Deceptive advertising and marketing

Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008

hmoroz — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 15:56:11 -0400

Legislation

The middle class

Supports

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Percentage of dependent Pell Grant recipients whose family income is less than $20,000: 40

Percentage of tuition and fees (including room and board) at public four-year colleges that was covered by the maximum Pell Grant in the 1986-1987 school year: 52

Percentage of tuition and fees (including room and board) at public four-year colleges that was covered by the maximum Pell Grant in the 2006-2007 school year: 32

Amount that the average college student pays for textbooks each year: $900

Average number of hours that the Brookings Institution estimates an applicant needs to complete the FAFSA: 10

Number of hours a year spent filling out financial aid forms: 100 million

Equivalent in full-time jobs: 55,000

Number of students who have not received financial aid due to drug convictions since the provision went into effect in 2000: 200,000

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Middle Class Supports. Although a college education is increasingly a prerequisite for a middle-class standard of living, current and aspiring middle-class students and their families are struggling more than ever to afford college. Indeed, in recent years the maximum Pell Grant, designed to provide financially strapped students with an opportunity to attend college, has failed to keep pace with rising higher education costs. 2007’s College Cost Reduction and Access Act, which increased the maximum Pell Grant and limited federal subsidies to student lenders in order to increase college financial aid by $20 billion, was a necessary first step in making college more affordable. The Higher Education Opportunity Act’s additional increase of the maximum Pell grant will make college accessible to more aspiring middle-class Americans. Additionally, the expansion of the Pell Grant program to include year-round education supports the hardest-working students struggling to complete their educations quickly. Continued commitment to the TRIO and GEAR UP programs is critical to ensuring that first generation and at-risk students are able to obtain a college education and achieve a middle-class standard of living.

Skyrocketing tuition costs and large and confusing debt obligations can make college unaffordable and financial stability after college difficult. Indeed, the College Board reports that average tuition and fees at four-year public institutions have increased 51% over the last five years and that private undergraduate loans have grown from 3% to 12% of the funds used to finance postsecondary education since the 1996-1997 school year . The Higher Education Opportunity Act improves a student loan system that has been characterized by favoritism and murky lending practices. The Act will help put an end to the most egregious conflicts of interest and will expand and simplify the information that is available to students and their families when deciding what colleges to attend and what loans to take out. Ending such conflicts of interest will ensure that students receive the most affordable loans, not loans that are the favorites of an unethical financial aid officer. A simplified application form for federal student aid will ensure that students are not dissuaded from seeking financial assistance for higher education because of complex paperwork. Stricter reporting requirements for institutions that that fail to rein in tuition hikes are a positive step in influencing institutions of higher education to make college more affordable. Efforts to reduce the cost of textbooks will also be helpful to students struggling with high costs.

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

Higher Education Project, from U.S. Public Interest Research Group

Window of Opportunity: Targeting Federal Grant Aid to Students with the Lowest Incomes, from the Institute for Higher Education Policy

Trends in College Pricing 2007, from the College Board

Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008

hmoroz — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 15:56:11 -0400

Legislation

The middle class

Supports

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Percentage of dependent Pell Grant recipients whose family income is less than $20,000: 40

Percentage of tuition and fees (including room and board) at public four-year colleges that was covered by the maximum Pell Grant in the 1986-1987 school year: 52

Percentage of tuition and fees (including room and board) at public four-year colleges that was covered by the maximum Pell Grant in the 2006-2007 school year: 32

Amount that the average college student pays for textbooks each year: $900

Average number of hours that the Brookings Institution estimates an applicant needs to complete the FAFSA: 10

Number of hours a year spent filling out financial aid forms: 100 million

Equivalent in full-time jobs: 55,000

Number of students who have not received financial aid due to drug convictions since the provision went into effect in 2000: 200,000

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

Higher Education Project, from U.S. Public Interest Research Group

Window of Opportunity: Targeting Federal Grant Aid to Students with the Lowest Incomes, from the Institute for Higher Education Policy

