Public Policy
News releases, reports, statements and associated documents from public policy organizations whose goal it is to influence the debate Washington.
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Top Names in Health Care Speak at CAHC & P4ESC's 'Price of Good Health' Summit
WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 -- The Council for Affordable Health Coverage issued the following news:
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- HHS Secretary Alex Azar, Members of Congress, Axios health care editor Sam Baker & more headline health policy conference featuring new report from CAHC
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The Council for Affordable Health Coverage (CAHC) and Partnership for Employer-Sponsored Coverage (P4ESC) hosted a crowd of more than 150 health policy influencers yesterday for the Price of Good Health summit located at the Newseum in Washington, D.C.
Speakers included Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar, Rep. Debbie Dingell
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WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 -- The Council for Affordable Health Coverage issued the following news:
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- HHS Secretary Alex Azar, Members of Congress, Axios health care editor Sam Baker & more headline health policy conference featuring new report from CAHC
* * *
The Council for Affordable Health Coverage (CAHC) and Partnership for Employer-Sponsored Coverage (P4ESC) hosted a crowd of more than 150 health policy influencers yesterday for the Price of Good Health summit located at the Newseum in Washington, D.C.
Speakers included Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar, Rep. Debbie Dingell(D-MI), Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-IN), CMS Deputy Administrator & CCIIO Director Randy Pate, Senior Advisor to the Secretary of HHS for Drug Pricing John O'Brien, Problem Solvers Caucus Co-Chairs Reps. Tom Reed (R-NY) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), and Axios health care editor Sam Baker, among others.
The event additionally included a series of panel discussions focusing on health care reform, including arguments for and against single-payer coverage; the employer-sponsored coverage system; state-based reforms and opportunities for innovation under Section 1332 waiver programs; and prescription drug affordability.
CAHC debuted a whitepaper on rising health costs at the summit, entitled "Health Cost Primer: Explaining the Medical Cost Trend," which is now available online HERE.
"CAHC is proud to have hosted a stellar lineup of headliners and panelists yesterday, highlighting our reach across industry sectors and among both parties in Washington. While we reflect on the success of yesterday's event, we know that the real work begins now. As CAHC explained in our newly released health cost primer, the typical family will spend more than 50 percent of their income on health care by 2030 if current trends continue.CAHC has actionable, market-based solutions to break away from this unsustainable status quo, improve affordability, and tame the health care cost curve. Yesterday's summit will serve as a launching pad for our efforts in the 116th Congress," said CAHC President Joel White.
The event was sponsored by America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease, Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, and eHealth Medicare.
A selection of photos and additional resources from yesterday's event are listed below. Video from the summit will be made available later this week on CAHC's website here (https://cahc.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=aa74e81b676f6a390631dd0c2&id=6607a3e66f&e=ab80be3c2e).
Statement From Oxfam America President Abby Maxman on Her Visit to Tijuana
BOSTON, Massachusetts, Jan. 16 -- Oxfam America issued the following statement:
After a visit to the US-Mexico border to meet with migrants, asylum-seekers, and service organizations involved in the humanitarian response in Tijuana with Oxfam Mexico Executive Director Ricardo Fuentes Nieva, Oxfam America's President, Abby Maxman, made the following statement:
"My visit to Tijuana showed me clearly that the current crisis at the US-Mexico border is nothing more than a manufactured PR stunt by President Trump. The fight over the wall is politics at its absolute worst, exploiting the pain of innocent
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BOSTON, Massachusetts, Jan. 16 -- Oxfam America issued the following statement:
After a visit to the US-Mexico border to meet with migrants, asylum-seekers, and service organizations involved in the humanitarian response in Tijuana with Oxfam Mexico Executive Director Ricardo Fuentes Nieva, Oxfam America's President, Abby Maxman, made the following statement:
"My visit to Tijuana showed me clearly that the current crisis at the US-Mexico border is nothing more than a manufactured PR stunt by President Trump. The fight over the wall is politics at its absolute worst, exploiting the pain of innocentwomen, men, and children instead of addressing them with humane policies.
"In Tijuana, I saw first-hand the consequences of the Trump Administration's reckless policies. The backlog of asylum claims is creating a bottleneck in Tijuana, exhausting shelter and municipal resources to the brink and endangering people's lives, particularly vulnerable groups such as LGBTQ migrants and unaccompanied minors. Mexican social service organizations are responding heroically but are stretched to a breaking point, having to provide for the uptick in migrants as well as deportees from the US. Shelters are at full capacity and people are falling through the cracks, leaving them on the streets and in clear danger. Just weeks ago, two young men were murdered in Tijuana as they sought protection in the US.
