Archive for the ‘Policy’ Category:
Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis delivers a special message to Americans this Labor Day.
“Labor Day has always been what it was originally intended to be: a day to celebrate the contributions that working men and women have made to the strength and prosperity of the country,” Solis said in a video message posted on the Department of Labor website.
On this symbolic holiday for American workers all across the nation, Solis shares what she says she’s seen and heard from workers in her travels during the past year, including steps the administration is taking to stimulate the economy.
“I’ve heard their stories of hardship and success,” Solis said. “You can be certain that, like the President, I will not stop working until every American is back on their feet—and we have fulfilled our mission to provide ‘good and safe jobs for everyone.’”
U.S. Department of Labor
Youtube
Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis Delivers speah on Labor Day
Latin America continues to drag behind the rest of the world when it comes to information technology, a brake on the region’s competitiveness. But Internet access is expected to explode there this decade. Leading that charge is California-based Cisco Systems, the fast-growing world leader in IT infrastructure with more than $35 billion in sales and 65,000 employees.
Cisco has been on a buying spree the past two years, bolstering its digital resources in high-speed optical networking, IP-based mobile infrastructure, data center automation and video communications, including its purchase of Pure Digital Technologies, creator of the best-selling Flip video cameras, and Tandberg’s TelePresence video-conferencing system.
The company is turning its attention to the region by forming new partnerships that will boost the level of IT skills in many Latin American countries. The demand for Latin American professionals with Internet skills is forecast to greatly outpace supply, so Cisco is seeking to help Latin America meet that need through technology for cheaper basic communication, education through distance learning and government support systems. Joint initiatives between the Cisco Networking Academy and the governments in Brazil, Mexico and Colombia have created opportunities for 150,000 Academy students. Other countries such as Costa Rica and Chile are also becoming involved with these public-private partnerships.
“I have never in my professional life seen this level of commitment to IT education in this region,” says Jaime Valles, Cisco’s vice president for Latin America. Born in Spain, Valles, 44, has spent 20 years living in Mexico, where he worked for Sun Micro Systems before moving to Miami for Cisco. Valles sat down with PODER to discuss the company’s plans.
[JAIME VALLES] Cisco has a capacity to really improve a country’s competitiveness, the quality of life for citizens in the region. We are convinced that by utilizing technology and specifically broadband, a country can see GDP growth while offering key services to citizens [in areas] such as safety, health, and education and other public services. When you have technology it makes your key players more relevant to the marketplace and governments today realize that. Education is critical for Latin America’s success and technology is a key player in that
Cisco’s message and our mission is appealing to governments in Latin America because we are offering them a better and more competitive way to provide public services.
[PODER HISPANIC] How has Cisco worked itself into this position where it can offer this level of services?
[JV] We have partnerships with the key service providers in each country, with government institutions and a large network of partners that allows us to offer best technology.
[PH] And what’s the main area now of your business? What’s the big growth area for Cisco?
[JV] Right now what we are seeing in the market is a unique moment. I don’t want to get too technical but it’s convergence of the traditional communications world with the traditional computing world, in a model that is offered as a service to the consumer. In computing you have the Cloud concept where you turn on the computer and you have all of the data centers and all of the processing power somewhere providing you a service. The same thing is going to happen in communications. Forget if it’s your normal fixed line telephone or your cell, you as a user will receive a service whatever way you like to receive it.
Cisco is well-positioned because of the investments that Cisco has made in three or four key areas. One is our traditional communications networking that gets you access anywhere. Second is the data center that offers the computing power to process and offer you the services. Third is the collaboration, because at the end what happens is it allows people to interact. We convert them into a single solution so the customer receives the service. That is why our message today is so strong in the marketplace, be- cause we can put everything together, we have the right partner- ships and offer you, as an individual consumer, the service that you require.
[PH] How big is digital divide between the U.S. and Latin America? How are you able to help the region catch up?
