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CSPC Launches SNAPtoHealth Website to Spur Innovative Nutrition Discussion

CSPC LAUNCHES SNAPtoHealth WEBSITE TO SPUR INNOVATIVE NUTRITION DISCUSSION

Open online platform to identify strategies for putting nutrition at forefront of federal food stamp program

WASHINGTON, DC—Today, the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress (CSPC), in collaboration with the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), launched www.SNAPtoHealth.org—an interactive website for public discourse on strategies to promote health and prevent obesity in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamps Program. SNAP provides food assistance to over 45 million Americans—a 38% increase since 2008. The site also serves as an online hub for health and nutrition information.

The SNAP to Health website will provide a forum for dialogue and debate among a diverse range of stakeholders, including SNAP participants, academics, state and federal program administrators, advocacy groups, retailers, food industry representatives and the general population. With 1 out of 7 Americans enrolled in SNAP and two-thirds of Americans overweight, it is critical that SNAP benefits be used to purchase healthy foods, rather than products that may contribute to the obesity epidemic in the United States. Furthermore, children have experienced a three-fold increase in obesity since 1980 and they represent 50% of food stamp participants.

“With millions of people experiencing both food insecurity and obesity in America, innovative strategies are needed to promote healthy nutrition for its beneficiaries and reduce overweight in the years ahead,” said project director Susan Blumenthal M.D., Director of CSPC’s Health and Medicine Program and former U.S. Assistant Surgeon General. “Strengthening SNAP is a critical ingredient in meeting 21st-century public health challenges and nutrition needs.”

“SNAP is a vital safety net for millions of families on the edge of hunger, but in its current form fuels the epidemics of obesity and diabetes that are overwhelming America,” said Walter Willett M.D., Dr.P.H., professor of epidemiology and nutrition at HSPH. “Participants, and our country, deserve a program that promotes both food security and health.”

The website is part of an innovative initiative funded by the Aetna Foundation, a national foundation based in Hartford, Connecticut that supports projects to promote wellness, health, and access to high quality care for everyone. The interdisciplinary team for this project includes experts in federal and state health policy, nutritional epidemiology, agricultural economics, and health communications, who are undertaking the following  activities: 1) producing a comprehensive scientific literature review on SNAP; 2) conducting the first statistical analysis of NHANES data to determine the current effects of SNAP on the nutrition and obesity rates of its young beneficiaries, ages 4-19 years old; 3) undertaking key informant interviews with experts and stakeholders on SNAP; 4) designing and implementing a survey of 500 stakeholder organizations to identify barriers and opportunities for improving nutrition for SNAP beneficiaries; 5) convening a Capitol Hill Briefing on SNAP; and producing a report of recommendations; and 6) building the SNAPtoHealth.org website.

 

The Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress is a non-profit, non-partisan 501(c)3 organization that seeks to further the understanding and functioning of the American Presidency and its related institutions and, thereby, to educate, illuminate, and inspire leaders of tomorrow. More information about the organization can be found at www.thePresidency.org. The views presented on the SNAPtoHealth website are not necessarily those of CSPC, the Aetna Foundation, its directors, officers or staff.

 

CSPC President David Abshire Appears on C-SPAN to Discuss Executive Orders

On November 17, 2011 CSPC President Dr. David Abshire appeared on C-SPAN's Washington Journal where he described the history of Executive Orders.

 

CSPC President David Abshire Addresses NDU About the Role of the Presidency and American Grand Strategy

CSPC President Dr. David Abshire spoke on the role of the Presidency at the National Defense University's National Security Symposium entitled "Forging an American Grand Strategy: Securing a Path Through a Complex Future."

To read his address, please click here.

 

 

CSPC, in Collaboration with the Italian Embassy in Washington, is Convening “Global Obesity: Scientific, Lifestyle and Policy Approaches” Conference

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(http://www.ambwashingtondc.esteri.it/)

The Embassy of Italy in Washington, in collaboration with the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, is convening the conference, “Global Obesity: Scientific, Lifestyle and Policy Approaches”which will be held at the Embassy in Washington, D.C. on October 25, 2011. The Conference will address the epidemic using a “Health in All Policies” approach that mobilizes all sectors of society, including health, transportation, agriculture, finance, the military, the media and private industry.

