The National Defense Authorization Act, a new military spending bill which President Obama is expected to sign, includes Section 874; which upgrades the minimum standards for surety-bond assets. The section closes a gap in federal regulations by requiring that assets are real and placed in the care and custody of the federal government. Under the existing regulations, con artists and charlatans have dominated the world of individual surety bonds. The value of their bonds was usually zero.
You can read the full ENR article about this by clicking here.