Press Releases
Press Releases
| Date | Press Releases | Topic |
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| Feb 26, 2009 |
The Administration’s budget outline, released today, includes the Automatic IRA proposal developed by the Retirement Security Project. |
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| Dec 12, 2008 |
Pew Joins Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, California Mayors to Launch “Bank On” Initiative At an event today in California, The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Safe Banking Opportunities Project joined Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, California mayors and banking officials in announcing a new statewide program to bring more of the state’s residents into the financial mainstream. The state’s “Bank On” initiative aims to connect the “unbanked”—households without bank accounts—to appropriate, more affordable accounts that help lower their financial transaction costs and put them on the path to building savings and assets. |
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| Nov 12, 2008 |
Survey Finds Wide Public Support for Nationwide Study of Genes, Environment and Lifestyle Four in five Americans support the idea of a nationwide study to investigate the interactions of genes, environment and lifestyle, and three in five say they would be willing to take part in such a study, according to a survey released today. |
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| Oct 29, 2008 |
In the midst of a campaign with opposing views on most aspects of domestic policy, the presidential candidates have now both endorsed the Automatic IRA. |
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| Sep 2, 2008 |
Statement on Passage of the 'Green Chemistry' Package by the California Legislature Andy Igrejas, manager of The Pew Charitable Trusts' Environmental Health Campaign, today issued the following statement in response to the "Green Chemistry" package passed by the California legislature. |
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| Jul 29, 2008 |
Pew Statement on the Consumer Product Safety Commission Reform Act Andy Igrejas, manager of The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Environmental Health campaign, today issued the following statement in response to the ban on phthalates in children’s toys and childcare articles that was included in the conference agreement on the Consumer Product Safety Commission Reform Act. |
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| Jul 9, 2008 |
The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Safe Banking Opportunities Project is supporting a rapidly growing group of state and city governments that are launching campaigns to bring more Americans into the financial mainstream. |
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| May 21, 2008 |
President Bush Signs Long-Awaited Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act President Bush today signed into law the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA), providing vital protection for Americans against the misuse of genetic test results by heath insurers and employers. |
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| May 20, 2008 |
Pew Endorsement of the Kid-Safe Chemicals Act The Kid-Safe Chemicals Act reforms TSCA to address these problems by requiring a minimum set of health data for all chemicals and requiring that they meet a children’s health standard or be removed from the market. |
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| May 20, 2008 |
New Legislation Would Protect Children from Toxic Chemicals Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and Representatives Hilda Solis (D-Calif.) and Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), today introduced a comprehensive overhaul of federal chemical rules called the “Kid-Safe Chemicals Act.” |
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| May 7, 2008 |
Pew to Promote Fair Bank Account Standards The Pew Charitable Trusts announced a new project today, aimed at helping America’s workers underserved by mainstream financial institutions secure access to safe, affordable, fair, and empowering bank accounts. |
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| Apr 16, 2008 |
1 in 33 Homeowners Projected to be in Foreclosure Within the Next Two Years One in 33 homeowners is projected to be in foreclosure primarily over the next two years, as a result of subprime loans made in 2005 and 2006, according to a new report released today by The Pew Charitable Trusts. |
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| Apr 3, 2008 |
Marketing of Unproven Genetic Tests a Threat to Public Health No mechanism currently exists to ensure that genetic tests are supported by adequate evidence before they go to market, or that marketing claims are truthful and not misleading, according to a policy analysis to be published April 4 in Science. Misleading claims about genetic tests may lead health-care providers and patients to make inappropriate decisions about which tests to take and how to use genetic tests that have potential for profound medical consequences, the authors argue. |
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| Oct 17, 2007 |
Report Finds Major Gaps Exist in U.S. Pediatric Pandemic Preparations The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) issued a new report today, Pandemic Influenza: Warning, Children At-Risk, which finds that children and teens between the ages of 0-19 account for nearly 46 percent of all H5N1 “bird” flu cases and deaths. The report also identifies gaps in U.S. preparedness for treating and caring for children during a possible pandemic flu outbreak. Four key areas of concern raised in the report include: child-appropriate doses of vaccine and medications; management and treatment of children who become ill; including children in strategies to slow the spread of influenza in communities; and caring for and supervising the health of children if schools and childcare facilities are closed for extended periods of time. |
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| Sep 24, 2007 |
