28, 2007 In this testimony delivered before Governor-elect Jindal's Government and Fiscal Reform Advisory Council, Vice President and Distinguished Visiting Scholar Maurice McTigue examines the state of government transparency and accountability processes in Louisiana.

Small Business Administration: Is the 7(a) Program Achieving Measurable Outcomes? Veronique de Rugy November 1, 2007 This testimony was delivered before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security. Mercatus Senior Research Fellow Veronique de Rugy discusses the Small Business Administration's 7(a) loan programs, the role of SBA loans in the market for capital, and the program's lack of outcome-based performance measurement.

Consumer Wireless Issues Jerry Ellig October 17, 2007 This testimony was delivered before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Mercatus Senior Research Fellow Jerry Ellig discusses the potential effects of regulations mandating specific contract terms or disclosures within wireless communications contracts.

The Contribution of the Social Sciences to the Energy Challenge Jerry Ellig September 25, 2007 This testimony was delivered before the House Committee on Science and Technology Subcommittee on Research and Science Education. Mercatus Senior Research Fellow Jerry Ellig discusses the ways in which different social sciences are complimentary tools for understanding the effects of energy policy.

Written Testimony on the Census Bureau's Readiness for the 2010 Census Maurice McTigue July 17, 2007 This testimony was delivered before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security. Maurice McTigue discusses innovative methods to improve the accuracy and timeliness of the 2010 Census while reducing errors in data collection.

Written Testimony on Medical Debt and Bankruptcy Todd Zywicki July 17, 2007 This testimony was delivered before the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law. Todd Zywicki discusses whether changes in US bankruptcy law are necessary to deal with the challenges of medical bankruptcies.

Written Testimony on Rebuilding New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina Submitted to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Emily Chamlee-Wright, Daniel Rothschild, Mario Villarreal June 26, 2007 This written testimony was delivered to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform's Subcommittee on Domestic Policy as part of the June 26, 2007 hearing on labor law enforcement and regulation in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.

Written Testimony on Credit Card Practices - Current Consumer and Regulatory Issues Submitted to the Financial Services Committee Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Todd Zywicki April 26, 2007 Testifying before the House Financial Services Committee Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee hearing on "Credit Card Practices: Current Consumer and Regulatory Issues," Mercatus Senior Scholar Todd Zywicki told legislators that the relevant issue for regulation should be to determine whether the resulting complexity in credit card terms was warranted in light of the regulatory action's actual benefit to the consumer.

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