CDC: Mandated Nutrition Labels on Restaurant Menus Do Not Improve Nutritional Content

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Thursday published the results of a study on the effects of nutrition labeling on fast-food menus from 2005 to 2011.  Researchers were interested in impact of locally instituted regulations by various states and municipalities, including New York City, on the overall "healthfulness" of menu offerings.  The report concluded that mandated menu labeling at fast food chains did not improve nutritional content.  While there was a 50% increase in “healthier” options (from 13% to 20% of all menu selections), overall menu nutrition was unchanged.  From the report [emphasis added]:

These findings suggest that menu labeling has thus far not affected the average nutritional content of fast-food menu items, but it may motivate restaurants to increase the availability of healthier options...

We found that after the implementation of menu labeling there was a statistically significant increase in the percentage of healthier adult entrées at restaurants in jurisdictions with menu-labeling laws compared with restaurants that were not in jurisdictions subject to labeling. Little improvement, however, was seen among children’s entrées during this period, and no significant changes in average nutritional values were seen among adult entrées and sides. 

        In some of the five chains studied, some menu selections even moved in a decidedly unhealthy direction, thus negating the impact of the increased number of "healthy" choices:

...2 of 5 showed no improvement and even launched new options, such as bacon cheeseburgers, that increased average calories by almost 20% and cholesterol by almost 140%.

    Despite the disappointing results, however, the researchers suggest that, in addition to further study, the response to these findings should be more government regulations and increased government and media pressure:

Our results suggest menu labeling may provide fast-food restaurants with motivation to introduce healthier menu options; however, greater pressure may be necessary to generate overall average nutritional improvements... 

Additional public policies and media advocacy campaigns may be needed to spur broader changes in restaurant offerings so that healthier restaurant choices become the default choice for consumers... In addition, policy makers could consider minimum nutritional standards for meals targeted to children, as have been implemented in a few local jurisdictions... Simultaneous strategies should be considered to encourage chain restaurant companies to significantly improve the nutritional quality of the foods they sell, with portion-size reduction a key focus.

    Researchers were particularly concerned with the lack of healthy selections for children, since when using the stricter "nutritional criteria to define healthier options," only one of the nine fast food chains in the study even had any qualifying items.


Note: A version of this story first appeared at The Weekly Standard.

HHS on Health Insurers' Costs: "Expenses Like Profits and Red Tape"

    The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) put out a press release today promoting the savings to consumers from ObamaCare in 2012.  The department claims that the average consumer receiving a refund will get about $100 as a result of rules on how insurers must spend premium dollars. The press release contains the following curious characterization of ineligible expenses health insurers might incur:

Created through the Affordable Care Act, the rule requires insurers to spend at least 80 cents of every premium dollar on patient care and quality improvement.  If they spend a higher amount on other expenses like profits and red tape, they owe rebates back to consumers. 

    Of course, profits are not expenses, but what remains after expenses have been deducted.  "Red tape" is generally a euphemism for bureaucracy or government regulation.

    The 2011 average cost of a family policy was about $15,000, so the $100 rebates amount to a savings of about two-thirds of one percent.


Note: This article first appeared at The Weekly Standard.

FDA Seeks "Data Mining and Targeting Software"

    The Food and Drug Administration's Office of Criminal Investigations is soliciting bids for "Data Mining and Targeting Software" to help in its efforts to combat illegal trafficking in cigarettes and other tobacco products.  The announcement appeared Monday on the federal government's fbo.gov contracting website:

The Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations (OCI) was established in March 1992 by the Commissioner, with the urging of Congress, in response to concerns of increased criminal violations of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) and related acts. The mission of the OCI is to investigate suspected criminal violations of the FDCA; the Federal Anti-Tampering Act (FATA); and other statutes including applicable Title 18 violations; and to collect evidence to support successful prosecutive actions through the federal or state court systems, as appropriate. 

