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Rep. Wolf Says Entitlement Programs Could Affect U.S. Bond Rating
Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) on Friday in a letter to President Obama said that the U.S. could lose its triple-A bond rating if Congress does not act quickly to overhaul U.S. entitlement programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, and reduce federal debt, the AP/Detroit News reports.Several lawmakers in Congress over the past two years have introduced bills to create a bipartisan task force to address the growing costs and potential insolvency of entitlement programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid. Wolf is a co-author of one such bill (HR 1557). A federal report issued earlier this month found that the trust fund Medicare uses to pay for beneficiaries" hospital care will be insolvent by 2017, two years earlier than previously predicted.According to the legislation, the task force would be responsible for developing a "grand bargain" package of recommendations to Congress on tax increases and benefits related to the entitlement programs. However, the task force has been opposed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), several top congressional committee leaders and White House aides who said that other priorities, such as a health care system overhaul, need to be addressed first.Wolf said, "The fact that the leadership has been opposed to it has been a problem," adding, "There"s an economic tsunami off the coast and it"s ready to wipe us out." David Walker, president of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, said that currently the potential for the task force is not good but that it should improve as the economy recovers and Congress can offer more attention to the plan (Raum, AP/Detroit News, 5/24). Opinion Pieces
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Lords Science Committee To Publish Follow-Up Report On Flu, UK
The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee will next week publish a short report on UK preparedness and pandemic influenza.
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Columbia University, EndoRobotics Ink License On Micro-robotic Imaging Device
Columbia University Science & Technology Ventures (STV) and New York-based EndoRobotics, Inc. have entered into an exclusive license agreement to develop and commercialize a micro-robotic imaging and surgical device platform designed to reduce the complexity of minimally invasive surgical (MIS) procedures and improve patient outcomes.
Mental Health

U.N. Human Rights Council Adopts 'Landmark' Maternal Mortality Resolution

The U.N. Human Rights Council adopted a "landmark resolution" acknowledging that "preventable maternal mortality and morbidity" is a human rights issue and that national and international efforts to protect women worldwide should be scaled up, the Hudson Valley Press Online reports. More than 70 U.N. member states cosponsored the resolution, led by Colombia and New Zealand (Hudson Valley Press Online, 6/18). Pakistan was one of the member states that signed on to the resolution, the International News reports (International News, 6/19). As part of the resolution, the council requested that the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) prepare a "thematic study on preventable maternal mortality and morbidity and human rights," in consultation with states, the WHO, UNPF, UNICEF the World Bank and other relevant stakeholders, according to a U.N. Office at Geneva press release (U.N. Office at Geneva release, 6/17). By signing on to the resolution, "governments recognize that the elimination of maternal mortality and morbidity requires the effective promotion and protection of women and girls" human rights, including their rights to life; to be equal in dignity; to education; to be free to seek, receive, and impart information; to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress; to freedom from discrimination; and to enjoy the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, including sexual and reproductive health," according to the Hudson Valley Press Online. Ximena Andion, the international advocacy director at the New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights, said the resolution is a "groundbreaking step towards ensuring every woman"s basic human right to a safe and healthy pregnancy and childbirth." The article includes additional reaction from advocacy groups that promoted the resolution (Hudson Valley Press Online, 6/18). Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, World YWCA general secretary, said in a release that her organization welcomes the request for the study and recommends that the study include a "specific focus on young women and adolescents, as well as the rights of women living with HIV" (World YWCA release, 6/18). This information was reprinted from globalhealth.kff.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at globalhealth.kff.org. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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