Wisconsin Blue Book, 2015-2016

The latest edition of the Wisconsin Blue Book, compiled by the Wisconsin Legislative Bureau, is now available to access online.
Wisconsin blue book

USDA Foods: From American Farms to American Tables

An infographic highlighting food purchases and programs that help feed those in need. Click to view a larger version.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/usdagov/22506985862/sizes/l/dagov/22506985862/sizes/l/
Food assistance

Cyber Tip: Social Media and the Use of Personal Information

"The myriad of social networking websites currently available have hundreds of millions of registered users. But just like any kind of cyberspace communication, using social media can involve some risk.

Once a user posts information to a social networking site, that information can no longer be considered private and can be used for criminal purposes. Even if you use the highest security settings on your account, others may—intentionally or not—leak your information. And once in the hands of criminals, this personal information can be used to conduct all kinds of cyber attacks against you or your family members, friends, or business associates in an effort to obtain additional and even more sensitive personal information..."
Cyber & social media

Breast Cancer Screening for Women with Disabilities

"October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. All women ages 50 to 74, including women with disabilities, should have a screening mammogram every two years as an important way to lower the risk of dying from breast cancer.

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among women in the United States, and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women. Getting an X-ray of the breast every two years, called amammogram, is the best way to find breast cancer early, when it is easiest to treat..."
Breast cancer

Protect Against Respiratory Syncytial Virus

"Respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, is a common virus. It can spread through coughing and sneezing. You can also get RSV by touching surfaces that have RSV on them, then touching your eyes, nose, or mouth. Most children get RSV by the time they are 2 years old. Healthy children usually experience mild, cold-like symptoms and recover on their own within a week or two. But RSV can cause severe lung infections, including bronchiolitis (infection of small airways in the lungs) and pneumonia. Each year in the United States, an estimated 57,527 children younger than 5 years old are hospitalized due to RSV infection..."Respiratory Syncytial virus

A STRATEGY FOR AMERICAN INNOVATION

"America has long been a nation of innovators. The United States is the birthplace of the Internet, which today connects three billion people around the world. American scientists and engineers sequenced the human genome, invented the semiconductor, and sent humankind to the moon. And America is not done yet.

For an advanced economy such as the United States, innovation is a wellspring of economic growth. While many countries can grow by adopting existing technologies and business practices, America must continually innovate because our workers and firms are often operating at the technological frontier. Innovation is also a powerful tool for addressing our most pressing challenges as a nation, such as enabling more Americans to lead longer, healthier lives, and accelerating the transition to a low-carbon economy..."
Innovation

Advancing Open and Citizen-Centered Government

"Today, the United States released our third Open Government National Action Plan, announcing more than 40 new or expanded initiatives to advance the President’s commitment to an open and citizen-centered government.

The release is part of our membership in the Open Government Partnership — launched by President Obama and seven other heads of state — which in just 4 years has grown from 8 to now 66 countries. Member countries and their civil society partners are all working to increase public integrity, enhance public access to information, improve management of public resources, and give the public a more active voice in government processes. As a member of the Open Government Partnership, the United States issues Open Government National Action Plans outlining ambitious commitments to advance open government every 2 year..."
Open government

Let's Fix Our Criminal Justice System

"The Case for Reform

Over the last few decades, we've locked up more non-violent offenders than ever before — and for longer than ever.

Since he was a Senator, the President has noted that in too many cases, our criminal justice system represents a pipeline from underfunded schools to overcrowded jails. And while he's since taken steps to address it, much of our criminal justice system remains unfair.

And people of all political persuasions, in both  are ready to do something about it..."
 
Criminal justice system

Multi-Prong Strategy Essential to Preventing Workplace Harassment

" Placing pressure on companies by buyers, empowering bystanders to be part of the solution, multiple access points for reporting harassment, prompt investigations, and swift disciplinary action when warranted, along with strong support from top leadership, are some of the measures employers can take to prevent workplace harassment, panels of experts told the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's (EEOC) Select Task Force on the Study of Harassment in the Workplace (STF) at a public meeting held yesterday in Los Angeles.

