May 2nd, 2013
The targeting of specific government grants has become old hat in Washington DC, an easy way to score cheap political points. Targets have included fruit fly research in Paris, studies of duck genitalia, and research involving shrimp on a treadmill, but in all cases, further investigation has shown that the seemingly odd projects have direct ties to real-world applications. These skirmishes have now escalated into power grabs that serve to undermine entire fields of research. Read More
February 15th, 2013
Back in 2010, when Congress approved the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly known as “Obamacare,” it included a requirement to help all of us become more knowledgeable about our health care, and to reduce unacceptable conflicts of interest between physicians and drug and device makers. Read More
February 7th, 2013
Compelling evidence shows that state-level renewable electricity standards (RES) are affordably reducing market barriers and stimulating new, stable, and long-term markets for wind, solar, and other renewable energy technologies throughout the United States. To continue the nation’s clean energy transition in 2013 and beyond, strong leadership in expanding state RES policies is critical. Not surprisingly, fossil-fuel backed special interest groups have geared up to block progress. Read More
January 17th, 2013
Since his re-election, President Obama has made it clear that he sees action on climate change as a major piece of unfinished business from his first term. In his election night victory speech, he said he wants “our children to live in an America that isn’t burdened by debt; that isn’t weakened by inequality; that isn’t threatened by the destructive power of a warming planet.” Read More
January 2nd, 2013
I’m pleased to report that it didn’t take long to achieve one of my new year’s resolutions for Congress – extending the federal tax credits for wind power and other renewable energy sources. The deal to avert the so-called “fiscal cliff” that passed the Senate and the House yesterday, and is expected to be signed by the President, includes an important extension of federal tax credits for wind and other renewable energy projects that begin construction in 2013. This will temporarily help the wind industry from going off its own cliff. Happy New Year indeed! Read More
December 12th, 2012
If you want to see what a world without regulatory safeguards looks like, you don’t have to look far. The current and evolving outbreak of fungal meningitis tied to one large compounding pharmacy in Massachusetts is a case study in what happens when state and federal regulators fail. It also shows what can happen when conflicts of interest get in the way of regulation based on the best available science. Read More
November 13th, 2012
Today, Congress did something good for the American public and good for science. After a 14-year struggle, the House and Senate approved a bipartisan whistleblower protection bill that will make a difference to all federal workers, but that should be especially welcomed by federal scientists. Read More
July 23rd, 2012
Have you heard the news about lemurs? No, I’m not referring to the commercial success of Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted. This is much, much worse. Read More
July 3rd, 2012
As someone who had the privilege of serving as a legislative staffer in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, I have long appreciated the differences that the framers of the Constitution designed into the two chambers’ respective DNA. Read More
June 29th, 2012
The news these days has rightly focused on the Supreme Court’s landmark decision on access to health care. But with scant media attention, Congress on June 26 sent a bill to the President that is just as important to the health and well-being of each and every American family, and the future of scientific integrity at the Food and Drug Administration. Read More
© 2013