[JV] Latin America today has a unique opportunity because what’s happening is there is a lot of focus on the region, and economically it’s a solid region. Latin America doesn’t have the deficit issues that you are seeing in other regions. So the governments right now have financial capabilities to invest in infrastructure, and the governments realize that the infrastructure has to be put in place. The other key is that Internet penetration is so low. In other regions we are talking about 50 percent to 60 percent penetration. In Latin America we are at high single digit penetration. So we have a lot of opportunity to grow. Just to give you a data point, the World Bank estimates that for every 10 points of broadband penetration your GDP growth accelerates 1.3 points.
So what happens is you have the technology available, you realize the importance, you have the opportunity to leapfrog so you can go to the latest Internet-based technology in order to offer that connectivity, including mobile and fixed. You have governments that are realizing the importance of that, so they can address the key issues they have to address including competition, regulation, investment etc. And then you have a company like Cisco that offers you a fully integrated solution with the partners and with financing.
[PH] So if you had to rank the countries in Latin America, which would you put at the top in terms of understanding that message and pursuing it for the betterment of their citizens, and who would you put at the bottom?
[JV] It’s hard to answer that question because every country is doing something. Chile has been always a leader in terms of broadband penetration. Brazil has just announced a national broadband plan, and Mexico and Colombia have their own infrastructure plans. So it’s hard to say that any government is better or worse. What we are doing is saying why don’t we help each of them in whatever they require in order to be more successful, because what happens is every country needs something different. In some places it’s education, in some places it’s financing, and in some places it’s access to the technology and the right partnerships.
So, we build a plan for the country. In Mexico, we talked about manufacturing and location. John Chambers, our chairman, went to Mexico two years ago and confirmed a huge $5 billion investment over five years. We have pilot programs in about 40 schools right now in Mexico to improve educational access, graduation rates and teaching standards. We really plan for the country. We ask, ‘What can we do to make this country better?’ And we put forth the people and the resources to make it better.
[PH] What kind of roadblocks do you see in Latin America in terms of resistance to technology? Cuba is obvious. What about Venezuela, which is a fairly well-connected country?
[JV] We don’t get into politics at all. What we do is we realize the importance of technology, independent of any ideology. You know, in Venezuela, we do very good business with Cantv… We believe that Cantv is a great partner for Cisco in order to offer services to the marketplace. So, we have a large team in Venezuela. And we continue investing in Venezuela.
Our vision is to best partner for governments and companies to increase Latin American growth and improve the quality of the citizens. It does not say the country has to be this ideology or the other one. And we have been very good at that and not making [distinctions] at all because we believe you have opportunities everywhere. The market today really represents a huge opportunity. Here are two numbers that I can share because this is a public disclosure we have made. In the last quarter Internet penetration in Brazil grew [year to year] 80 percent, and Mexico 63 percent.
So, you have solid growth and solid opportunities all across the region. What we are convinced is that the growth in the region by leveraging technology could be key in order to make the region more successful. Internet traffic in Latin America will grow 51 percent compounded over the next four or five years. It is the fastest growing traffic region in the world. And Cisco is the leading company in Internet technologies. We have a strong presence obviously, and a huge opportunity to grow.
In a press release distributed Tuesday the Alliance for Digital Equality (ADE) called on the organization Free Press to explain the true motives behind a disturbing 40-page guide detailing a strategy to manipulate poor, rural, Southern African Americans and women in an attempt to advance their own political agenda. As reported in The Hill, Free Press recently commissioned the study Net Neutrality For the Win: How Entertainment and the Science of Influence Can Save Your Internet which includes messages, research data, and strategies for convincing “targets” that the future of the Internet is in jeopardy in order to gain support for Net Neutrality policies.
The forty-page guide, produced by the Harmony Institute, identifies poor, rural African Americans and women as “persuadable” and thus the primary targets for Net Neutrality messaging. Instead of having an honest debate, Free Press has reverted to unacceptable tactics to promote their way of thinking at any cost.
“The cynical and demeaning manipulation and stereotyping of poor, rural, minorities and women to advance a political agenda is inexcusable,” said ADE Chairman Julius H. Hollis. “Free Press needs to immediately explain their actions and intentions.”
The Alliance for Digital Equality (ADE) is a non-profit consumer advocacy organization that serves to facilitate and ensure equal access to technology in underserved and un-served communities. The Alliance also serves as a bridge between policymakers and minority individuals in order to help the public understand how legislative and regulatory policies regarding new technologies can impact and empower their daily lives. For more information on The Alliance for Digital Equality, please visit www.alliancefordigitalequality.org.