The FDA/OCI requires a data mining and targeting system for use in law enforcement operations to further ongoing efforts to counter the widespread illicit trafficking of FDA-regulated tobacco products throughout the United States. These products include misbranded, adulterated and counterfeit cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products. The data mining and targeting systems will have proprietary data analysis and extraction software that is utilized in the law enforcement community with user-defined data sets available and only accessible to law enforcement. The software allows users to search one, some, or all of the data sets at once, sort and analyze the data, and spin off new searches.

    The documents go on to say that the data will come from commercial sources and/or US Customs and Border Protection, and that initially the "system will be stand-alone but must be capable of being networked at a later date."


Note: This article first appeared at The Weekly Standard.

WH on American Soldier Kidnapped By Taliban: He's 'Been Away from Us for Four Years'

    On Tuesday, National Security Council Spokesperson Caitlin Hayden moderated a conference call with two unnamed senior administration officials to provide background for reporters on today's transition in Afghanistan handing over the lead on security in the country to the Afghan National Security Forces.  One reporter inquired about how the recently reported peace talks with the Taliban came about, and what conditions were met or will need to be met in order for those talk to move ahead. While following up, the reporter asked about Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, the only U.S. soldier held captive by the Taliban.  In the course of answering the question, one of the unnamed administration officials characterized Bergdahl's time in Taliban captivity as having been "away from us for four years":

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  I would just add to that, as my colleague mentioned earlier, that we obviously have an interest in the safe return of Sergeant Bergdahl who’s been [now] away from us for four years. 

    Sergeant Bergdahl has been held by the Taliban since 2009 and has been the subject of prisoner exchange negotiations that so far have not borne fruit.  Over the years, the Taliban have released at least five videos of Bergdahl and have demanded $1 million ransom in exchange for his freedom.


Note: This article first appeared at The Weekly Standard.

House to Consider Tax on New Flu Vaccines [Update: Bill Passed House and Senate]

    The House of Representatives is scheduled Tuesday to consider a bipartisan bill to add new seasonal flu vaccines to the IRS definition of taxable vaccines.  The Senate has already reached an agreement to vote on its version of the bill without further debate if the House passes an identical version.  If passed into law, all new seasonal flu vaccines would become subject to the 75¢ per dose vaccine tax, and also become eligible to be included in the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP).  A summary of the bill provided by the House Republican Conference explains:

The VICP is a federal program designed as a no-fault alternative to traditional tort law for resolving vaccine injury claims arising from covered vaccines.  The program is funded through a 75¢ excise tax on each dose of specified vaccines.  However, current law only covers “trivalent” (three-strain) vaccines against influenza.  Recently, many manufacturers have begun producing more effective “quadrivalent” (four-strain) vaccines, but have held off on bringing the vaccines to market until the statute is updated.  H.R. 475 amends the statute to cover all seasonal influenza vaccines under the VICP, ensuring that new, more effective vaccines are made available to the greater public.

    The balance in the VICP fund as of November 2012 was more than $3.5 billion. The fund has paid out only $2.5 billion since it was established in 1988 for cases involving all vaccines. At that rate, the balance in the fund could last another 25 years with no new revenue.  However, in response to initial reports on the legislation in April, Julia Lawless, the press secretary of U.S. Senate Finance Committee issued the following statement:

First off, the Joint Committee on Taxation is clear this bill is not a tax increase.  Secondly, the legislation is about ensuring vaccine manufacturers produce vaccines for the next flu season – not past flu seasons.  Thirdly, the threat of litigation has been so severe against these manufacturers that this compensation fund had to be created or they would not have produced these vaccines.  That threat of litigation still exists and so does the need for vaccines.  We need to be careful how that fund is financed, because having it run a deficit could be dangerous when our goal is to ensure the production of safe vaccines.

     A representative of the Biotech Industry Organization emailed The Weekly Standard to weigh in as well, and largely echoed the response of Ms. Lawless, concluding with:

This is an extremely important public health matter. 