This was the second public meeting of the STF, and the first to be held outside of Washington, DC.  The STF was announced by EEOC Chair Jenny R. Yang in March, 2015, and it is co-chaired byEEOC Commissioners Chai R. Feldblum and Victoria A. Lipnic.  Members of the STF include individuals representing the worlds of academia, law, labor, and business.  This meeting was designed to explore innovative steps to prevent workplace harassment..."
Workplace harassment

Supreme Court Appointment Process: Senate Debate and Confirmation Vote

"The procedure for appointing a Justice to the Supreme Court is provided for in the U.S. Constitution in only a few words. The “Appointments Clause” in the Constitution (Article II, Section 2, clause 2) states that the President “shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint ... Judges of the supreme Court.” While the process of appointing Justices has undergone some changes over two centuries, its most essential feature— the sharing of power between the President and the Senate—has remained unchanged: To receive lifetime appointment to the Court, one must first be formally selected (“nominated”) by the President and then approved (“confirmed”) by the Senate.

For the President, the appointment of a Supreme Court Justice can be a notable measure by which history will judge his Presidency. For the Senate, a decision to confirm is a solemn matter as well, for it is the Senate alone, through its “Advice and Consent” function, without any formal involvement of the House of Representatives, which acts as a safeguard on the President’s judgment. This report provides information and analysis related to the final stage of the confirmation process for a nomination to the Supreme Court—the consideration of the nomination by the full Senate, including floor debate and the vote on whether to approve the nomination..."
Supreme Court

Working in America: New Tables Detail Demographics of Work Experience

"More than seven in 10 people of traditional working age (16 to 64 years old) worked in 2014; for people 65 and over, at least one in five had worked in the past 12 months. In fact, 12.4 percent of people 70 and over continued to work.

Of these older workers, many worked full time, year round; nearly half of workers age 65 to 69 and nearly a third of workers 70 and over worked full time, year round. Among workers 65 and over, men worked longer hours each week than women; 57.6 percent of men compared with 45.5 percent of women 65 and over clocked in 35 or more hours per week..."
Work experience

Quarterly and Mean Monthly Personal, Family and Household Income by Selected Characteristi

Find the latest statistics of family and household income as published by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Family and household income

3 Facts Most People Don't Know about Prescription Drug Abuse:

"Prescription drug abuse and heroin use have taken a heartbreaking toll on too many Americans and their families. Today, President Obama traveled to West Virginia — the state that's home to the highest rate of overdose deaths in the nation — to hear directly from people in the community and discuss new actions to fight this epidemic. 

Get the facts about prescription drug abuse in this country, and then watch the conversation..."
Prescription drug abuse

These Are the Oldest Known Flowers in the World

"The evolution of flowers, Charles Darwin famously said, was an “abominable mystery,” chiefly because they seemed to suddenly burst into the fossil record 100 million years ago. Naturalists have struggled to fill in the blanks that puzzled Darwin, and now, after a dogged search by Bernard Gomez, a paleobotanist from France, there’s a new candidate for the oldest known flower. Gomez studied more than 1,000 fossils of the extinct aquatic plant Montsechia, recovered in abundance from sites in Spain and preserved in collections across Europe. In the surprisingly messy world of plant taxonomy, Montsechia has been classified as a conifer, among other classifications, but Gomez concluded that it possessed enclosed seeds, the hallmark of an angiosperm, or flowering plant. “I went to the British Museum, I went to Paris, I went to Berlin and Barcelona,” he says. A poor excuse for a flower by today’s standards, Montsechia, which dates to about 130 million years ago, didn’t even have petals. Its pollen floated in water instead of through air. But along with ancient specimens from China, Portugal and the Americas, it embodies the humble origins of the glorious forms we see all over the world today..."
Oldest known flowers

DOL Resources for Women

"This is a central, comprehensive and searchable repository of Department of Labor resources, tools, and publications of interest to women..."
Resources for Women

Law Enforcement Officers Killed in 2014

"On May 29, 2014, a 42-year-old trooper with the New York State Police made a traffic stop on an interstate highway north of Binghamton. The veteran trooper parked behind the stopped car and approached the driver’s side window. In that fleeting moment, a truck traveling in the same direction at about 90 miles per hour suddenly swerved, sideswiping the car and striking the trooper, killing him instantly. The truck’s driver, a 60-year-old male with a criminal record, admitted after his capture that he intentionally veered to hit the trooper.