New York, NY, June 14th, 2010 – Latinos in Information Sciences and Technology Association’s President and CEO, Jose A. Marquez-Leon proudly announced today that Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski will deliver remarks on the National Broadband Plan at LISTA’s upcoming 3rd Annual National Tech-Latino 2030 Legislative Forum on Capitol Hill, Washington, DC at 6:00 pm – 8:30pm on Tuesday June 22nd 2010.
“It is a great honor to have Chairman Genachowski address our members at our 3rd Annual National Tech-Latino 2030 Legislative Forum,” said Tony Jimenez LISTA National Board of Directors Chairman. “Chairman Genachowski has been an advocate for the Latino community and understands the critical role broadband plays in developing businesses and improving the economy for all Americans.”
“We are extremely pleased to have Chairman Genachowski address our members at our 3rd Annual National Tech-Latino Legislative Forum,” said Jose A. Marquez Leon. “Chairman Genachowski recognizes the role of the nation’s Latino technology sector and how broadband will help the Latino community continue to develop businesses and our positive impact on the economy of the United States. He understands that closing the digital divide once and for all will give all Americans the chance to achieve the American Dream of financial independence and economic empowerment.”
“Having Chairman Genachowski participate in LISTA’s Tech-Latino Legislative Forum is a testament to the recognized impact Latinos will have in our nation’s high-tech future,” said Danny Vargas. He added, “We sincerely appreciate the Chairman’s interest and dedication to ensuring that the FCC continues to engage all segments of American society and encourages Latinos to take a leading role in not only telecommunications but all aspects of innovation.”
The 3rd Annual National Tech-Latino Legislative Forum will provide Latino IT professionals an opportunity to dialogue with members of Congress about key concerns in the industries of Science, Technology Math and Engineering. It will also provide LISTA an opportunity to continue to raise awareness of the digital divide and how to bridge it, develop ideas on how to stimulate the growth of technology business, and be a catalyst of change in the high-technology and science sectors.
Event Information
3rd Annual National Tech-Latino Legislative Forum is generously sponsored by MicroTech, Capitol Wire PR. Uber Operations, Broadband for America, NTIA, ADE, State Farm, Aetna and Comcast
Date: Tuesday, June 22 2010
Time: 6pm – 9 pm
Opening Reception Venue:
Rayburn House Office Building,
Room B-338, Basement, Washington, DC 20515
To Attend Please Visit: www.techlatino2030.org
About Chairman Genachowski
Julius Genachowski was nominated by President Barack Obama as Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission on March 3, 2009, and sworn into office on June 29, 2009.
Chairman Genachowski has two decades of experience in public service and the private sector. Prior to his appointment, he spent more than 10 years working in the technology industry as an executive and entrepreneur. He co-founded LaunchBox Digital and Rock Creek Ventures, where he served as Managing Director, and he was a Special Advisor at General Atlantic. In these capacities, he worked to start, accelerate, and invest in early- and mid-stage technology and other companies. From 1997-2005, he was a senior executive at IAC/InterActiveCorp, a Fortune 500 company, where his positions included Chief of Business Operations and General Counsel.
Genachowski’s public service spanned broadly across government. His confirmation as FCC Chairman returns him to the agency where, from 1994 until 1997, he served as Chief Counsel to FCC Chairman Reed Hundt, and, before that, as Special Counsel to then-FCC General Counsel (later Chairman) William Kennard. Previously, he was a law clerk at the U.S. Supreme Court for Justice David Souter and Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. , and at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit for Chief Judge Abner Mikva. Genachowski also worked in Congress for then-U.S. Representative (now Senator) Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), and on the staff of the House select committee investigating the Iran-Contra Affair.
Genachowski has been active at the intersection of social responsibility and the marketplace. He was part of the founding group of New Resource Bank, which specializes in serving the needs of green entrepreneurs and sustainable businesses, and has served on the Advisory Board of Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2). He also served as a board member of Common Sense Media, a leading non-partisan, non-profit organization seeking to improve the media lives of children and families.
