“Today Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Henry A. Waxman and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Ranking Member Diana DeGette released a memo to Democratic Committee members regarding the security of Healthcare.gov. In a classified briefing two days ago, HHS officials revealed that there have been no successful security attacks on Healthcare.gov and that no person… Continue Reading
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Author Archives: Sabrina I. Pacifici
Phasing Out Certain Antibiotic Use in Farm Animals
News release: “The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is implementing a voluntary plan with industry to phase out the use of certain antibiotics for enhanced food production. Antibiotics are added to the animal feed or drinking water of cattle, hogs, poultry and other food-producing animals to help them gain weight faster or use less food to… Continue Reading
Energy Department Releases Grid Energy Storage Report
Grid Energy Storage December 2013 “Modernizing the electric grid will help the nation meet the challenge of handling projected energy needs—including addressing climate change by relying on more energy from renewable sources—in the coming decades, while maintaining a robust and resilient electricity delivery system. By some estimates, the United States will need somewhere between 4 and… Continue Reading
Top Management and Performance Challenges Facing the DOJ – 2013
Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Justice – Top Management and Performance Challenges Facing the Department of Justice – 2013, December 13, 2013. “This year’s list identifies six challenges that we believe represent the most pressing concerns for the Department. They are Addressing the Growing Crisis in the Federal Prison System; Safeguarding National Security Consistent with… Continue Reading
Commentary – The Decay of American Political Institutions
The Decay of American Political Institutions by FRANCIS FUKUYAMA. We have a problem, but we can’t see it clearly because our focus too often discounts history. Published on December 8, 2013 “Many political institutions in the United States are decaying. This is not the same thing as the broader phenomenon of societal or civilization decline, which has become… Continue Reading
Race and Retirement Insecurity in the United States
Race and Retirement Insecurity in the United States, by Nari Rhee, PhD. December 2013. New NIRS research examines racial disparities in retirement readiness among working-age Americans and households. “A new report calculates the severity of the U.S. retirement security racial divide. The analysis finds that every racial group faces significant risks, but people of color face particularly… Continue Reading
Very High Blood Lead Levels Among Adults – United States, 2002–2011
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) November 29, 2013 / 62(47);967-971 “Over the past several decades there has been a remarkable reduction in environmental sources of lead, improved protection from occupational lead exposure, and an overall decreasing trend in the prevalence of elevated blood lead levels (BLLs) in U.S. adults. As a result, the U.S. national… Continue Reading
New Report Highlights Benefits of Flu Vaccine
“Flu vaccination prevented an estimated 6.6 million influenza-associated illnesses, 3.2 million medically attended illnesses, and 79,000 hospitalizations during the 2012-2013 flu season, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report(MMWR). CDC also reported today that despite the benefits of flu vaccination, only 40% of Americans 6… Continue Reading
Long-Term Care Services in the United States: 2013 Overview
Long-Term Care Services in the United States: 2013 Overview – National Center for Health Statistics: “This report provides information on the supply, organizational characteristics, staffing, and services offered by providers of long-term care services; and the demographic, health, and functional composition of users of these services. Service users include residents of nursing homes and residential care communities, patients of… Continue Reading
Report – Federal Contractors Frequently Put Workers’ Lives and Livelihoods at Risk
Acting Responsibly? Federal Contractors Frequently Put Workers’ Lives and Livelihoods at Risk – Senator Harkin Unveils HELP Committee Investigation on Labor Law Violations Among Major Government Contractors, December 11, 2013. “Each year, the United States pays out over $500 billion in taxpayer dollars to private companies for goods and services, much of which is used to pay the… Continue Reading
Brookings – Cyber-enabled Competitive Data Theft
Cyber-enabled Competitive Data Theft: A Framework for Modeling Long-Run Cybersecurity Consequences by Allan A. Friedman, Austen Mack-Crane and Ross A. Hammond “Cybersecurity has become a pressing policy issue, and has drawn the attention of the national security community. Yet there is an emerging consensus among experts that one of the largest policy problems faced in cyberspace may… Continue Reading
Financial Regulators Issue Final Guidance on Social Media
“The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), on behalf of its members, today released final guidance on the applicability of consumer protection and compliance laws, regulations, and policies to activities conducted via social media by banks, savings associations, and credit unions, as well as nonbank entities supervised by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The guidance… Continue Reading
