Elizabeth Hyman Posts

In February, we shared information on efforts to reauthorize the Workforce Investment Act. Recently, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) released a discussion draft of that legislation and was scheduled to hold a hearing to “mark up” the proposed legislation on June 29. That mark-up hearing has now been postponed until Wednesday July 20. We will keep you apprised of new developments and welcome your thoughts and reaction to the discussion draft. The legisl ...

A look at the week of July 12 in advocacy for the IT channel: The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) allowed Top Level Domain restrictions to sunset; this might create substantial cybersecurity problems. A new defense department program allows for the temporary exchange of public and private IT workers. The Senate Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism held a hearing to evaluate the Obama Administration’s cybersecurity proposal. Senators Lieberman, Collins and Carper co-aut ...

A look at the week of July 4 in advocacy for the IT channel: This week the nation's largest organization of physician executives announced that it is running a training course designed to better help hospital executives adapt to the rapid changes in healthcare IT. A new research study released this week indicates that the recent spike in cybersecurity breaches is a product of increased disclosure rather than an actual increase in such incidents. The president of the Internet Security Alliance to ...

A look at the week of June 27 in public advocacy for the IT channel: This week, small medical practices adopting health IT systems are reporting that the lack of a standard code and software makes communicating between systems a challenge.  The Department of Homeland Security plans to release guidelines for organizations to avoid the most common types of cyberattacks.  Timothy F. Geithner, U.S. Treasury Secretary, told members of the House Small Business Committee that the Treasury wil ...

The Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act is a principal vehicle for funding career and technical education in this country. Over the past decade, funding levels have remained virtually stagnant, and in 2011 the Perkins Act was cut by more than $140 million (11%) to $1.1 billion. The President’s 2012 budget recommends additional cuts to Perkins. CompTIA understands that we face difficult fiscal times, but is concerned that the proposed reductions in Perkins funding is short-sighted ...

The Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act is a principal vehicle for funding career and technical education in this country.  Over the past decade, funding levels have remained virtually stagnant, and in 2011 the Perkins Act was cut by more than $140 million (11%) to $1.1 billion.   The President’s 2012 budget recommends additional cuts to Perkins.  CompTIA understands that we face difficult fiscal times, but is concerned that the proposed reductions in Perkins funding is short-sigh ...

A look at the week of June 20 in public advocacy for the IT channel: Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) introduced a bill allowing foreign IT students to remain in the country after graduation. The first wave of healthcare IT trained professionals will graduate this spring, helping to address a major shortage of workers in this field. The White House hopes that news of recent cyberattacks will build public support for its comprehensive cybersecurity bill. The federal Chief Information Officer Vivek Kund ...

A look at the week of June 20 in public advocacy for the IT channel Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) introduced a bill allowing foreign IT students to remain in the country after graduation. The first wave of healthcare IT trained professionals will graduate this spring, helping to address a major shortage of workers in this field. The White House hopes that news of recent cyberattacks will build public support for its comprehensive cybersecurity bill. The federal Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra i ...

A look at the week of June 13 in public advocacy for the IT channel:A bill to keep foreign workers in the U.S. is encountering difficulties finding majority support in the House. The SEC has announced that public companies must disclose any breach that could jeopardize intellectual property or trade secrets. Federal agencies are reporting cost savings and improved technology thanks to federal CIO Vivek Kundra’s IT reform plan.Tech Execs Seek Visas for High-Skilled Workers — According to Politi ...

Health IT has made news in Washington over the past two weeks with funding announcements, congressional hearings and new regulations. "Meaningful Use" Dollars Distributed Payments to Medicare providers who have achieved “meaningful use” of electronic health records have begun, according to the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). A total of $27 billion in federal stimulus funds were made available in 2009 to incentivize physicians to adopt the use electronic medical ...