Government legislation

Banking:

• Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act (1994) - loosened up the regulatory barriers to bank mergers
• Troubled Asset Relief Program, a.k.a. "TARP" (2008) - earmarked $800 billion to buy troubled assets of banks

Economy:

• American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (February 17, 2009) - earmarked $787 billion for "economic stimulus"
  

Energy:

• Energy Policy Act (August, 2005) - mandates refiners blend an increasing amount of ethanol into gasoline mixes, with a minimum annual requirement of 7.5 billion gallons of ethanol in gasoline by 2012
• Renewable Fuels Standard (December, 2007) - raises ethanol requirement to 9 billion gallons in gasoline mixes in 2008, and mandates 15 billion gallons a year by 2022
• Energy Independence and Security Act (December 13, 2007) - new laws and standards regulating electric power use; forces computer/electronics device makers to turn to low power chips

Federal Reserve:

• Accounting and Auditing Act of 1950 - the relevant section, 31 USC 714(b), dictated that congressional audits of the Federal Reserve may not include "deliberations, decisions and actions on monetary policy matters"

Housing:

• Community Reinvestment Act (1977) - pressures banks to make uneconomical loans to uncreditworthy borrowers (aka "subprime")
• American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act (July 30, 2008) - provides unlimited authority to Treasury for 18 months to make emergency loans to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and possibly buy stakes in the two mortgage giants. The legislation also creates a new regulator to oversee Fannie and Freddie. George W. Bush signed the bill into law.