State of the Union: Obama Announces New Enforcement Units

President Barack Obama announced the creation of law enforcement units to combat mortgage fraud and unfair trade practices in his State of the Union speech. He also said he wants "new lightweight vests for cops and soldiers that can stop any bullet."

Photo: CC_Flickr/jmtimagesPhoto: CC_Flickr/jmtimages

President Barack Obama announced the creation of law enforcement units to combat mortgage fraud and unfair trade practices in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday.

In the speech, President Obama called on Attorney General Eric Holder to create a special unit of federal prosecutors and state attorneys general to expand investigations into "the abusive lending and packaging of risky mortgages that led to the housing crisis."

The Department of Justice has already devoted significant resources to combating financial fraud, reports the Legal Times blog. In 2009, the Obama administration put together the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, now led by veteran prosecutor Michael Bresnick.

Obama also announced the creation of a Trade Enforcement Unit that will be charged with "investigating unfair trading practices in countries like China," he said. "It's not fair when foreign manufacturers have a leg up on ours only because they're heavily subsidized."

In a remark directed toward the body armor industry, Obama said he wants "new lightweight vests for cops and soldiers that can stop any bullet," reports The Truth About Guns.

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