Trends in College Pricing 2007, from the College Board

FDA Amendments Act of 2007

atraub — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 15:29:15 -0500

Legislation

The middle class

Supports

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Number of letters sent by the FDA to pharmaceutical manufacturers warning them that they had violated regulations for prescription-drug advertising in 1997: 142

Number of letters sent in 2006: 21

Percentage of the warning letters regarding direct-to-consumer advertisements between 1997 and 2006 that admonished drug companies for minimizing drug risk or exaggerating drug effectiveness: 84

Pounds of imported foods the average American eats in a year: 260

Percentage of food imports currently inspected by the FDA: 1

Estimated number of Americans who become sick each year due to food-borne illness: 76 million

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

The Middle Class Supports. Middle-class Americans depend on over-the-counter and prescription drugs for everything from relieving aches and pains to sustaining life. Because these medications are so important, and because every drug has risks associated with it, the power this legislation provides the FDA to more closely regulate the pharmaceutical industry is vital. Middle-class Americans, inundated with advertisements extolling the benefits of innumerable and at times indistinguishable medications, need the FDA to ensure that the drugs they rely upon are safe and appropriate for the individuals to whom they are marketed.

For more than five years, 20 million Americans took the arthritis pain medication Vioxx before studies demonstrating an increased risk of heart attacks associated with the drug forced Merck to withdraw it. The new authority that this legislation grants the FDA to demand post-approval studies of medications is a regulatory tool that could have exposed the risks associated with Vioxx much sooner, saving many Americans from heart attack and death. Fines to punish false advertisements will do much to ensure that Americans are not misled about the purposes, risks, and benefits of the medications they are taking. Finally, the concealment and obfuscation of safety information that puts consumers at risk of taking dangerous drugs – a charge that Merck has faced in the products liability litigation involving Vioxx – will be made difficult by the FDAAA’s expansion of public access to safety data. A public database of clinical trial data with mandatory disclosure requirements will allow consumer advocacy groups, concerned academics, and products liability litigators, along with jealous industry competitors, to expose misinformation, ultimately protecting middle-class consumers.

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

“Drug Safety: FDA Needs to Further Address Shortcomings in Its Postmarket Decision-making Process,” from the GAO

“Prescription Drugs: Improvements Needed in FDA’s Oversight of Direct-to-Consumer Advertising,” from the GAO

“The Future of Drug Safety: Action Steps for Congress,” from the Institute of Medicine

FDA Amendments Act of 2007

atraub — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 15:29:15 -0500

Legislation

The middle class

Supports

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Number of letters sent by the FDA to pharmaceutical manufacturers warning them that they had violated regulations for prescription-drug advertising in 1997: 142

Number of letters sent in 2006: 21

Percentage of the warning letters regarding direct-to-consumer advertisements between 1997 and 2006 that admonished drug companies for minimizing drug risk or exaggerating drug effectiveness: 84

Pounds of imported foods the average American eats in a year: 260

Percentage of food imports currently inspected by the FDA: 1

Estimated number of Americans who become sick each year due to food-borne illness: 76 million

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

“Drug Safety: FDA Needs to Further Address Shortcomings in Its Postmarket Decision-making Process,” from the GAO

“Prescription Drugs: Improvements Needed in FDA’s Oversight of Direct-to-Consumer Advertising,” from the GAO

“The Future of Drug Safety: Action Steps for Congress,” from the Institute of Medicine

Deceptive advertising and marketing

Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Related Blog: Header

Quotes from Experts

Related Blog: Text

Beyond this Bill

Related Blog: Link

Additional Resources

Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Related Blog: Header

Quotes from Experts

Related Blog: Text

Beyond this Bill

Related Blog: Link

Additional Resources

FDA Amendments Act of 2007

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Related Blog: Header

Quotes from Experts

Related Blog: Text

Beyond this Bill

Related Blog: Link

Additional Resources

FDA Amendments Act of 2007

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Related Blog: Header

Quotes from Experts

Related Blog: Text

Beyond this Bill

Related Blog: Link

Additional Resources