On February 4, 2009, Congress sent final legislation to President Obama who signed into law reauthorization of the State Childrens Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

This important victory fully funds SCHIP through fiscal year 2013, will cover an additional 4.1 million uninsured children, is financed through an increase in the federal tobacco tax to $1, and allows states to use SCHIP funds to cover legal immigrant children and pregnant women.

This was a hard fought victory for families and it is important that the President and Congressional leadership hear that communities support SCHIP and are grateful for its reauthorization. Learn more »

Congress passed and the President signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Included in the stimulus package are crucial elements for inclusion of Hispanic communities in health information technology and comparative effectiveness research.

The Health Information Technology title includes requirements to include data on ethnicity and primary langauge ensuring expanded information on Hispanic health experiences. The title also includes funding for inclusion of non-profit and safety net providers in health technology.

The Comparative Effectiveness Research title includes language to ensure that subpopulations are included in both research and funding. It also includes language recognizing that one-size-fits-all is not the best approach to health care.

These were hard fought victories. It is important that the President and Congress hear that science is best served by reflecting diversity in research. Learn more »

California and thirteen other states (AZ, CT, ME, MD, MA, NJ, NY, NM, OR, PA, RI, VT, WA) and the District of Columbia have requested waivers from EPA to set car emission standards that are more stringent than current federal standards.

On January 26, 2009, the White House issued a Presidential Memorandum to EPA directing the agency to review its denial of a waiver to to enact more stringent car emission standards to protect public health.

EPA needs to hear from the public that they support state waivers for more stringent car emission standards that would reduce incidence of respiratory illness, heart attack, cancer and other health issues related to air pollution. Learn more »

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed a ban of Carbofuran on both domestic and imported food. Carbofuran is one of the most toxic insecticides still in wide use and poisons our food supply and our drinking water. About 1 million pounds of Carbofuran are used in the U.S. each year and it's even more widely used outside of the U.S. Learn more »

The EPA has adopted standards for smog-forming ozone of 75 parts per billion per unit of air. This despite the fact that the agency's own Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee was "unanimous in recommending" a level of 60 to 70 parts per billion. Learn more »