March 25, 2010

The Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative applauds Representative Jim McDermott (D-WA) for the planned introduction today of an updated version of the Internet Gambling Regulation and Tax Enforcement Act of 2010, which would ensure that taxes and fees are collected from wagers placed over the Internet in order to raise much-needed revenue for federal and state budgets. The most significant change from earlier versions of the legislation is a provision that allows each State and Tribal Government to be paid six percent of all deposits placed in their jurisdiction with online gambling operators. Full release.

Most Americans -- 59 percent -- believe Congress and the President need to reform our financial system now, according to a national poll commissioned by the Pew Financial Reform Project and conducted by a bipartisan team consisting of The Mellman Group and Ayres, McHenry & Associates. Americans feel reforming the financial sector is a top priority for the nation, even in the face of other pressing issues such as education and immigration reform, the war in Afghanistan and even health care. Full release.

The nation's state and local government employee retirement systems totaled $3.2 trillion in holdings and assets in 2008, a loss of $178.8 billion, according to new data released by the U.S. Census Bureau. These data come from the 2008 State and Local Government Employee Retirement Systems Survey, which provides an annual look at the financial activity of the nation's state and local public employee retirement systems, including cash and security investment holdings, receipts and payments. Full release.

A group of Miami University researchers studying the national Silver Alert program for locating missing adults with dementia or other cognitive impairments question the program's effectiveness and safety, given the speed in which it's being implemented throughout the country. The gerontology group's findings are published in the February issue of The Gerontologist. The Silver Alert program, an expansion of the AMBER (America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response) Alert program, is less than a year old in Ohio and relatively new for most other states in the country, according to the sociology and gerontology researchers. The study looks at the implications of the technology. Full release.

When health care reform was signed into law by President Obama on Tuesday, it signaled the beginning of a new era for nurse-led health care. H.R. 3590 will capitalize on the ability of nurse practitioners to provide high-quality primary and preventive care by defining "nurse-managed health clinic" in the Public Health Service Act and creating a new $50 million grant program to support innovative safety net providers. Nurse-managed health clinics serve as crucial health care access points in areas where primary care physicians are in short supply. These health centers are led by advanced practice nurses (primarily nurse practitioners). Full release.

U.S. Reps. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) yesterday introduced bipartisan legislation that establishes a national taskforce that would develop voluntary guidelines and other measures to promote positive images of girls and women. The bill, the Healthy Media for Youth Act (H.R. 4925), which was developed in collaboration with the Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA), would support media literacy programs, promote research on the effects of media images, and encourage the adoption of voluntary guidelines to promote healthier media images for youth. Full release.

The HealthWell Foundation, a national nonprofit that helps underinsured Americans afford their medical treatments, applauds lawmakers for passing the historic health care reform bill this week. While the bill extends coverage to millions of uninsured people, it does not adequately address the problem of the underinsured, people who have health insurance but not enough coverage to afford the care they need. It may even increase the number of people in this underserved group. Full release.

For the first time, China led the United States and other G-20 members in 2009 clean energy investments and finance, according to data released today by The Pew Charitable Trusts. Last year, China invested $34.6 billion in the clean energy economy -- nearly double the United States' total of $18.6 billion. Over the last five years, the United States also trailed five G-20 members (Turkey, Brazil, China, the United Kingdom, and Italy) in the rate of clean energy investment growth. Full release.

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