Politics Information
Will Congress Now Try to "Amnesty" Us?
Congress may soon attempt to pass the biggest amnesty for illegal immigrants in a generation, even though recent polling overwhelmingly shows that most voters oppose amnesty. If lawmakers defy their constituents and pass the bill anyways, it'll worsen the crisis at the border -- and make it even harder for Americans to find good jobs.
Opioid Deaths Continue to Rise as Cities Reopen
Tens of thousands of American lives end prematurely every year due to opioid overdoses, leaving families shattered. Dr. Paul Christo, an Associate Professor in the Division of Pain Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, wants to remind those battling addiction to make use of telemedicine and tele-mental health services that emerged as valuable resources during the pandemic, and he adds, clinicians need to advocate to their patients that online treatment options are available.
MLB Strikes Out in Cuba
“MLB remained absent-mindedly and cowardly mute on the Cuban people’s freedom struggles, despite the game’s close ties with Cuban players.”
How Is Kamala Harris Doing on the Job of Quelling the Border Crisis?
The American Dream is turning into a nightmare. When Emma Lazarus penned the words engraved on the Statue of Liberty it gave everlasting hope to those who sought the freedom and the opportunities the U.S. offered. All they needed to do was to knock at our door. As Ms. Lazarus put it, Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Investors Want New Drugs for a Better World — And a Return on Their Money
Congressional Democrats have reintroduced H.R.3, a drug price-control bill that passed the House in 2019 but failed in the Senate.
Under H.R. 3, Pharmacists Like Me Would Not Be Able to Fill Every Prescription
As a pharmacist and pharmacy researcher, I watch cutting-edge medicines save and improve patients' lives every day.
We Can Save The World With Our Vaccines — Without Surrendering Our IP to China
The Biden administration gave Beijing a gift when it endorsed a petition before the World Trade Organization to force the American developers of Covid-19 vaccines and therapeutics to relinquish their intellectual property rights to these medicines.
How to Avoid a Looming Homelessness Crisis
Homelessness is a growing problem in virtually every state. Nowhere is it more pressing than in California, which in the past three years spent more than $13 billion, roughly $30,000 annually for each homeless person, to address it. Tragically, its “housing first” approach is a colossal failure. Overall, says the state auditor’s office, California’s homelessness programs are disjointed and poorly managed.
Biden Resumes Obama’s Efforts Against Domestic Oil Production
In watching President Joe Biden’s initiatives to curb Americans’ access to oil and natural gas, I thought of the late Yogi Berra’s famous quip, “It’s déjà vu all over again.”
Our Infrastructure Should Go Back to the Future
America's infrastructure is taking a beating -- and not just from wear and tear. As Congress continues its negotiations over infrastructure, it's hard to find an article about U.S. roads, bridges, or transmission lines that doesn't describe them as "crumbling."
Patent-Busting Will Not Get the World Vaccinated
Today, 67 percent of Americans have had a shot against Covid-19. Globally, coronavirus inoculations have saved millions of lives and will save tens of millions more.
Don't Give Up Your Personal Freedom
You may create instability and insecurity for your personal life if you put others in charge of your decisions.
March-In Rights Won't Lower Drug Prices
Three dozen House and Senate lawmakers recently urged the White House to use an arcane procedure in a 40-year-old law to control drug prices.
Let's Fix the Medicare Sign-Up Process
Each year, an obscure federal rule forces thousands of seniors to pay penalties for the rest of their lives simply because they made an honest mistake while signing up for Medicare. That number will rise unless Congress modernizes the program's enrollment process.
Biden Economic Team Predicts Long-Term Slow Growth
What is noteworthy about the depressing title to this article is its source. In a case of uncommon candor, President Biden’s economic team has announced that once the artificially high stimulus-juiced measurements of GDP of the next two years subside, the United States will experience sub-two-percent growth for the rest of the decade. This dismal forecast wouldn’t be surprising if it came from Biden’s political opponents, but for it to come out of the White House itself is an astonishing admission.
Health Equity Requires Diversity in Clinical Trials
Covid-19 has laid bare America's health inequities.
Religious Liberty After Fulton: Protected or Precarious?
Sharonell Fulton had fostered 40 children over a 25-year period through Catholic Social Services (CSS), a private agency which conducted “home study” reviews of prospective foster parents. CSS operated under the Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia. In March 2018, the city of Philadelphia abruptly put an end to any foster children being placed with foster parents like Sharonell Fulton, whose home had been approved by CSS. Thanks to nine members of the U.S. Supreme Court, she will be able to resume her ministry of grace.
U.S. Drug Industry Is the World's Best Hope -- If Congress Doesn't Smother It
About 80 percent of seniors have now received at least one dose of the Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson vaccines. All Americans, especially seniors, should be immensely grateful for what U.S. scientists accomplished in mere months.
A Pandemic Silver Lining: Transformed Health Care Delivery
COVID-19 transformed how Americans get health care.
Revisiting the Atlantic Charter
When he became prime minister in May 1940, Winston Churchill was convinced that Britain could not defeat the Axis Powers without the active participation of the United States. He worked long and hard to persuade President Franklin Roosevelt to join the conflict to defeat Germany, Japan, and Italy. In March 1941, the United States passed the Lend Lease Act to provide material support for the beleaguered British. By the summer of 1941, Germany had conquered much of Europe, had invaded the Soviet Union, and threatened Northern Africa. Although the British had staved off a Nazi invasion of their homeland, their situation appeared dire.