"But I was also inspired by stories of people seeking the land of opportunity that is our country. The migrants I met in Tijuana are no different than the people who first built our country and what generations of Americans have done: arrive with aspirations to build a better life, hope to live in peace and freedom, allowing their children to thrive, and contribute you our economy. We should live up to our legacy as a welcoming nation that was built on the hard work of immigrants, rather than demonize and criminalize them.
"The fact is that those arriving at our southern border are not bringing violence, they are fleeing it.
"The President's own border visit and his continued insistence on throwing billions of dollars at a symbolic and unnecessary wall is intentionally distracting from the real crisis happening right now: thousands of Central Americans are forced to flee their homes because of violence, criminal gangs, instability, poverty, and economic hardship. Building a wall and militarizing the border will do absolutely nothing to address the real seasons people flee Central America in the first place.
"We need an immigration policy for the 21st century, not the 12th century. Investing in sensible and humane border security through increased investments to process asylum claims, with well-trained and equipped staff and social services, will address the humanitarian needs of those arriving at the border, fulfill the US government's legal obligations, and prove the US is actually serious about addressing migration from Central America. It's an investment with long-term benefits for all.
"President Trump continues to cite the humanitarian crisis, diverting attention from the fact that the real humanitarian needs are the direct result of this Administration's heartless and illegal policies. The separation of children from their parents, the detention of migrant families, measures to prevent asylum-seekers from making their claims, and the failure to address the root causes of Central America are making things much, much worse."
Senate Should Reject Andrew Wheeler's Nomination
WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 -- The Sierra Club issued the following news release:
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- A coal lobbyist shouldn't be in charge of the EPA. Period.
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Today, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is holding a hearing to examine the nomination of Acting Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler to be EPA Administrator.
In his first 100 days as Acting EPA Administrator, Andrew Wheeler took numerous actions to harm public health and the environment on average every three days. Meanwhile, a pending FOIA lawsuit is expected to reveal more of Wheeler's emails which
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WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 -- The Sierra Club issued the following news release:
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- A coal lobbyist shouldn't be in charge of the EPA. Period.
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Today, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is holding a hearing to examine the nomination of Acting Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler to be EPA Administrator.
In his first 100 days as Acting EPA Administrator, Andrew Wheeler took numerous actions to harm public health and the environment on average every three days. Meanwhile, a pending FOIA lawsuit is expected to reveal more of Wheeler's emails whichcould reveal further managerial and ethical lapses.
In response, Michael Brune, Executive Director of the Sierra Club, released the following statement:
"A coal lobbyist shouldn't be in charge of the EPA. Period. In an administration that respected the rule of law and public health, this shutdown and this hearing would not be happening and Wheeler would have never been nominated in the first place. In his short time at EPA, and in his long career as a lobbyist for corporate polluters, Wheeler has proven himself to be a dangerous threat to the health of our families and our air and water.
"The American people cannot afford to have someone with a well-documented history of putting corporate polluter profits before our clean air and water leading the EPA. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and all Senators who care about their constituents should stand up for communities across the country and oppose this nomination."
Hospice House of Monroe County Will Resume Inpatient Care
LEHIGH VALLEY, Pennsylvania, Jan. 16 -- Lehigh Valley Hospital, a part of Lehigh Valley Health Network, issued the following news release:
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- Timeline for resumption dependent upon regulatory approvals and staffing
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Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH)-Pocono and representatives of the Advisory Committee of community members, chaired by Mark Primrose, Esquire, who formed to assess the future of the Hospice House and hospice services in Monroe County announced today that inpatient hospice care will resume at the House. The service will return to the facility at 412 E. Brown St. in East Stroudsburg
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LEHIGH VALLEY, Pennsylvania, Jan. 16 -- Lehigh Valley Hospital, a part of Lehigh Valley Health Network, issued the following news release:
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- Timeline for resumption dependent upon regulatory approvals and staffing
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Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH)-Pocono and representatives of the Advisory Committee of community members, chaired by Mark Primrose, Esquire, who formed to assess the future of the Hospice House and hospice services in Monroe County announced today that inpatient hospice care will resume at the House. The service will return to the facility at 412 E. Brown St. in East Stroudsburgdepending on regulatory approvals from the Pennsylvania Department of Health and how quickly staff can be hired.
"The Advisory Committee recommends reopening Hospice House for inpatient services with a three year commitment of philanthropic support and financial growth from additional community members using the service," said Elizabeth Wise, President, LVH-Pocono.
The Advisory Committee was announced in May and given 90-days to explore options related to the Hospice House and the hospice program. Following the Committee's recommendations, LVH-Pocono officials reviewed the suggestions and worked diligently with Committee members to determine clear steps that would make operation of the house viable both now and in the future.
"Much thought and consideration went into the initial decision to transition inpatient hospice services to LVH-Pocono, where we continue to provide quality care and compassion to our patients and their loved ones," Wise said. "The attention about hospice care increased awareness and communication among in-hospital providers and gives us an opportunity to continue to grow the program for those who need it going forward. We remain committed to end-of-life care as we balance and reconcile the desires of the community with our organizational resources and the needs of all our patients."
