Privacy Groups Push ECPA E-Mail Reform
IPI added its voice for ECPA reform, calling the legislation "an urgent and necessary step to uphold Americans’ Fourth Amendment rights guarding against warrantless search and seizure of electronic data."
US Crude Exports Clear First Hurdle
A key House panel on Thursday approved legislation to end the 40-year federal ban on exports of US crude oil, and the bill is expected to win further approval in the House and Senate before being passed on to the White House.
Obama Takes A Swipe At His Own Recovery
During August, the Labor Department said another 261,000 people permanently dropped out of the labor force. "That's a net loss of 88,000 jobs, not an increase, " according to IPI President Tom Giovanetti. The labor force participation rate has been stuck for three months at its lowest rate since 1977, Giovanetti asserted. "That's not good news — that's a disaster, " he said.
Walker, Rubio Present Plans to Repeal and Replace Obamacare
IPI's Merrill Matthews says Walker’s plan is a little more detailed than Rubio’s and focuses on people without employer-based plans. “Rubio wants to give everyone a tax credit, which is the right thing to do, but it’s very difficult to explain to the public. It also talks about expanding Medicare, but how do you expand Medicare and pay for it?”
The Problem With G.O.P. Plans to Sell Health Insurance Across State Lines
If uniform rules, alone, were enough to ensure a broad array of competitors, you might expect to see many insurers participating. But that does not seem to be the case. “Just because a good affordable policy is available in another state doesn’t mean that I would be able to get the network of physicians and the good prices that are available in that other state," said IPI's Dr. Merrill Matthews.
Hillary Clinton's Higher Ed Plan A Pandora's Box Like Obamacare, Expert Says
Clinton's proposal, which would be paid for in part by taxing wealthier Americans and demands states pick up a greater share of higher ed costs, has many of the same trappings as Obamacare, according to Merrill Matthews, resident scholar with IPI.
ADA and Disability
Dr. Merrill Matthews in a recent column wonders why we are seeing such a dramatic increase in people receiving disability payments. Shouldn’t the new technologies and greater access to buildings and facilities make it possible for fewer Americans to receive payments? That is not what has happened.
Senate Bill Would Allow Over-the-Counter Sales of Birth Control Pills
Prior to the passage of Obamacare, allowing the sale of birth control over the counter would have been hailed by liberals as a great achievement for women, says Merrill Matthews. It would have improved access to care by lowering out-of-pocket costs and eliminating the need to spend time and money to see a doctor for the prescription, which is a bigger burden for hourly workers and lower-income women, he said.
Capitol Hill
IPI pressed Congress to overhaul the Electronic Communications Privacy Act with the release Monday of a publication from Bartlett Cleland.
The Three Dumbest "Conservative" Objections to Patent Reform
One argument basically is: Obama supports patent reform, therefore it must be a liberal idea. But patent reform enjoys a long tradition of intellectual support from a wide range of right-leaning think tanks and advocacy groups, including IPI.
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