Genachowski received a J.D from Harvard Law School (magna cum laude), where he was co-Notes Editor of the Harvard Law Review. He received a B.A. from Columbia College (magna cum laude), where he was Editor of Columbia Spectator’s Broadway Magazine, re-established Columbia’s oldest newspaper (Acta Columbiana), and was a writer and researcher for Fred Friendly. He was also a certified Emergency Medical Technician who served on the Columbia Area Volunteer Ambulance, and taught cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
About Latinos in Information Sciences and Technology Association (LISTA)
LISTA (www.a-lista.org) promotes the utilization of the technology sectors for the empowerment of the Latino community. We are an organization that is committed to bringing various elements of Technology under one central hub to facilitate our partners, members and the community with the leverage and education they need to succeed in a highly advanced technologically driven society.
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Filed under Government, LISTA in the News, Policy, Technology
Tags:ATT, BP Oil Spill, Broadband, census 2010, Chairman Genachowski, COMCAST, conference, DC Hispanic Business, digital divide, Diversity, EHR. Ingenix, emerge, Florida, Free press, google, Health Care reform, Health IT, Hilda Solis, Hispanic-Owned Companies, Immigration. Latinos, Latinos en Information Sciences and Technology Association, LISTA in the News, Policy, President Obama, Secretary of Labor, techlatino 2010, Technology, USHCC, VERIZON, Washington
So What’s Wrong With Arizona’s New Immigration Law?
Guest Blogger: Luis J. Diaz, Esq.
President and CEO
The United States Hispanic Advocate Association (USHAA)
Luis J. Diaz has over 20 years of extensive experience in a wide range of complex matters including intellectual property law, technology related joint ventures and strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, sales and marketing, and government relations. Mr. Diaz provides legal and business counsel to business units, » read more »
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So What’s Wrong With Arizona’s New Immigration Law?
Arizona’s recently enacted immigration law (SB 1070, as amended by HB2162) makes the failure to carry immigration documents a crime and requires the local police to check immigration status and to detain anyone on mere “reasonable suspicion“ of being in the country illegally following a “lawful stop, detention or arrest.” The law has generated great debate. Advocates say it is needed to fight crime resulting from illegal immigration. Opponents say it will result in the violation of civil liberties. It is an issue that requires a subtantial analysis based on facts, an understanding of American history, and a review of legal precedents involving the abuse and limits of police power.
FACTS & ISSUES
As confirmed by a recent study from PEW Research Center, the fact is that one in four Americans believe that Hispanics are the racial/ethnic group subject to the most discrimination in America. The study found that 32% of Hispanics 16 or older say they or someone they know has experienced discrimination. Less than half of Hispanics believe that police officers in their community treat Latinos fairly. And, most police chiefs around the country, concerned about the chilling effect of this law, oppose it because of its negative impact on their ability to fight crime, obtain witness cooperation, and other concerns.
Despite recent amendments to fix the more obvious problems of SB 1070, the law still provides no guidelines as to what is meant by “reasonable suspicion” in the context of alien status: is it 3 or more Hispanics in a car, a red bandana, a plaid shirt, a migrant worker in the field, or someone speaking Spanish? The reality is that “reasonable suspicion” likely will mean those looking like, sounding like, or acting like the stereotypical undocumented immigrant. However, police officers will be trained to write down things not related to race on their reports like the swerving car, a crooked license plate, talking on a mobile, the seatbelt being unfastened, or some other similar statement that will be difficult to disprove in a court of law and that will pit the relative credibility of a uniformed officer against that of a stereotypical poor immigrant. Notably, Governor Brewer has already announced training on the the subject of “reasonable suspicion” for police officers that one assumes are already experts on the subject.
If the Arizona law is really targeted at crime prevention stemming from the border, then it would be logical and workable if it simply required “probable cause” of some “criminal activity” before police could check immigration status. While the difference between “probable cause” and “reasonable suspicion” may not seem apparent to a lay person, these are two very different legal standards.
