Category Archives: U.S. Congress

America’s health care sickness: Paid to treat, not heal

RosenthalBy Steve Brawner

Dr. Denise Faustman believes type 1 diabetes might could be cured using a tuberculosis vaccine already sold as a generic. Unfortunately, she’s had trouble obtaining funding for research. Too many people have a financial incentive to keep the status quo.

Faustman, a Harvard Medical School researcher, found that  the vaccine, long sold on the market, showed promise when tested on mice.

That would be big news, especially for the 1.25 million Americans living with type 1 diabetes. And it did cause a stir when she published the initial results – in 2001.

However, the pharmaceutical industry wasn’t interested in funding further research because it didn’t see a pathway to profits using a drug that’s already on the generic market. The big medical foundations haven’t wanted to fund her research because they’re allied with the pharmaceutical industry – in fact, often financially invested in its products. Despite the roadblocks, Faustman managed to find enough funding to publish further research in 2012. Now she’s trying to raise money through her website, www.faustmanlab.org.

Rosenthal: They’re paid to treat, not heal

Faustman’s story is one anecdote in “An American Sickness,” a book by Elisabeth Rosenthal, a medical doctor who became a New York Times reporter and is now editor in chief of Kaiser Health News. If you want to better understand why the American health care system is failing, read this 330-page book. Continue reading →

Not if you don’t cut spending

By Steve Brawner

The economy grew 3 percent in the third quarter, which was pretty good – almost as good as the second quarter, when it grew 3.1 percent. The past four quarters, in fact, have been better than the previous four. Meanwhile, the federal budget deficit was bigger in 2017 than it was in 2016.

Hmm. That’s weird, because we’re being told that economic growth by itself reduces deficits.

Here’s the background. President Trump and congressional Republicans have been pushing for tax cuts. To get there, they needed to pass a budget that would allow the cuts to pass with a simple majority. Otherwise, the Democrats would filibuster.

The House of Representatives voted for a budget that included a framework for both tax cuts and offsetting spending cuts. On paper, the yearly deficits would end by 2027, though the overall debt, now $20.4 trillion and much bigger by 2027, would remain.

Then the Senate passed its own budget that includes a framework for tax cuts, which are popular, without spending cuts, which are not. In fact, it calls for a total of only $1 billion in cuts out of a potential $47 trillion in spending. That’s a cut of .00002 percent. If you weighed 250 pounds and were trying to lose weight, that would be .005 percent of a pound. That’s some kind of painless diet. Arkansas Sens. Tom Cotton and John Boozman voted for it. The House of Representatives, including all four members of the state’s delegation, quickly voted to shelve their own plan in favor of the Senate’s. Continue reading →

We can’t afford Alzheimer’s

Alzheimer's

Harry Johns is national president and CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association.

By Steve Brawner

The first sign that Walt Klusmeier’s had Alzheimer’s was when he asked his wife, Lisa, how to send an email on his phone. He was 49 years old.

Then he needed help with expense reports on his laptop. When that happened, Lisa assumed was the result of stress caused by his responsibilities as a father of three children and as a pharmaceutical sales rep.

“I just thought he had this huge territory, had a lot of responsibility,” she said. “Our kids were growing. We were a busy family.”

But it was more than stress. He would withdraw at home. While he learned to compensate for his failing cognition, his work was subpar, which his employer interpreted as a lack of commitment. Eventually he lost his job, which meant the family lost not only his income but his insurance, and he didn’t qualify for government benefits because of his age. The money ran out. After he was diagnosed with younger-onset Alzheimer’s, he became eligible for Social Security Disability payments and two years later for Medicare. He lived at home until his last month of life and died at age 58. Continue reading →

Paying for this storm, and the storms to come

Hill, Maria, hurricanes

Rep. French Hill represents Arkansas’ 2nd District.

By Steve Brawner

American citizens in Puerto Rico are suffering, but unlike when Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, the victims can’t drive across the border to a welcoming state like Arkansas. Texans, Floridians and others are hurting from hurricanes, too, and Californians have lost their homes due to wildfires.

In such situations, should members of Congress vote for any aid package, even if they think it’s a bad one?

Rep. French Hill, R-Arkansas, said no last week. The congressman who represents central Arkansas was one of only 69 members of the U.S. House who voted against a bill providing $36.5 billion for relief and recovery efforts after Hurricanes Maria, Harvey and Irma and the California wildfires. The package drew a yes vote from 353 members.

Continue reading →

Only Bruce can prevent forest fires

WestermanBy Steve Brawner

Democracies require a balance between skepticism and trust. Voters must be skeptical of those they place in power, lest it be abused. But without trust, institutions can’t function democratically.

All that said, I’m erring on the side of trust this time – this time being Rep. Bruce Westerman’s Resilient Federal Forests Act.

Forestry policy is probably not an issue you’re following closely, but here’s why you should care. This year, 8.5 million acres of forestland have burned – an area four times the size of Puerto Rico. Thirty-one Californians so far have died in fires that are burning right now. The fires have destroyed homes, killed livestock, and released millions of tons of carbon into the atmosphere.  Continue reading →