For more information about the event, please click here.

 

CSPC President David Abshire Speaks on Heroic Leadership as Part of Phi Beta Kappa's Lecture Series

On October 13, 2011, CSPC President Dr. David M. Abshire spoke on the importance of heroic leadership in American History as part of the Phi Beta Kappa lecture series. The lecture was held at George Washington University.

 

 

CSPC's Financial Contingencies Issue Team Update

imagesIn an off the record session on Capitol Hill, CSPC gathered more than a dozen financial services industry groups, firm representatives, and other economic experts together with six key members of the House Financial Services and Ways and Means committees to discuss financial regulation and the economic crises occurring at both ends of the Atlantic. This session is the first of a series that will examine this subject and how regulatory policy can contribute to the broader effort to create jobs and get the economy moving again.

For more information please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , Director of Programs.

 

CSPC Health and Medicine Program to Host Personalized Medicine Briefing

The sequencing of the Human Genome in 2003 has ushered in a new era of personalized medicine in which health care providers are using diagnostic tests to tailor preventive and therapeutic interventions to an individual’s unique molecular profile. Personalized medicine is already transforming the field of oncology where, for example, tests are predicting the chance of cancer recurrence and determining a particular individual’s likelihood to respond to specific chemotherapies. By helping to target expensive treatments that have significant side effects such as chemotherapy to those specific patients who will actually benefit from them, personalized medicine can promote value in the health system by improving patient outcomes as well as lowering healthcare costs.

However, policymakers must address a wide variety of challenges before personalized medicine can be widely put into practice. The briefing will feature a diverse panel of experts who will discuss regulatory and reimbursement issues surrounding the use of molecular diagnostics as well as some of the ethical dilemmas facing genomic testing. Significant opportunities for advancing personalized medicine to benefit patients will also be addressed. Panelists will include NIH experts, FDA health officials, academic researchers, and industry leaders. A cancer advocate and survivor will share the impact of personalized medicine on her care and treatment. This Capitol Hill Briefing will also provide a roadmap for the actions needed to move scientific breakthroughs of the 21st century from the lab bench to fully benefit patients in America and worldwide.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011
12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Room B-340
Rayburn House Office Building
45 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington D.C., 20219

To download the flyer with more information, please click here.

To RSVP for the briefing, contact Elena Hoffnagle, at 202-872-9801 ext 233 or email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

 

CSPC's STEM Education Issue Team Update

STEM_Meeting_3On Wednesday, July 27, the CSPC STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Education Issue Team held its third meeting in the historic Senate Russell Caucus room on Capitol Hill in Washington.  With comments made by Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Representative Jim Langevin (D-RI), along with valuable input from senior Capitol Hill staff from both sides of the aisle, the team discussed ways to spotlight the need for a greater emphasis on STEM Education, framing it as a competitivness, national and economic security issue.  For a full team list, please click here.  For more information, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , Director of Programs.

 

Comparison of the President's and Ryan's Budget, Deficit Reduction Plans

Click here to look at CSPC's comparison of the President's and Paul Ryan's budget and deficit reduction plans.
 

CSPC Applauds Congressional "Profiles in Courage" for Their Work Towards Getting our Fiscal House in Order

CSPC has issued a statement of support for Congressional "profiles in courage" who have taken on meaningful fiscal reform.

To read the statement, please click here .

 

CSPC's Ambassador Volker Testifies on Northern Ireland, Bosnia before Congress

On September 16, 2010, CSPC's new Executive Vice President, Ambassador Kurt Volker, testified before the Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight about human rights, peace, and reconciliation in Northern Ireland and Bosnia. He discussed the lessons that we can learn from Northern Ireland and how the international community can best assist Bosnia as it strives for peace and stability.

To download the written testimony, click here.

 
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