HISTORY & PRECEDENTS
Millions of Americans have shed blood in many wars to preserve the civil rights we now treasure. There are 200 years of Fourth Amendment jurisprudence supporting the proposition that police powers must be narrowly limited to prevent abuse of individual rights – something our founding fathers recognized. Also, the mission of police officers is to fight crime – not to act as immigration agents. Thus, any law that creates supercops with immigration superpowers and that, in its actual application, makes it possible to target, arrest, search and seize persons with certain physical attributes is by its nature suspect and should require a higher standard. On a cursory reading of the law, we are reminded of the phrase made famous by Hitler’s infamous Gestapo: “Show me your papers, are your papers in order?” The main difference is that with SB 1070 no “jewish star of David” is necessary for an Arizona supercop to identify the stereotypical immigrant.
Like the Japanese interment laws of the 1940’s, the Arizona law undermines the very notions of equal justice and basic fairness that are fundamental values of every American. As with the interment laws, this legislation is being driven by fear and hysteria and it is expressly directed at a group of people whose physical attributes identify them on first glance as members of a specific racial group. The failure of political leadership in Arizona has allowed people that may “look Mexican” to be singled out whether citizens or not.
Based on our history, we can now anticipate the development of a laundry list of “permissible factors” that can be cited after the fact to justify a “reasonable suspicion” even though race was in fact the first glance consideration in the initial stop. As noted, Governor Brewer has announced training on the the subject of “reasonable suspicion.” It is forseeable that Arizona’s effort to create supercops with immigration powers will spread like a cancer to other states across the country that do not border Mexico, thereby greatly magnifying the potential civil rights violations to all Hispanic citizens that may look “illegal.”
If left unchecked, history teaches that this law could place this great nation on the same slippery slope created by the interment laws, the House Un-American efforts of Senator McCarthy, and similar dark episodes in our history where fear has been used to justify the breach of American civil rights. The eventual apology will ring hollow as it has in times past. In 1988 Congress ultimately passed and President Ronald Reagan signed legislation which apologized for the interment of Japanese Americans and acknowledged that the government actions were based on “race prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political leadership.”
SO WHAT IS THE SOLUTION?
The problem starts in Mexico. Thus, any real solution to the problem of illegal immigration and related criminal activity must involve (i) securing our borders, (ii) enacting stronger anti-crime measures, (iii) passing immigration reforms that make economic sense, and (iv) imposing economic sanctions against trade countries that contribute to these types of problems. The Arizona law does not address any of these issues. Instead, it targets the victims of failed policies by both Mexico and the United States. This is equivalent to trying to stop drug trafficking by targeting users and not pushers. We must call on Congress to pass comprehensive immigration legislation to fix our broken immigration laws and to hold our preferred trade partners like Mexico accountable, whether or not it hurts the economic interests of some large Mexican companies and their American partners in the short run.
ABOUT USHAA:
USHAA is an award-winning non-profit providing economic advocacy, benefits and education programs to ensure that its business and individual members have equal access to contracts, jobs, education and other opportunities provided by our great nation.
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Filed under Government, LISTA in the News, Policy
Tags:arizona, census 2010, DC Hispanic Business, Diversity, google, Hilda Solis, Hispanic Heritage, Immigration. Latinos, Latinos en Information Sciences and Technology Association, NCLR, President Obama, Washington
New York, N.Y. – Today Latinos in Information Sciences and Technology Association (LISTA) President and CEO, Jose Marquez-Leon released the following statement in response to the May 24, 2010 letter to the Federal Communications Commission on the importance of broadband adoption and deployment over regulation.
LISTA is pleased to see 74 members of Congress join together and speak with one voice on the importance of broadband technology to transform the communities where we live and work. Broadband technology can revitalize the Hispanic community – providing access to first class schools and job training for high-paying American jobs.
Members of Congress have shown the Federal Communications Commission the importance of broadband – and the importance of focusing on policy goals before implementing net neutrality rules that threaten delay and deter broadband investment. We simply can not afford to keep high-speed Internet out of reach from the communities with schools and businesses that need to be online.
Congress has shown the Commission that there is much work to be done to bring broadband to all of America – I hope they will take the leadership to promote access and adoption with sensible policies that encourage investment, innovation, and collaboration.