According to the Committee's recommendations, the basic costs of reopening and renovations would be covered by LVH-Pocono. Multi-year philanthropic funding would support new beds, required equipment and some operating expenses. The Committee also recommends building referrals and increasing community awareness throughout Monroe County and northeast Pennsylvania.
Wise said going forward, Hospice House and hospice operations will continue to be scrutinized, with formal evaluations every six months and an intensive review at two years. She said financial viability and sustainability of Hospice House must be realized.
"The Advisory Committee and our community are committed to ensuring the long-term future of high-quality, inpatient care at Hospice House," Primrose said. "We are grateful for the generous philanthropic support that will allow us to resume inpatient hospice services at the House and are confident this support will continue as we work with Lehigh Valley Hospital-Pocono to grow this important community asset."
The Committee also announced that an open house for the community will be scheduled in the near future as the efforts to resume inpatient care at the Hospice House continue.
Hospice House has remained open since April for community activities. For example, LVH-Pocono hospice services has continued to support families at the house by establishing a Hospice bereavement and community support center. Community members and organizations have the opportunity to use the facility for spiritual, educational and other activities.
CfA Releases New Report Documenting How Google Helped Spawn the EdTech Industry and Invaded America's Schools
WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 -- Campaign for Accountability issued the following news release:
Today, Campaign for Accountability ("CfA"), a nonprofit watchdog group focused on public accountability, released a new report, Capturing the Classroom: How Google Sidestepped School Authorities to Push its Products into Schools, documenting how Google's products invaded the American K-12 education system with the help of teacher-evangelists, the EdTech industry, and taxpayer dollars.
Read the report here (https://www.googletransparencyproject.org/articles/capturing-classroom).
CfA Executive Director Daniel
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WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 -- Campaign for Accountability issued the following news release:
Today, Campaign for Accountability ("CfA"), a nonprofit watchdog group focused on public accountability, released a new report, Capturing the Classroom: How Google Sidestepped School Authorities to Push its Products into Schools, documenting how Google's products invaded the American K-12 education system with the help of teacher-evangelists, the EdTech industry, and taxpayer dollars.
Read the report here (https://www.googletransparencyproject.org/articles/capturing-classroom).
CfA Executive Director DanielE. Stevens said, "Over the last decade, Google has built a network of obsequious teachers, administrators, and EdTech organizations who shill for the company's products. Millions of teachers and students are now using Google products in their classrooms, but critics - including those in Silicon Valley - are questioning whether students actually benefit from this arrangement. Parents should be asking whether putting Google products in the classroom is benefitting their children or tech companies."
Google began its education outreach in 2006, when Esther Wojcicki - the mother-in-law of Sergey Brin, a Google founder - designed a pilot program to connect Google with teachers. Wojcicki's insight - that teachers and administrators themselves would be a far more effective sales force than company representatives - transformed Google into a major player in the education industry.
CfA's analysis of publicly-available information about Google's education initiatives - including from open records requests, grant materials, financial disclosures, and school board documents - outlines a three-pronged strategy Google has used to capture the classroom.
First, Google pitched its education products directly to teachers, connecting them with lucrative consulting contracts and turning them into advocates for Google's products. Google's connections with its teacher-evangelists, however, has raised thorny questions about potential conflicts of interest and time spent away from educators' primary jobs--teaching students.
Second, Google convinced school districts to use their own professional development funds to train teachers on how to use Google's products. By using taxpayer funding to pay for these sales presentations, Google has essentially pitched its products to school districts for free. This tactic has in turn spawned an entire new customer base for Google's EdTech partners.
Third, Google has relied on well-connected educators to promote its interests on both the local and national levels. For example, Jennie Magiera and Chris Craft, two evangelists with Google for Education "partner" EdTechTeam, advised the U.S. Department of Education and Obama White House officials on technology in schools.
Google has also tried to influence public discourse about technology in the classroom by investing in television programs and documentaries that portray technology use in a positive light. For example, Google sponsored an education-focused video channel called Infinite Thinking Machine, which effectively served as a vehicle for Google to push its education products to teachers. Additionally, the Sergey Brin and Anne Wojcicki Foundation funded Learning Matters, Inc., a non-profit video production company that produced an hour-long PBS documentary highlighting some of the potential benefits of education technology.
Mr. Stevens continued, "Google learned from Big Tobacco and soda companies how to hypnotize children into becoming lifelong customers. Since Google's business model requires the company to know everything about individual consumers, Google has a leg up over its competitors if the company can get access to kids - and their data - from an early age. Parents, teachers, school administrators, and taxpayers need to be aware that Google's concerted approach to taking over America's classrooms may not align with the best interests of America's schoolchildren."
