Americans are divided over whether to increase offshore oil drilling, and a majority believes the risks outweigh the benefits, according to a new nationwide survey released today by Virginia Commonwealth University.
Indiana University Professor and former EPA official Jim Barnes says federal regulators are making a big mistake by not following through on a moratorium on offshore drilling.
Homeland security and other regulatory agencies are creating jobs and a record-breaking budget according to a new study from the Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy at Washington University in St. Louis and the George Washington University Regulatory Studies Center. A Decade of Growth in the Regulators’ Budget: An Analysis of the U.S. Budget for Fiscal Years 2010 and 2011 details the rise in regulatory spending and who gets the lion's share of this year's $59 billion federal regulatory budget.
A review article describes the carcinogenic effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals, including bisphenol A (BPA). Researchers express the need for more complex strategies for studying how these chemicals affect health but report that ample evidence supports changing public health and environmental policies to protect the public, particularly the developing fetus and women of reproductive age.
W. Ross Morrow, who's just finishing his first year at Iowa State University, believes engineers have a place in public policy debates. He's had some first-hand experience: A report he helped write as a post-doctoral researcher at Harvard University's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs attracted the attention of a New York Times blog, Rush Limbaugh and Bloomberg Television.
Signed by the governor May 18, the new measure gives statutory authority for breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screening programs to the Alabama Department of Public Health. Experts say the life-saving practice of expanding proven cancer screening programs benefits everyone, especially the medically under-served and the uninsured.
A random sample of littered cigarette packs reveals that 75 percent of the cigarettes used in Chicago bring no tax revenue to the city, according to researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
A new Cornell University study has found that unattractive defendants are 22 percent more likely to be convicted, and tend to get hit with longer, harsher sentences – with an average of 22 months longer in prison recommended by the study’s participants.
The American Physical Society (APS), a leading organization of physicists, today called for swift action on the U.S. House reauthorization of the 2007 bipartisan America COMPETES legislation, after the bill was sent back to the Science & Technology Committee for legislative changes.
As the Supreme Court is set to rule in two cases involving juveniles sentenced to life imprisonment with no chance of parole, a Baylor Law School professor makes the case on why the practice should end.
Government action, specifically on the part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, must play a critical role in the development and implementation of global privacy regulations, according to an Indiana University expert.
The decline in the generosity of Social Security benefits for workers who recently reached their 60s has been the leading cause of the trend toward delayed retirement of older men, a new national study suggests.
With the British election less than a week away, Americans may not have to wait until November to see which direction the political tide is moving in the United States. Voting results overseas may portend results here later, says David Coates, author of the new book Answering Back: Liberal Responses to Conservative Arguments and a political science professor at Wake Forest University.
Following the terrorist attacks of 9-11, the United States enacted a series of laws as part of the war on terror. According to one Ryerson University researcher, this legislation has had an unforeseen impact on America’s immigrants and immigration policies.
A Baylor Law School professor has studied the new Arizona immigration law and believes it will result in racial profiling and violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
After becoming the first university in the world to be granted special consultative status by ECOSOC (United Nations Economic and Social Council), Fairleigh Dickinson University has appointed 22 faculty members to serve two-year terms on substantive committees at the United Nations.
Immigration law expert Stephen Yale-Loehr, co-author of a 20-volume treatise on immigration law, and Cornell University Law School adjunct professor, comments on the controversial new Arizona immigration-enforcement law.
National Wildlife Federation and 25 groups issued a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today calling for suspension of the permitting process for a proposed tar sands pipeline known as Keystone XL. The groups say the full scope of its environmental and social impacts, including greenhouse gas emissions have not been considered.
Tracy Mitrano, Cornell University’s director of IT Policy and its director of Computer Policy and Law Programs, comments on the recent Federal Appeals Court decision in Comcast v. Federal Communication Commission and the FCC’s efforts to enforce “network neutrality” on Internet providers.
Alison LaCroix’s new book delves into an underexplored area of history, shedding light on the nature of federalism, a system very important to the development of America. Given the ongoing debates about the framers’ original intent, understanding the true origins of federalism is especially significant.
To understand why public policies fail or succeed, it's essential to learn how people form networks within an organization, or among groups that collaborate, says Pamela Mischen, associate professor of public administration at Binghamton University.
Thomas Hirschl, professor of Development Sociology at Cornell University, comments about the widespread reliance on food stamps, Medicaid, reduced school lunches and other forms of public assistance.
In a year when the death penalty continues to stir passions from Texas to Connecticut and beyond, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David Oshinsky’s new book will help Americans better understand the history, politics and role of capital punishment in the United States.
As the Internet spreads across the globe, countries don’t necessarily need democracy to join the online community, a new study found. Rather, social factors such as population growth and violent conflict are much more important.
A class to be offered next fall at the University of Iowa College of Law will spend an entire semester examining the recently passed health care reform law.
Low-wage workers in Cook County lose $7.3 million each week in at least a dozen industries through violations of minimum wage and overtime laws, says a study by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Steven C. Kyle, Cornell University associate professor of Applied Economics and Management, comments on reports that the Treasury Department is already earning an 8.5 percent profit on its investments in bailed out banks.
