The Federal Trade Commission has requested $2.55 million from the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State and the Judiciary to fight abusive lending practices. The FTC’s fiscal year 2002 budget is $156 million, up from $147.2 million in FY01 and $125 million in FY00. Despite the steady increases in the agency’s budget, the FTC’s expenditures on combating predatory lending remain less than 1 percent of its total budget. The requested amount would