Peer-Reviewed, Online Database Showcases Pandemic Plans Public health planners have a new tool to help them prepare for one of the most daunting public health emergencies: an influenza pandemic. PandemicPractices.org, launched today by the Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy (CIDRAP) at the University of Minnesota and the Pew Center on the States (PCS), a division of The Pew Charitable Trusts, brings together more than 130 peer-reviewed promising practices from four countries, 22 states and 33 counties. Compiled as a resource to save communities and states time and resources, the database enables public health professionals to learn from each other and to build on their own pandemic plans. |
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| Aug 30, 2007 |
In a decision that places cost concerns above public health, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has rejected a petition filed by a coalition of health and consumer groups calling for the agency to strengthen standards for genetic testing laboratories. Citing cost concerns, the agency told petitioners in a recent letter that it would not pursue the safety standards. |
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| Jun 26, 2007 |
Pew Announces New Investment to Prevent Irresponsible Subprime Mortgage Practices The Pew Charitable Trusts announced a new effort today to protect American families from dangerous “exploding” subprime mortgages linked to the current record number of home foreclosures. |
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| Apr 25, 2007 |
While Americans are generally very supportive of the use of genetic information to improve their own health and the health of their families, 92 percent are wary that this same information could be used in ways that harm them, according to a public opinion survey by the Genetics and Public Policy Center conducted in late February and early March of this year. |
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| Dec 12, 2006 |
Report Finds U.S. Bioterror, Bird Flu, and Health Disaster Preparedness Inadequate Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) today released the fourth annual Ready or Not? Protecting the Public’s Health from Disease, Disasters, and Bioterrorism report, which found that five years after the September 11th and anthrax tragedies, emergency health preparedness is still inadequate in America. The Ready or Not? report contains state-by-state health preparedness scores based on 10 key indicators to assess health emergency preparedness capabilities. All 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia were evaluated. Half of states scored six or less on the scale of 10 indicators. Oklahoma scored the highest with 10 out of 10; California, Iowa, Maryland, and New Jersey scored the lowest with four out of 10. States with stronger surge capacity capabilities and immunization programs scored higher in this year’s report, since four of the measures focus on these areas.
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| Oct 16, 2006 |
New Initiative Will Help State and Local Health Agencies Prepare for Pandemic Flu State and local health departments will soon get additional help preparing for a potential pandemic influenza through a partnership announced today between The Pew Charitable Trusts and the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) at the University of Minnesota.The project, a complement to the Trusts’ Pandemic Preparedness Initiative launched earlier this year, will identify the most problematic issues state and local agencies may confront in a pandemic, and then, by summer of 2007, collect and widely disseminate innovations and options for addressing them. |
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| Sep 27, 2006 |
Lax Oversight of Genetic Tests Better oversight of genetic testing laboratories by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is “critical to ensuring the quality of genetic testing in the United States,” and failure to provide it “poses a risk to the public’s health,” according to a Petition for Rulemaking submitted today to CMS Administrator Mark McClellan by the Genetics and Public Policy Center, Public Citizen, and Genetic Alliance. |
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| Aug 8, 2006 |
Improvement Needed in Genetic Testing Oversight In recent months many health-related organizations have joined in calling on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to end years of delay in assuring the safety and accuracy of genetic testing. In separate letters to CMS Administrator Mark McClellan, members of Genetic Alliance and a coalition of women’s health groups urged the agency to issue a proposed rule to create a genetic testing specialty under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) of 1988. |
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| Aug 4, 2006 |
New Bill Could Jumpstart The Setting of Sound Genetic Public Policy Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) introduced legislation to improve development and appropriate use of genetic tests in the United States, the Genetics and Public Policy Center has learned. "The Obama bill accelerates advances in the beneficial applications of genetic technologies to human health, while ensuring appropriate safeguards for the quality of genetic testing," says Center Director Kathy Hudson. |
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| Jul 27, 2006 |
Oversight Gaps for Genetic Testing Pose Risks to Public Health At the invitation of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, Genetics and Public Policy Center Director Kathy Hudson testified on Thursday, July 27 as part of the hearing "At Home DNA Tests: Marketing Scam or Medical Breakthrough?" Hudson made the case that poor oversight of genetic testing has led to a situation in which "there is no way for a consumer to distinguish between the dubious and the decent" genetic tests and the laboratories that perform them. |
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| Dec 12, 2005 |
The Pew Charitable Trusts Supports U.S. Pandemic Planning Project In response to the threat that avian flu could transition into a human pandemic, The Pew Charitable Trusts announced today a $1.5 million investment to ensure that key decision makers at the federal, state and local levels are responsibly developing and executing plans to protect Americans from this or other widespread public health threats. |
