President Trump has ordered General Motors to make critical-care ventilators, after weeks of hearing calls to produce more medical equipment to combat the coronavirus. To do so, he invoked a 70-year-old law, the Defense Production Act. The Defense Production Act (DPA) was passed during the Korean War, and has been invoked several times since. Enacted …
Across America people are consumed by dread, and not only by fear that someone they love will contract COVID-19. Yes, contracting the virus is scary. But many wonder when and if the terrible economic catastrophe will end. What will the world look like after the nationwide shutdown? Will their job still be there? Will their …
The worldwide spread of the coronavirus is spurring numerous types of research at government labs, health care industries, universities and elsewhere. Some research points to potentially life-saving vaccines, while others suggest things will get much worse before they get better. Experiments seeking a coronavirus vaccine are taking place, but any widely available vaccine is at …
President Trump on Friday, March 13, declared the coronavirus a national emergency, unleashing an array of federal powers to combat the pandemic. Most governors also have declared local states of emergency. A complex web of laws and guidelines determine when and how a state of emergency is declared, and what it involves. 1. The president’s emergency declaration releases …
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY CONTRIBUTORS ARE THEIR OWN AND NOT THE VIEW OF THE HILL For the last several years, people who watch Washington closely started to think the unthinkable. Is American democracy fundamentally broken? Those with decades of experience in national politics know shepherding a good idea into law was never easy. But the …
It shouldn’t take a crisis to get Washington to work Read More »
The coronavirus that causes COVID-19 has killed more than 3,000 people globally and rattled world economies. This has heightened interest in how new contagious diseases spread, affect various populations, and eventually come under control. Here are five facts about global diseases. 1. Pandemics have been around for centuries. The plague, or Black Death, killed millions in …
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY CONTRIBUTORS ARE THEIR OWN AND NOT THE VIEW OF THE HILL As the coronavirus spreads, colleges close and stock markets gyrate, it’s easy to overlook something good that’s happening in Washington: a steady advance of results-oriented bipartisanship. The main vehicle for this progress is the House Problem Solvers Caucus. Its 25 …
Believe it or not, something good is happening in Washington Read More »
Chicagoans are undoubtedly sick of Washington’s dithering. The cycle of partisan retribution reflected on cable news shows and social media has driven faith in government to depressingly low levels. But in too many cases, rather than adding pressure for Republicans and Democrats to work together for the public interest, frustration turns to partisan rage. The …
The images have not been good lately for those of us who want our elected officials to take a common-sense, results-oriented approach to governing. The bitter presidential impeachment battle ended with a career military officer being marched from his White House post by security guards. At the State of the Union address, President Donald Trump …
Silly disputes are blocking progress in America — but No Labels tears down the walls Read More »