Center for Immigration Studies Files a Civil RICO Lawsuit Against the President of Southern Poverty Law Center
WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 -- The Center on Immigration Studies issued the following news release:
The Center for Immigration Studies has filed a civil lawsuit under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) against Richard Cohen, President of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) of Montgomery, Ala. The case is filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and seeks damages and an injunction prohibiting Cohen and his colleague, Heidi Beirich, who heads the group's "hate group" project, from repeating the false claim that the Center is a hate group.
Read the Complaint
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WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 -- The Center on Immigration Studies issued the following news release:
The Center for Immigration Studies has filed a civil lawsuit under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) against Richard Cohen, President of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) of Montgomery, Ala. The case is filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and seeks damages and an injunction prohibiting Cohen and his colleague, Heidi Beirich, who heads the group's "hate group" project, from repeating the false claim that the Center is a hate group.
Read the Complaint(https://cis.org/sites/default/files/2019-01/Stamped-CenterforImmigrationStudies-vs-RichardCohen-and-Heidi-Beirich.pdf).
Overview of the SPLC's "Hate Groups" List (https://cis.org/Overview-SPLCs-Hate-Groups-List).
The case is brought pursuant to the federal RICO statute because Cohen and Beirich have been carrying out their scheme to destroy CIS through the SPLC "enterprise" for two years and will not stop without judicial intervention. "CIS does not hate immigrants or anyone else" said CIS Executive Director Mark Krikorian. "Our purpose is to make the case for a pro-immigrant policy of lower immigration - fewer immigrants but a warmer welcome for those admitted. SPLC attacks us simply because it disagrees with these policy views. SPLC and its leaders have every right to oppose our work on immigration, but they do not have the right to label us a hate group and suggest we are racists. The Center for Immigration Studies is fighting back against the SPLC smear campaign and its attempt to stifle debate through intimidation and name-calling."
The complaint makes clear that SPLC knows CIS does not meet its own definition of a "hate group," which SPLC describes as an organization whose "official statements or principles... attack or malign an entire class of people, typically for their immutable characteristics." (Complaint,
14, quoting from SPLC's website) CIS has not attacked or maligned immigrants. Moreover, the Supreme Court has held that being an immigrant is not an immutable characteristic because it is the result of a personal choice. (Plyler v. Doe, 487 U.S. 202, 220 (1982).) CIS regularly opposes higher levels of immigration for sound public policy reasons, not because of any animus toward immigrants as human beings. CIS hopes this lawsuit will cause Mr. Cohen and Ms. Beirich to turn their attention to actual cases of racial animus.
CCRKBA Says Wash. Lt. Gov. Habib Should Apologize to Gun Owners or Resign
BELLEVUE, Washington, Jan. 16 -- The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms issued the following news release:
After Washington State Lt. Gov. Cyrus Habib refused to attend the "State of the State" address over concerns that the House chambers, where the speech was delivered, allows legally armed citizens in the public galleries, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms today called upon Habib to either apologize to the state's gun owners, or step down.
"Cyrus Habib just insulted every law-abiding gun owner in the state," said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. "In
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BELLEVUE, Washington, Jan. 16 -- The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms issued the following news release:
After Washington State Lt. Gov. Cyrus Habib refused to attend the "State of the State" address over concerns that the House chambers, where the speech was delivered, allows legally armed citizens in the public galleries, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms today called upon Habib to either apologize to the state's gun owners, or step down.
"Cyrus Habib just insulted every law-abiding gun owner in the state," said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. "Inparticular, he should apologize to the more than 608,000 citizens who are licensed to carry concealed. These men and women not only carry for their own safety and the safety of their families, but for the safety of people like Habib, who mask their anti-gun extremism behind concern about 'policy.'"
Habib reportedly admitted that there had been no specific threat to him or anyone else that he was aware of, but claimed his absence was about the policy of allowing legally-armed voters to watch their representatives at work.
There are two public galleries in the House chamber, one on each side. Habib, who is blind, reportedly claimed concerns that allowing armed citizens in those galleries makes him and other public officials more vulnerable. Gottlieb called that "extremist nonsense disguised as consideration for the safety of himself and his colleagues."
"State senators and state representatives, Supreme Court justices and every other state official had the backbone to attend the governor's speech, which included remarks about all the restrictions that have recently been placed on law-abiding gun owners," he observed. "There were no nervous Nellies in the House chamber, only the one hiding in the Lieutenant Governor's office.
"Instead of acting like a public official, Habib has suddenly become a poster child for paranoia," Gottlieb added.
The nationally-recognized Second Amendment advocate wondered whether Habib has forgotten that the right of individual citizens to bear arms is enshrined in both the state and federal constitutions.
"If Cyrus Habib is that afraid of the public," Gottlieb stated, "he should resign."
