The U.S. Government's Global Health Policy Architecture: Structure, Programs and Funding

Provides an overview of the history, scope, and role of U.S. engagement in global health, including funding; statutes, authorities, and policies; agencies involved; major initiatives; and countries with U.S. bilateral programs and funding

Ready or Not? Protecting the Public's Health From Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism, 2008

Examines ten indicators to assess progress in state readiness to respond to bioterrorism and other public health emergencies. Evaluates the federal government's and hospitals' preparedness. Makes suggestions for funding, restructuring, and other reforms

Keeping America's Food Safe: A Blueprint for Fixing the Food Safety System at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Summarizes Health and Human Services' food safety programs, highlights concerns about current laws and policies, and outlines reform proposals. Suggests creating a Food Safety Administration to coordinate policy, inspection, and enforcement activities

Stronger Partnerships for Safer Food: An Agenda for Strengthening State and Local Roles in the Nation's Food Safety System

Examines federal, state, and local agencies' responsibilities, strengths, and weaknesses in ensuring food safety. Recommends systemwide reforms to enhance state and local roles and improve surveillance, outbreak response, and regulation and inspection

Small Businesses, Public Health, and Scientific Integrity

This report examines the activities of an independent office within the Small Business Administration: the Office of Advocacy. The Office of Advocacy has responsibility for ensuring that federal agencies evaluate the small business impacts of the rules they adopt. Scientific assessments are not "rules" and do not regulate small business, yet the Office of Advocacy decided to comment on technical, scientific assessments of the cancer risks of formaldehyde, styrene, and chromium. By its own admission, Advocacy lacks the scientific expertise to evaluate the merits of such assessments.The report analyzes correspondence and materials received through a Freedom of Information Act request made by staff at the Center for Effective Government. Our inquiry was driven by two questions: Why did the Office of Advocacy get involved in the debate over scientific assessments that do not regulate small business? Whose interests does the Office of Advocacy of the Small Business Administration actually serve?We found that the Office of Advocacy's comments on these assessments raised no issues of specific concern to small business and relied almost exclusively on talking points provided by trade associations dominated by big chemical companies. Between 2005 and 2012, the American Chemistry Council (ACC) and its members spent over $333 million lobbying Congress and federal agencies on, among other things, a protracted campaign to prevent government agencies from designating formaldehyde, styrene, and chromium as carcinogens. The Formaldehyde Council, Styrene Industry Research Council, and Chrome Coalition spent millions more. These groups asked the Office of Advocacy for assistance, and the Office became their willing partner.We conclude that the Office of Advocacy's decision to comment on scientific assessments of the cancer risks of certain chemicals constitutes a significant and unwarranted expansion of its role and reach beyond its statutory responsibilities. We recommend that Congress ask the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate the Office of Advocacy and exert morerigorous oversight of its activities to ensure its work does not undermine the efforts of other federal agencies to fulfill the goals Congress has assigned them

Ready or Not? Protecting the Public's Health in the Age of Bioterrorism, 2004

Examines ten key indicators to evaluate state preparedness to respond to bioterrorist attacks and other public health emergencies. Evaluates the federal government's role and performance, and offers recommendations for improving readiness

Vulnerable Youth: Background and Policies

[Excerpt] This report first provides an overview of the youth population and the increasing complexity of transitioning to adulthood for all adolescents. It also provides a separate discussion of the concept of “disconnectedness,” as well as the protective factors youth can develop during childhood and adolescence that can mitigate poor outcomes. Further, the report describes the evolution of federal youth policy, focusing on three time periods, and provides a brief overview of current federal programs targeted at vulnerable youth. (Table A 1 at the end of the report, enumerates the objectives and funding levels of such programs. Note that the table does not enumerate all programs that target, even in small part, vulnerable or disconnected youth.) The report then discusses the challenges of coordinating federal programs for youth, as well as federal legislation and initiatives that promote coordination among federal agencies and support programs with a positive youth development focus

The Affordable Care Act and Beyond: Opportunities for Advancing Health Equity and Social Justice

In 2010, the most monumental health care legislation in forty-five years was enacted. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ( ACA ) makes changes great and small in virtually every important component of the American health care system. The new law\u27s implications will not be known fully for many years because state governments and federal agencies are in the process of interpreting key provisions, drafting rules and devising general implementation strategies. And, uncertainty exists about the scope of the ACA because of the recent Supreme Court ruling in National Federal of Independent Business v. Sebelius. The court upheld nearly all of the provisions in the ACA, but it ruled that the federal government cannot withhold Medicaid funds from states that refuse to expand their Medicaid programs to cover individuals with incomes of as much as 133 percent of the federal poverty level. This article seeks to analyze the most significant changes that affect communities of color and to examine the resulting health equity and social justice implications. Part I explains the moral and economic case for eliminating racial and ethnic health care disparities. Part II analyzes provisions in the new law designed to expand access to health insurance. Part III focuses on the special access challenges communities of color face and how the ACA provisions attempt to address these. Part IV examines key ACA provisions that are explicitly intended to reduce health disparities and improve the health of racially and ethnically diverse populations. Part V argues that achieving health equity for racial and ethnic minority groups will require policy strategies focused outside of the health care arena. This article concludes with recommendations on how to leverage federal spending to advance racial and ethnic equality

Ready or Not? Protecting the Public's Health From Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism, 2011

Highlights examples of preparedness programs and capacities at risk of federal budget cuts or elimination, examines state and local public health budget cuts, reviews ten years of progress and shortfalls, and outlines policy issues and recommendations

40 Years of FOIA, 20 Years of Delay: Oldest Pending Freedom of Information Requests Date Back to the 1980s

Presents findings from the Knight Open Government Survey, which surveys government offices and agencies on the status of their public information requests, and finds that extensive backlogs persist