Category: Public Policy
Tlaib, Jones bill could cut US child poverty 2/3
“With the Senate failing to extend the CTC, we must do more to protect our young people,” said Rep. Mondaire Jones. “By creating a universal, monthly child allowance, the End Child Poverty Act will do exactly…
St. Jude hoards billions while patient families drain their savings
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital promises not to bill families. But the cost of having a child at the hospital for cancer care leaves some families so strapped for money that parents share tips on spending…
WHO declares Covid mutation found in India a ‘variant of concern’ for global health
“I think what we’re seeing is more transmissible,” said WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan. by Jake Johnson, staff writer Monday, May 10, 2021 The World Health Organization on Monday classified a coronavirus mutation first detected in…
In contrast to Republican leaders AOC helps raise $1 million in direct relief for Texans in crisis
“AOC helped raise $1 million for Texas relief as Ted Cruz made his way back home from Cancún.” by Jake Johnson, staff writer Friday, February 19, 2021 As Sen. Ted Cruz rushed back to Texas on…
As demand surges, advocates worry food stamps miss eligible families
EDS: An earlier version of this story misstated, in the second graf, the number of SNAP-eligible people who actually received the benefit in 2017. The Census Bureau said one in six who were eligible did not…
The return of the Regulators
Like them or revile them, federal agencies seem poised to regain some of their traditional powers under the new administration. But it’s not clear how far President Biden wants them to go. by Jesse Eisinger, ProPublica…
Susan Collins, supporter of $1.5 trillion in tax cuts for the rich, claims $1,400 survival checks not ‘targeted’ enough
“Susan Collins didn’t care so much about the ‘rich people getting more than they need’ issue when it was massive upper income tax cuts on the table.” by Jake Johnson, staff writer Monday, January 25, 2021…
Covid vaccine rollout leaves most older adults confused where to get shots
by Phil Galewitz, Kaiser Health News Friday, January 22, 2021 Over a month into a massive vaccination program, most older Americans report they don’t know where or when they can get inoculated for covid-19, according to…
Restrictions on the South Texas border were meant to protect people from COVID-19. Then the handcuffs came out.
Governments along the Texas-Mexico border took a hard line to limit COVID-19’s spread. Police were key to the public health response, resulting in hundreds jailed and nearly 2,000 people ticketed. by Vianna Davila and Ren Larson…
Vaccinating Black Americans is essential. Key states aren’t doing the work to combat hesitancy
States and the federal government also don’t reliably collect data so we won’t have a good idea of whether the vaccine is reaching these critical populations. by Caroline Chen, Ryan Gabrielson and Topher Sanders Though African…
Abysmal jobs report puts new pressure on McConnell for Covid relief
‘One Person Standing in the Way’ “Instead of passing a relief bill, Senate Republicans have been confirming judge after judge—filling the federal bench while Americans fill hospitals across the country.” by Jake Johnson, staff writer Friday,…
States with few coronavirus restrictions are spreading the virus beyond their borders
Lax states are attracting shoppers and students from stricter neighbors — and sending back COVID-19 cases. The imbalance underscores the lack of a national policy. by David Armstrong Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2020 For months after Washington…
As US hospitalizations hit new record, Fauci warns pandemic not expected to ease for holidays
As travelers ignored warnings, Thanksgiving marked the 24th consecutive day of more than 100,000 new daily Covid-19 cases in the United States. by Jessica Corbett, staff writer Friday, November 27 After millions of people crowded into…
Starving Seniors: how America fails to feed its aging
Millions of seniors across the country quietly go hungry as the safety net designed to catch them frays. Nearly 8% of Americans 60 and older were “food insecure” in 2017. Laura Ungar and Trudy Lieberman September…
Rapid testing is less accurate than the Government wants to admit
Rapid antigen testing is a mess. The federal government pushed it out without a plan, and then spent weeks denying problems with false positives. by Lisa Song Monday, November 16 The promise of antigen tests emerged…
The Elders call for surge in global cooperation to combat ‘current disarray’ set off by Covid-19, climate crisis
“Covid-19 has placed unprecedented strain on the multilateral system and cruelly exposed its failings. A fresh approach is urgently needed in 2021 with an unrelenting focus on justice and equality.” by Julia Conley, staff writer Thursday,…
ACLU sues Trump Admin. to obtain key records on federal handling of Coronavirus pandemic in prisons
The suit seeks “the immediate release of improperly withheld agency records related to federal government’s failed response to the spread of Covid-19 in prisons in jails.” by Brett Wilkins, staff writer Wednesday, October 21 The American…
Older COVID patients battle ‘brain fog,’ weakness and emotional turmoil
by Judith Graham October 20, 2020 “Lord, give me back my memory.” For months, as Marilyn Walters has struggled to recover from COVID-19, she has repeated this prayer day and night. Like other older adults who’ve…
As pandemic surges in US, Trump says ‘People are tired of hearing Fauci and all these idiots’
“People are tired of a science-denying president that has allowed over 218,000 people to die from Covid,” responded Rep. Mark Pocan. by Jake Johnson, staff writer Monday, October 19 Hours after bragging about his persistent refusal…
Exposure to man-made chemicals influences genes controlling aging, immune system and metabolism
Most genes in the human body can be disrupted by man-made chemicals. Göran Andersson/Getty Images by Alexander Suvorov, University of Massachusetts Amherst Sunday, October 18 Today humans are exposed to thousands of man-made chemicals. Yet the…
Most home health aides ‘Can’t afford not to work’ — Even when lacking PPE
Home health aides flattened the curve by keeping the most vulnerable patients — seniors, the disabled, the infirm — out of hospitals. But they’ve done it mostly at poverty wages and without overtime pay, hazard pay,…
Inside the fall of the CDC
How the world’s greatest public health organization was brought to its knees by a virus, the president and the capitulation of its own leaders, causing damage that could last much longer than the coronavirus. by James…
As Pelosi battles White House, Ro Khanna says Democrats can win morally—and politically
‘Millions of Real People’s Lives Are at Stake’ “It is in the interest of progressive Democrats to show that government can be a force of good, and this is the time for us to act.” by…
‘Totally Under Control’: New, secretly-filmed documentary details Trump’s colossal Covid-19 failures
“We, the scientists, knew what to do for the pandemic response,” says former federal vaccine expert Dr. Rick Bright in the film. “It is time to lay our careers on the line and push back.” by…