Does Congress Really Want to Stop Medical Innovation?
Congress selected a perfect clickbait title for its recent hearing: "Treating the Problem: Addressing Anticompetitive Conduct and Consolidation in Health Care Markets." But the hearing itself was long on rhetoric and short on facts.
A Public Option Will Destroy Private Insurance
Congress is trying to chart a path forward on health reform. Several congressional Democrats just announced plans to draft a bill that would create a public health insurance option.
Stripping Intellectual Property Rights Would Prevent Life-Saving Cures for America's Seniors
The Biden administration just announced its support for a global effort to cancel intellectual property protections on Covid-19 vaccines.
Pandemic Proves Value of Homecare
Doctors, nurses, and the scientists who created COVID-19 vaccines have all emerged as heroes during the pandemic. But there's another, underappreciated group that's been crucial to the country's pandemic response -- those who provide home-based medical equipment, services, and care.
Don't Let the US Import Europe's Failed Cancer Policies
With a majority in both the House and Senate and control of the Oval Office, Democratic leaders are excited about the prospect of making significant changes. One good example of this is the House Democrats' "Lower Drug Costs Now Act."
Patents Don't Impede Patients's Access to Drugs and Vaccines
Intellectual property rights are under assault overseas -- and here at home. These attacks could prevent the creation of dozens of lifesaving medicines. That should worry every American.
Foreign Reference Pricing Schemes Would Jeopardize Seniors' Health
It's a good time to be an American senior. Average life expectancy has risen steadily for most of the last century. Quality of life is going up too.
America Needs Strong Patent Laws to Keep Inventing
In May, the Biden administration announced its support for a proposal at the World Trade Organization to suspend international intellectual property protections on Covid-19 vaccines.
Democrats Chose the Worst Time to Revive Medicare for All
Medicare for All just won't die. More than 100 House Democrats have signed onto new legislation that would outlaw all private insurance and put all Americans on a federally-run insurance plan within two years.
Don't Sabotage the Engine of American Ingenuity
It's no surprise that most of the companies behind the most effective Covid-19 vaccines are American.
Patent Protection Needs a Shot in the Arm
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage around the world, a new proposal regarding how to slow the spread has emerged. This proposal, however, has nothing to do with masks, lockdowns, or social distancing but rather with the intellectual property (IP) used to develop and manufacture the vaccines.
America's Goose that Lays the Golden Eggs
America's research and development institutions have long been the envy of our competitors, flourishing at the top of global rankings.
But our state-of-the-art innovation capabilities — responsible for bringing COVID-19 vaccines and countless other breakthroughs to market — haven't flourished here by happenstance. They have been nurtured over decades of smart policies, and those policies are now at risk.
Congress Must Reject Legislation that Guts Medical Innovation
Health and Human Services just issued a five-year plan to eliminate viral hepatitis, a chronic liver disease that afflicts 3.3 million Americans. The plan seeks to boost hepatitis vaccination rates, make it easier for patients to get tests and treatments, and spur more research and development of cures.
Government-Funded Labs Don't Invent New Drugs
House Democrats just introduced a bill designed to lower prescription drug prices. It doesn't. But wait, it gets worse.
The Lower Drug Costs Now Act, or H.R. 3, is a reprise of a 2019 bill that passed the House but failed to gain support in the Senate.
A Full Plate for the New U.S. Trade Czar
The newly confirmed U.S. trade representative, Katherine Tai, is about as qualified as a person can be for the job. Which is a good thing, because she already faces a series of challenges.
The Worst-Kept Economic Secret in America: High Inflation Is Back
To most people, “inflation” signifies widespread rising prices. Economists have long argued, as a matter of technical accuracy, that “inflation” denotes an increasing money supply. Frankly, though, most people don’t care what happens to the supply of money, but they care a lot about the prices they pay, so I’ll focus primarily on the numerous rapidly rising prices Americans are paying today.
Gaza: Total War Reality
The current fighting in Gaza rapidly approaches total war intensity. Strategy for Hamas has always involved the total war objective of annihilating Israel. For Israel, fighting Hamas and Hezbollah, which is based in Lebanon and Syria, involves a long, protracted but limited war of attrition. This may be changing. Hamas and Hezbollah use terrorism and guerilla warfare as a form of attrition to wear down Israel while simultaneously exploiting world opinion by depicting Israeli retaliation as heavy-handed. This cannot continue in perpetuity because fighting a limited war against an enemy with total war objectives favors the side willing to go all the way. The total war objective of a Jewish-free Palestine favors Hamas.
President Biden Is Right to Redefine Infrastructure
President Biden is in ongoing talks to discuss his multi-trillion-dollar infrastructure plan. Ever since its release, critics have claimed that many aspects of the plan have nothing to do with infrastructure.
America was Prepared to Fight Covid-19 Thanks to Intellectual Property Rights
When Covid-19 came ashore, glaring gaps in the government's pandemic preparedness became painfully obvious. Everything from inadequate stockpiles of personal protective equipment to confusing and uncoordinated guidance regarding closures hampered our early response.
In the Fight Against Climate Change, Don't Overlook Biotech
President Biden has already laid out an ambitious climate change agenda. With a series of early executive orders, he set the stage for a ban on oil and gas drilling on federal land, an end to fossil fuel subsidies, and a transition to electric engines in government vehicles.