The issue before Congress is whether the newest seasonal influenza vaccine will be covered by the VICP in time for the 2013-14 flu season. 

The other issue raised by the article about the balance in the fund is an entirely separate matter that would require in-depth analysis by experts in the field[.]

     The documentation accompanying the proposed legislation does not indicate whether or not any such analysis of the fund has been conducted.  The tax on flu vaccines raises about $100 million each year.  The "trust fund" is invested in Treasury Bills, helping to finance the national debt.



UPDATE: The bill passes the House, the Hill reports:

The House on Tuesday afternoon approved legislation meant to ensure an ample supply of the latest flu vaccine is available by the next flu season.
By voice vote, members approved H.R. 475, which would include a flu vaccine that attacks a new strain of flu on a list of taxable vaccines.

UPDATE 2: The Senate has also passed the bill, the Hill also reports.  The legislation now heads to the White House for the president's signature.



Note: This article first appeared at The Weekly Standard.

Not 'Decimated': FBI Director Calls Al Qaeda 'Top Terrorist Threat to the Nation'

    The message regarding terrorism from the Obama administration over the past few years has been that al-Qaeda is on the run, its core leadership has been "decimated," and that the face of the "war on terror" is changing.  In his recent speech on U.S. counterterrorism strategy, President Obama said, "Core al Qaeda is a shell of its former self.  Groups like AQAP must be dealt with, but in the years to come, not every collection of thugs that labels themselves al Qaeda will pose a credible threat to the United States."  However, remarks on Thursday by FBI Director Robert S. Mueller to the House Committee on the Judiciary seem to paint a less optimistic picture [emphasis added]:

Overseas, the terrorist threat is similarly complex and ever-changing. We are seeing more groups and individuals engaged in terrorism, a wider array of terrorist targets, greater cooperation among terrorist groups, and continued evolution and adaptation in tactics and communication. 

Al Qaeda and its affiliates, especially al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), continue to represent a top terrorist threat to the nation. These groups have attempted several attacks on the United States, including the failed Christmas Day airline bombing in 2009 and the attempted bombing of U.S.-bound cargo planes in October of 2010. 

In December 2011, Somali national Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame pled guilty to nine counts of providing material support to AQAP and al Shabaab. A Joint Terrorism Task Force investigation found that Warsarme conspired to teach terrorists how to make bombs, provided explosives weapons and training to al Shabaab, and arranged for al Shabaab leaders to obtain weapons from members of AQAP. Warsame faces up to life in prison.

    Director Mueller also spoke of the "continuing threat from homegrown violent extremists" as seen in the Boston marathon bombing, and the "growing scope of the insider threat" posing risks to national security, illustrated by Chinese national Steve Liu, an employee of a New Jersey defense contractor sentenced in March to five years in prison for stealing designs on U.S. weapons systems.


Note: This article first appeared at The Weekly Standard.

WH Celebrates New High Performance Computing Center Opening

    The White House announced the opening of a new government supercomputing center in northern Maryland this week.  Patricia Falcone of the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy (OSTP) attended a ceremony to mark the occasion along with Maryland Senator Ben Cardin and various army officials:

OSTP’s Associate Director for National Security and International Affairs Dr. Patricia Falcone provided keynote remarks yesterday at a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the opening of the US Army Research Laboratory’s (ARL) new supercomputing center at Aberdeen Proving Ground in northern Maryland... 

The new ARL Supercomputing Center—containing two new IBM iDataPlex computers with the capacity to perform 50,000 trillion floating point operations per second, or 50 petaflops—will provide state-of-the art high performance computing capabilities as well as extraordinary capacities in advanced high-speed networking and data analysis, providing unprecedented benefits to the Army, the Department of Defense, and the Nation as a whole.

    The new facility is located just steps from the building that originally housed the ENIAC computer, the "world’s first electronic, programmable, general-purpose computer."


Note: This article first appeared at The Weekly Standard.