The chilling account of the unprovoked attack is just one of dozens of detailed narratives recounting the felonious deaths of law enforcement officers in the United States in 2014. The accounts are a central component of the latest Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted (LEOKA) report, issued today, which shows that 96 law enforcement officers were killed in the line of duty last year—51 as a result of felonious acts and 45 in accidents. The annual report, released by the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program, also shows that 48,315 officers were victims of line-of-duty assaults in 2014..."
Law enforcement officers killed

Robert E. Lee’s demand for the surrender of John Brown and his party, October 18, 1859

"On October 16, 1859, abolitionist John Brown and his "army" of some 20 men seized the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia) in preparation for his war for slave liberation. By the morning of October 18, when Brown refused to accept the terms of this note, marines under the command of Bvt. Col. Robert E. Lee, stormed the building and captured Brown and the survivors of his party. The operation that Brown envisioned as the first blow in a war against slavery was over in 36 hours...."
John Brown's surrender

World Statistics Day 2015

"The United Nations General Assemby has designated October 20,2015 as World Statistics Day with the theme "Better Data, Better Lives".

At the Census Bureau, we strive to make our statistics easy to access wth mobile apps, interactive maps, and other online tools like the Population Clock, Economic Indicators, American FactFinder, and Quick Facts.   Our developer tools include Census APLs, CitySDK, Census Business Builder, and Industry Snapshots aid businesses..."
World Statistics Day

The Internet of Things: Frequently Asked Quetions

"“Internet of Things” (IoT) refers to networks of objects that communicate with other objects and with computers through the Internet. “Things” may include virtually any object for which remote communication, data collection, or control might be useful, such as vehicles, appliances, medical devices, electric grids, transportation infrastructure, manufacturing equipment, or building systems.

In other words, the IoT potentially includes huge numbers and kinds of interconnected objects. It is often considered the next major stage in the evolution of cyberspace. Some observers believe it might even lead to a world where cyberspace and human space would seem to effectively merge, with unpredictable but potentially momentous societal and cultural impacts.

Two features makes objects part of the IoT—a unique identifier and Internet connectivity. Such “smart” objects each have a unique Internet Protocol (IP) address to identify the object sending and receiving information. Smart objects can form systems that communicate among themselves, usually in concert with computers, allowing automated and remote control of many independent processes and potentially transforming them into integrated systems.."
Internet

Keeping Workers Safe

"Studying workers' sizes and shapes and how they perform tasks can prevent injury on the job. CDC offers manufacturers, employers, and others important resources and research findings for improving the workspaces, machines, vehicles, and personal protective equipment of workers.

What is engineering anthropometry?

Engineering anthropometry (an″thro-pom´ĕ-tre) is the science of defining a person's physical measures, such as their size and shape. CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) conducts engineering anthropometric research to prevent work-related injuries and deaths by studying how work spaces and equipment fit today's diverse worker population. This includes the fit of tools, machines, vehicles, and personal protective equipment (PPE).

Before NIOSH began anthropometry research in the early 2000s, anthropometric data from the surveys of military personnel collected in the 1950s and 1970s were used. These decades-old data do not represent the sizes and body types of today's workers who are much more diverse in age, gender, and ethnicity..."
Worker safety

School Enrollment

"School enrollment captures the population who report being enrolled in a regular school. A regular school advances a person towards an elementary school certificate, high school diploma, or college, university, or professional school (such as law or medicine) degree..."
School Enrollment

Explore America’s Best-Kept Secret: National Wildlife Refuges

"With free entrance on Sunday, October 11, to celebrate the start of Wildlife Refuge Week, now is the perfect time to visit your closest wildlife refuge! Named for the world-renowned environmentalist, Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge in Maine is a great place to find peace and connect with nature on a quiet stroll, catching glimpses of bird and bunnies in the woods and on the beach. Open in all seasons, the refuge is always welcoming -- but it’s especially amazing in the fall..."
National Wildlife Refuges

Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Products

"The Census Bureau is releasing a selection of data products on income, poverty and health insurance coverage. These products include:

• 2015 Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement Public Use Micro Data File containing tax and noncash benefit variables (http://www.census.gov/hhes/povmeas/data/supplemental/public-use.html)
• 2015 CPS ASEC updated in Table Creator online tool (http://www.census.gov/cps/data/cpstablecreator.html)
• 2015 CPS ASEC Supplemental Poverty Measure Research File (http://www.census.gov/hhes/povmeas/data/public-use.html)
• 2014 National Academy of Science (NAS) based poverty tables updated using the 2015 CPS ASEC - experimental poverty measures based on recommendations of the 1995 NAS report “Measuring Poverty” (http://www.census.gov/hhes/povmeas/data/nas/tables/2014/index.html)

Income, poverty, health insurance

A Woman Bought a House For $100,000, Then Learned Frank Lloyd Wright Built It

"Athough renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed more than 1,000 houses, only 532 were built before his death in 1959. That's why a Wright home commands huge prices on the open market today — they're just not common. So when someone buys an ordinary house, lives in it for years, then discovers that Wright made it? Well, that's a steal.

As AP's Scott Bauer reports, a Madison home purchased for $100,000 has been verified as a Frank Lloyd Wright original. Linda McQuillen, who bought the house in 1989 when it was in a state of disrepair, had no idea she was living in historic architecture — though she figured it was an imitation of his Prairie School style — until a Wright scholar wrote her a letter about the property.

The house is one of only 14 remaining examples of Wright's affordable housing project, writes theWisconsin State Journal’s Gayle Worland. Hoping to make small dwellings available to all, he came up with an idea to sell the "American System-Built Home," a structure that was built in a factory, and then assembled on site. Unfortunately, the experiment failed at the onset of World War I, partially due to conflicts with his business partner. Several houses were built in Midwestern cities before the business went kaput, including McQuillen's, which dates back to 1917..."
Frank Lloyd Wright's Madison built house

The Land and Water Conservation Fund

"Investing in nature is investing in the future. The Land & Water Conservation Fund was created in 1965 to protect the nation's land and heritage for use by all Americans. But without action from Congress, it is set to expire today. If this happens, it will rob local communities of future conservation, historic preservation and recreation opportunities.
 
Explore 5 amazing public lands that were made possible by the Land & Water Conservation Fund...."
Land and Conservation Fund

SHORT-TERM ENERGY AND WINTER FUELS OUTLOOK

"EIA projects average U.S. household expenditures for natural gas, heating oil, and propane during the upcoming winter heating season (October 1 through March 31) will be 10%, 25%, and 18% lower, respectively, than last winter, because of lower fuel prices and lower heating demand. Forecast lower heating demand and relatively unchanged prices contribute to electricity expenditures that are 3% lower than last winter (Winter Fuels Outlook slideshow)..."

Short term energy outlook

Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress

"The diminishment of Arctic sea ice has led to increased human activities in the Arctic, and has heightened interest in, and concerns about, the region’s future. Issues such as Arctic sovereignty claims; commercial shipping through the Arctic; Arctic oil, gas, and mineral exploration; endangered Arctic species; and increased military operations in the Arctic could cause the region in coming years to become an arena of international cooperation or competition.
The United States, by virtue of Alaska, is an Arctic country and has substantial political, economic, energy, environmental, and other interests in the region. Decisions that Congress, the executive branch, foreign governments, international organizations, and commercial firms make on Arctic-related issues could significantly affect these interests.

This report provides an overview of Arctic-related issues for Congress, and refers readers to more in-depth CRS reports on specific Arctic-related issues. Congressional readers with questions about an issue discussed in this report should contact the author or authors of the section discussing that issue. The authors are identified by footnote at the start of each section..."
Arctic region

Women Now at the Head of the Class, Lead Men in College Attainment

"In 1940, under 5 percent of the U.S. population held a bachelor’s degree. Men, at 5.5 percent, were more likely than women at 3.8 percent, to have a college education. Although the 1.7 percentage point gap may appear small, it was big relative to the portion of women with bachelor’s degrees (it would have taken a 45 percent increase among women for them to match men).

