Three meetings I attended this week in Washington made encouraging progress on issues important to Arizona.

Along with seven fellow Attorney Generals, I met with the top civil and criminal lawyers at the Justice Department. Our discussion focused on the nation's foreclosure crisis and how to maximize state and federal efforts to fight fraudulent mortgage rescue and loan modification schemes. The highly productive four-hour session also involved the new chair of the Federal Trade Commission and senior officials from HUD.

We pledged to coordinate as closely as possible to prevent fraudulent and deceptive practices by anyone who attempts to prey on struggling homeowners. The Justice Department will be looking at state consumer fraud actions on mortgage modification scams, including many in Arizona, for possible criminal prosecutions. That will send a dynamic message to wrongdoers and, I hope, stop this insidious practice.

Arizona, which ranks among the states hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis, not surprisingly has been a prime target for mortgage fraud. My office has taken aggressive action against these illegal operations. Many of our cases were noted last week as part of "Operation Loan Lies," a national crackdown against deceptive mortgage rescue and loan modification offers.

In another meeting, I discussed with senior Treasury Department officials the new ways to stop the smuggling of criminal proceeds to the drug cartels in Mexico, funds that help finance the ongoing violence along the Mexican border. Specifically, I advocated for the adoption of new regulations that would treat "stored value cards," which are similar to retail gift cards, as a form of currency or “monetary instruments” that must be disclosed to law enforcement officers at the border.

This discussion marked the third time in recent weeks that I or my staff have been invited by senior Obama Administration officials to assist on their issues. I believe the expertise gained by my office over the past few years is finally being put to good advantage on the federal level.

The third meeting discussed the future of Luke Air Force Base with the Chuck Blanchard, the former Arizona legislator who recently was appointed general counsel of the U.S. Air Force. I reviewed the lawsuit I filed in support of Luke, against Maricopa County, to stop new houses being built near the base and its auxiliary fields. Consistent with his absolute impartiality on base selection and closure issues, I believe Blanchard has a clear appreciation of the broad support across the Valley for Luke and maintaining its status as an elite training base.

Terry Goddard