“I think that Judge Sweet showed an impressive understanding of genetics and some of the nuances involved. I agree with him," says Jim Evans, who led an HHS task force on gene patenting and a school to teach judges about genetics.
April Fool's Day is a day traditionally full of practical jokes and pranks. Thus, it is only fitting that on April 1st U.S. District Court Richard Leon will hold a hearing on the Daimler FCPA enforcement action during which he is expected to approve a DOJ - Daimler brokered deferred prosecution agreement and other various aspects of the settlement discussed below.
“Proponents claim drug courts are an effective alternative to incarceration and work to curb recidivism, reduce costs and even save lives, but it is not at all clear whether any of these things are true,” says Mae Quinn, JD, problem-solving courts expert and professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis.
A new study by James K. Boyce and Matthew E. Riddle of the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, assesses the impacts of the CLEAR Act on families.
A champion of environmental issues who served Maryland’s 1st district for 9 terms, former U.S. Congressman Wayne Gilchrest is now sharing first-hand experience at Salisbury University. His environmental issues course allows students to explore AND debate Washington politics and policies!
Secure World Foundation has released a budget analysis that examines an array of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) space security programs as outlined in its Fiscal Year 2011 budget request.
The newly signed health care reform law should stand up well to legal court challenges, says constitutional expert and political scientist Mark Graber of the University of Maryland. Graber describes the measure as "constitutionally mainstream."
Census Day is April 1, and experts from the Florida State University are available to answer media questions and give perspective to news stories as census data is collected and released. The 2010 Census form will be one of the shortest in U.S History consisting of 10 questions.
Michael C. Dorf, professor, Cornell University Law School, discusses potential constitutional issues raised by Sunday’s passage of health reform legislation in the House of Representatives.
As the United States undertakes the 2010 census, three demographers at the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire and the director of the nationally recognized UNH Survey Center are available to comment on the implications of the census for a range of Americans and U.S. policy.
Robert C. Hockett, professor, Cornell University Law School, says: "Sen. Christopher Dodd's bill is a tentative step forward toward long-awaited improvements to our presently hole-riddled system of financial regulation." Hocket explains the bill's attributes.
A new mathematical model developed by Indiana University Bloomington and Arizona State University geographers could help communities that are in the midst of passing or reforming sex offender laws. The researchers describe the model and report its first test in an Early View edition of Papers in Regional Science.
New Maryland legislation to protect youth from melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, is based on significant scientific evidence that indoor tanning before the age of 30 is undeniably linked to increased risk of developing the disease. Senator James N. Robey and Delegate William A. Bronrott represent a broad-based coalition of 20 legislators in the Senate and House co-sponsoring cross-filed bills SB 718 and HB 1039 to prohibit minors’ use of tanning devices in tanning facilities and prevent any marketing offers of these services to minors.
Strongly held but conflicting values have shaped the U.S. social safety net and the policy debates since its expansion in the 1960s. A new Urban Institute Press book disentangles these beliefs and shows how they have led to the patchwork of mostly uncoordinated programs the safety net is today.
“Although originally quite limited, the reconciliation process has morphed over time,” says Cheryl D. Block, J.D., budget policy expert and professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis. “Perhaps more than any other Senate matters, reconciliation puts the parliamentarian in the hot seat. The passage this term of health care legislation, and perhaps the future of health care reform more generally now may turn on rulings of the current parliamentarian.”
As Obama and the U.S. Congress head for a final showdown over long-stalled health care reform legislation, pundits are struggling to explain an array of arcane congressional rules and protocols that may determine whether health care reform passes or dies on the vine. Many of these pundits are getting it wrong, suggests WUSTL congressional expert Steven S. Smith. Smith is available for interview by phone, ISDN or VYVX-equipped broadcast studio.
Most former residents of Chicago's now-demolished public housing still live in segregated, low-income neighborhoods despite using housing vouchers to subsidize their rents, according to a study by University of Illinois at Chicago researchers.
Virginia Tech Research Professor John Harrald testified before a U.S. Senate subcommittee that the U.S. is vulnerable to catastrophic events. A shift in preparedness to the public sector is essential, he said.
Education, labor, and conservation institutions head to Capitol Hill to encourage senators to support comprehensive jobs education and training in climate legislation.
Before developing specific anti-obesity strategies, lawmakers and advocates should review the evidence on program effectiveness and costs in order to avoid policies that either won’t work or will waste money, says Cornell economist John Cawley, in “The Economics of Childhood Obesity,” published in the peer-reviewed journal Health Affairs, March 2, 2010.
There is no question that the U.S. government is facing its share of troubles. During the worst recession in its history, it is fighting two foreign wars. On top of that, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 9.7 percent of the workforce is unemployed, and despite months of congressional discussion and deal making, a solution to the health care crisis seems far off. In the depths of all this turmoil, the news gets worse. A recent CNN public opinion poll revealed that most Americans – 86 percent – believe that their government is “broken.”