Now, nearly 75 years after the Census Bureau began collecting these statistics, the educational attainment of our population has increased to 30 percent -and the gender balance has shifted. For the first time since measurement began in 1940, women were more likely than men to have a bachelor’s degree..."
College attainment

Disconnected Youth: A Look at 16 to 24 Year Olds Who Are Not Working or In School

"In recent years, policymakers and youth advocates have focused greater attention on young people who are neither working nor in school. Generally characterized as “disconnected,” these youth may also lack strong social networks that provide assistance in the form of employment connections and other supports such as housing and financial assistance. Without attachment to work or school, disconnected youth may be vulnerable to experiencing negative outcomes as they transition to adulthood. The purpose of the report is to provide context for Congress about the characteristics of disconnected youth, and the circumstances in which they live. These data may be useful as Congress considers policies to retain students in high school and to provide opportunities for youth to obtain job training and employment..."
Disconnected youth

Improving Access to Chronic Disease Data

"Interested in chronic disease data, risk factors, health indicators, and policy measures? CDC is making all these data and indicators much easier to access and use. Use the data to describe the burden of chronic disease as well as common risk factors, identify research gaps, monitor population trends, and evaluate programs.

Chronic disease data and health indicators are widely used by researchers, scientists, students, health communicators, health educators, policy-makers, epidemiologists, state and local health departments, and many more. Since the recent launch of CDC's National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP) new open data portal, there have been over 1.3 million views to 105 chronic disease data sets totaling over 33 million rows of data. The drive to bring this data together in one place with common tools was to make CDC's chronic disease data easier to access and use by both current and new audiences. In keeping with the Federal Government's Open Data Initiative, this initiative is intended to promote openness, interoperability, and innovation..."
Chronic disease data

Protecting Kids from Environmental Exposure

"Children’s rapid development during the fetal period through early childhood makes them more vulnerable to environmental exposure. Contact the nearest Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit to learn how to protect your child from exposure to health hazards in the environment.

What do these situations have in common?

• You're renovating an older home. While you're sanding window frames, some paint chips fall on the floor. Your toddler puts them in his mouth.
• You live near a former industrial site. Your child loves playing in the dirt—and you've caught her eating mud pies.
• You enjoy gardening and use pesticides to protect your garden. But you're pregnant and wonder if pesticide exposure could harm your unborn child.

If you guessed that in each situation, children are exposed to harmful substances in their environments, you're right!..."
Environmental Exposures

Healthy Pets Healthy People

"Keeping Pets Healthy Keeps People Healthy Too!

Studies have shown that the bond between people and their pets can increase fitness, lower stress, and bring happiness to their owners. But there's something else you should know.

Pets sometimes carry germs that can make people sick. The diseases people get from animals are known as zoonotic (zoe-oh-NOT-ic) diseases.

It is hard to know which animals could be carrying zoonotic diseases, especially since pets carrying these germs often look healthy and normal. Here are some tips that can help you and your pets stay healthy:

• Take your pet to its veterinarian regularly so it stays in good health.
• Practice good hygiene around your pets so they don't unintentionally pass germs to you.
• Learn about diseases different types of pets can spread - just in case..."

Pets

National Inventory of Dams

"Congress first authorized the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to inventory dams in the United States with the National Dam Inspection Act (Public Law 92-367) of 1972. The NID was first published in 1975, with a few updates as resources permitted over the next ten years. The Water Resources Development Act of 1986 (P.L. 99-662) authorized the Corps to maintain and periodically publish an updated NID, with re-authorization and a dedicated funding source provided under the Water Resources Development Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-3). The Corps also began close collaboration with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and state regulatory offices to obtain more accurate and complete information. The National Dam Safety and Security Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-310) and the Dam Safety Act of 2006 reauthorized the National Dam Safety Program and included the maintenance and update of the NID by the Corps. Most recently, the NID was reauthorized as part of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014.

