Weekly Round Up: June 22 - 26, 2009

Health Care

The Two Trillion Dollar Solution

As the health care debate in Congress continues to heat up, CAP stayed in the conversation with two reports. Melinda Beeuwkes Buntin and David Culter presented a three-pronged strategy for modernizing the health care system in “The Two Trillion Dollar Solution,” while Judy Feder and Ellen-Marie Whelan argued for a shift from a volume to value-based reimbursement system in “Payment Reform to Improve Healthcare.”

And David Balto released a report on anticompetitive conduct by pharmaceutical companies at a complementary event featuring Federal Trade Commission Chairman John Leibowitz on “pay to delay settlements” between generic and brand-name drug companies.

Energy and the Environment

Getting What We Need with the American Clean Energy and Security Act

“We’d better try to get what we need,” wrote John Podesta this week, who argued that the American Clean Energy and Security Act represents a crucial opportunity to adopt meaningful clean-energy and global warming policies. Glenn Hurowitz also wrote about how the tropical forest provisions in the legislation are essential to reverse or end deforestation.

Tom Kenworthy explained the debate surrounding hydraulic fracturing in natural gas drilling, and Amanda Logan and Christian E. Weller examined the effect on consumers and businesses from energy price swings. This week’s Easy Being Green showed how home energy monitors help you see your savings.

National Security

A Roadmap for Repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”

The military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy has resulted in the discharge of more than 13,000 patriotic and highly qualified men and women since its enactment more than 16 years ago. Lawrence J. Korb, Sean Duggan, and Laura Conley offered a roadmap for repealing it that includes congressional and executive actions.

Colombia’s Minister of Foreign Relations Jaime Bermúdez sat down with Stephanie Miller to discuss Colombia’s role in the Western Hemisphere and its partnership with the United States, and Andy Grotto and Michelle Hammer surveyed the cooperation between the United States and Pakistan on making sure Pakistan’s nuclear weapons don’t fall into the wrong hands.

CAP also released a slideshow of photos by Brian Katulis from Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Ramallah that capture the difficult and changing landscape of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.

Domestic

Improving Teacher Evaluations

Teacher evaluations need an overhaul, according to a report by Morgaen L. Donaldson. She explored how best to implement teacher evaluation systems that will increase teacher collaboration and raise student achievement. Comprehensive, effective teacher evaluation systems are also central to improving teacher tenure, argued Joan Baratz-Snowden in another report.

Postsecondary education was also a focus as Louis Soares released a report on how we can educate our entire workforce.

And immigration reform was on President Barack Obama’s agenda this week as he met with lawmakers on Thursday. Marshall Fitz stressed what needs to happen on immigration reform in a column and video while Fitz, Angela Kelley, and Vanessa Cárdenas provided guidelines on fixing the immigration system.