As required by Section 1175 of Public Law 109-162 , the USTP has issued its annual report to Congress on its criminal referral activity for fiscal year 2012.

As required by section 603(a)(2)(D) of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005, Public Law 109-8, the U.S. Trustee Program has issued its annual public report on debtor audits. The report provides the aggregate results of individual chapter 7 and chapter 13 cases designated for audit in Fiscal Year 2012.

Rules concerning the application procedures and criteria governing approval of credit counseling agencies and debtor education providers were published in the Federal Register on March 14. These rules are effective thirty days from the date of publication and will supersede the regulations currently in effect at 28 C.F.R. §§ 58.15 – 58.17, 58.25 – 58.27.

As authorized in Section 603(a) of Public Law 109-8, the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (BAPCPA), the United States Trustee Program (USTP) established procedures for independent audit firms to audit petitions, schedules, and other information in consumer bankruptcy cases. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 586(f), the USTP contracted with independent accounting firms to perform audits in cases designated by the USTP.

Due to budgetary constraints, the USTP has indefinitely suspended its designation of cases subject to audit and has notified the independent accounting firms performing the audits.

Pursuant to Section 603(a) of BAPCPA and 28 U.S.C. § 586(a)(6), after the conclusion of the fiscal year the USTP will make public information concerning the aggregate results of the debtor audits performed during fiscal year 2013.

The Census Bureau’s Median Family Income Data accessible through the “Means Testing Information” page has been updated. The U.S. Trustee Program will apply the updated data to all cases filed on or after April 1, 2013.