When the House Veterans Affairs Committee holds a hearing on September 7 to assess the future of the Veterans Health Administration, federal lawmakers would do well to consider recent reports that challenge the continual drumbeat of negative and often unfair coverage and congressional criticism of the VHA. One report, from the RAND Corporation, said that […]
Blog: TAPPED
Posted inHealth and Social Policy
Report: Patients’ Groups With Big Pharma Ties Came Out Against Medicare Drug Plan
Earlier this year, nearly 400 patients’ groups signed onto two separate letters criticizing a recent Medicare proposal aimed at bringing down the cost of prescription drugs. Warning that there would be dire consequences for patients if the proposal moves forward, patients’ groups including the Partnership to Improve Patient Care and the Quality Cancer Care Alliance […]
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
No Running Mate, Perez Still Stumps for Clinton
When Hillary Clinton picked Virginia Senator Tim Kaine as her running mate last week, there was a predictable collective groan from progressives, particularly Latinos, who had been hoping for a selection more squarely in their camp. Among those on the final shortlist, Tom Perez had been the clear favorite of many progressives looking for Clinton […]
Posted inHealth and Social Policy
Indiana Court Overturns Purvi Patel’s Feticide Conviction
The Indiana Court of Appeals last week overturned the 20-year prison sentence for Purvi Patel, the first woman in the United States to be convicted under a feticide law for having an abortion. The 3-0 decision marks a victory for reproductive rights advocates, who argued that using feticide laws to convict women who end their […]
Posted inHealth and Social Policy
Congress Goes on Vacation While Zika Spreads
Florida reported the first possible case of mosquito-transmitted Zika Wednesday. But the summer congressional recess is in full swing and Congress closed up shop without appropriating funds to combat the illness that can cause birth defects in babies born to infected mothers, leaving reproductive rights advocates and public health experts wondering what comes next. House […]
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
How Tom Perez Embodies the Democrats’ TPP Rift
When it comes to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), Tom Perez is stuck between a rock and a hard place-or rather, between his current boss, President Barack Obama, and his potential future boss, Hillary Clinton. In his role as the U.S. labor secretary, Perez has gone to the mat for Obama as a prominent supporter of […]
Posted inAmerica and the World
Report: Warnings about Encryption ‘Back Doors’ Vindicated
The House Homeland Security Committee released a report Wednesday acknowledging what the technology industry has been telling the federal government for more than a year: It’s impossible to give law enforcement a “back door” to encryption technologies without giving bad actors the same access to people’s phones and other devices. The “Going Dark, Going Forward: […]
Posted inHealth and Social Policy
Union Conducts Nationwide Anti-VHA Privatization Protests
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the largest labor union representing federal and District of Columbia government workers, announced Tuesday that about 40 anti-VHA privatization rallies will be held nationwide. The move comes as the VA Commission on Care, the congressionally-mandated body tasked with making recommendations about the future of Veterans Health Administration, closes […]
Posted inLaw and Justice
Vermont Law Delivers Overlooked Victory for Privacy Rights
Recent foreign and domestic terrorist attacks have tilted the advantage on surveillance toward law enforcement and security agencies, which are using these incidents to push for broader powers. Civil liberties advocates can take heart, however, in a privacy victory that has largely gone unnoticed. In early June, Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin signed a sweeping privacy […]
Posted inHealth and Social Policy
SCOTUS Abortion Ruling Benefits Women of Color, Low-Income Women
The Supreme Court’s 5-3 ruling on Monday to throw out restrictive Texas abortion laws in the landmark case known as Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt is a major victory for reproductive rights advocates, who have been fighting a wave of what they call “clinic shutdown” laws nationwide. First enacted in 2013, the Texas laws rejected […]