The NID consists of dams meeting at least one of the following criteria;
1) High hazard classification - loss of one human life is likely if the dam fails,
2) Significant hazard classification - possible loss of human life and likely significant property or environmental destruction,
3) Equal or exceed 25 feet in height and exceed 15 acre-feet in storage,
4) Equal or exceed 50 acre-feet storage and exceed 6 feet in height..."

Dams

Global Legal Monitor

"The Global Legal Monitor is an online publication from the Law Library of Congress covering legal news and developments worldwide. It is updated frequently and draws on information from official national legal publications and reliable press sources. You can find previous news by searching the Global Legal Monitor..."
Global Legal Monitor

Adult Obesity in the U.S

"Adult obesity remains high across the U.S. Learn what you can do to get to a healthy weight.

Obesity is a common, serious, and costly health issue that affects people in every state in the nation. New data show that at least 1 of 5 adults in every state has obesity. This condition is linked to some of the leading causes of death, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers. Obesity and the health problems it causes cost the U.S. health care system as much as $147 billion per year.

States differ in their levels of obesity.

The percentage of people with obesity varies from state to state, and the problem is worse in some parts of the country than in others. The percentage of people with obesity also varies by other factors, such as race and ethnicity. These differences may be partly due to difference in people's access to healthy foods and safe places to be physically active. Some Americans have less access to stores and markets that sell healthy, affordable food such as fruits and vegetables. Safe routes for walking or biking do not exist in some neighborhoods. Some communities do not have parks and recreation centers that people can get to easily..."
Obesity

Child Nutrition Programs: Spending and Policy Options

"Several federal programs support children’s nutritional needs. In 2014, the federal government spent about $20 billion to reimburse schools, child care centers, and after-school programs for children’s meals. Those programs benefit mainly school-age children from low income households. Other nutrition programs provide benefits directly to such households: the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP; formerly the Food Stamp program) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)..."
Child nutrition

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act and the Supreme Court: A Legal Analysis of Young v. United Parcel Service

"In 2015, the Supreme Court issued a decision in Young v. United Parcel Service. 1 In the case, a United Parcel Service (UPS) worker named Peggy Young challenged her employer’s refusal to grant her a light-duty work assignment while she was pregnant, claiming that UPS’s actions violated the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA).2 In a highly anticipated ruling, the Justices fashioned a new test for determining when an employer’s refusal to provide accommodations for a pregnant worker constitutes a violation of the PDA, and the Court sent the case back to the lower court for reconsideration in light of these new standards.
This report begins with a discussion of the facts in the Young case, followed by an overview of the PDA. The report then provides an analysis of the Young case, its implications, and a potential legislative response..."
Pregnancy

Your home loan toolkit: A step-by-step guide

Find information on home loans in this recently published toolkit from the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection  Bureau.
Home loans

Know Before You Owe: Making the mortgage process easier for you

"Since opening our doors over four years ago we’ve heard from homebuyers that the process of buying a home is overwhelming and confusing. We’ve heard that closing is often rushed, not allowing enough time to review before signing on the dotted line. For consumers who apply for most mortgages on or after October 3, 2015, the stress of shopping for a mortgage will be reduced, as our new mortgage disclosure rule takes effect. The new rule and disclosures ease the process of taking out a mortgage, helping you save money, and ensuring you know before you owe.

Here’s what will change:

• Four overlapping disclosure forms will be streamlined into two forms, the Loan Estimate and the Closing Disclosure.
• You’ll have more time to review your closing documents. Currently, lenders must give you your HUD-1 Settlement Statement disclosure 24 hours in advance, if you request it; after October 3, you’ll receive your Closing Disclosure three business days before you sign the forms and accept the terms of your mortgage, no request needed.

Here’s how these changes will improve the mortgage process:

• The new forms will make it easier to understand complicated mortgage terms.
• The Loan Estimate makes it easier to shop around and compare loan offers from multiple lenders. Consider applying for loans from at least three lenders before choosing a mortgage so you can find the best deal for you.
• The three days required between getting your Closing Disclosure and signing on the dotted line allow you to make sure there aren’t major changes from the deal you were offered on your Loan Estimate. It also gives you time to ask your lender all the questions you might have about the terms of your mortgage and consult with a lawyer or housing counselor..."
  Mortgages