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Filed under Government, LISTA in the News, Policy, Technology, Uncategorized
Tags:ATT, Broadband, COMCAST, DC Hispanic Business, digital divide, Diversity, FCC, FCC Chair, Health IT, Hispanic-Owned Companies, Latinos en Information Sciences and Technology Association, Latinos in Information Science and Technology Association, Legislative Technology Forum, LISTA in the News, net neutrality, TWC, VERIZON
Monday, May 24, 2010; A18
JULIUS GENACHOWSKI, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, cannot win for losing.
Internet service providers (ISPs), including Comcast and AT&T, insist that a light touch is needed when regulating the Internet to guard against innovation-stifling intervention. Some public interest groups and businesses, including Google, argue that the FCC must seriously police the Internet to ensure ISPs do not discriminate against certain technologies. (Disclosure: The Washington Post Co. has interests in broadcast and cable television and businesses that depend on the Internet, all of which could be affected by FCC action or inaction.)
The debate intensified dramatically last month after a D.C. federal appeals court struck down the FCC’s relatively relaxed regulatory approach.
From Mr. Genachowski’s perspective, the ruling left the agency with a distasteful choice: Either abandon efforts to regulate broadband or reclassify the service to subject it to more muscular legal provisions typically reserved for telephone companies and other common carriers. Mr. Genachowski, in an effort at compromise, chose a third way: apply only a few of the common-carrier provisions to parts of broadband delivery.
This approach is also unacceptable. For some eight years, the agency has argued that broadband constitutes an “information service” and that it should be subject only to a light regulatory touch. To reverse course now by classifying broadband as a telecommunications service would require the agency to throw out years of its own data and analysis. While agencies have broad latitude in reevaluating regulatory schemes, reversals should be linked to significant market shifts. The facts do not support such a conclusion, and the FCC should not now try to shoehorn broadband into an existing — but incompatible — regulatory scheme.
What is needed is a fourth way: The agency, industry, consumer groups and other interested parties should work with Congress to craft clear but limited rules tailored to broadband. Advocates of increased oversight worry that the often-protracted legislative process will leave a gaping regulatory void that ISPs will exploit to engage in mischief. This is nonsense. It ignores the ISPs’ need to provide good service to keep their customers, and it does not take into account the healthy oversight provided by those consumers and Internet watchdog groups. The Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department also have the power to police anticompetitive or fraudulent acts.
At the moment, the FCC appears powerless to follow through with its national broadband plan, which includes the goal of expanding service to minority and poor communities. While we do not agree with much of the plan, there are worthwhile elements, including reporting, monitoring and transparency requirements, that the FCC could not enact without explicit legal authority. This is yet another reason why the agency should make a trek to Capitol Hill.
Washington, DC [CapitalWirePR] May 24, 2010 – Recently, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) treated Puerto Rico and its elected representatives with disregard and disrespect. It held that Puerto Ricans don’t deserve the same quality of access to telecommunications services that other Americans enjoy. This is wrong and this must be reversed.
Congress created the FCC for the express purpose of ensuring that “all the people of the United States” have comparable access to telecommunications services “without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex.” In furtherance of this fundamental right, Congress directed the FCC to provide funding to ensure universal access to communications services. And Congress specifically required the FCC to provide the financial support necessary to ensure that equal quality telecommunications services in “insular areas,” like Puerto Rico, are both available and affordable.
The FCC, however, turned its back on this duty and the Commonwealth. The FCC decided not to provide the funding necessary to ensure Puerto Rico has equal quality universal telephone service. Instead, the Commission said that having affordable wire line telephone service isn’t important in Puerto Rico because, in the FCC’s view, we can make do with cell phone service. What the FCC did not say is that this is a double standard that discriminates against Puerto Rico because the FCC’s policies on the mainland have ensured affordable access to both wire line and wireless services.
At bottom, we have a real need for the support Congress directed the FCC to provide. Despite the advances seen in other parts of the country, many in Puerto Rico still lack access to basic telephone and Internet services. In fact, Puerto Rico has the largest population of persons who lack access to any wire line telecommunications service—a staggeringly high 200,000 individuals and approximately 200 communities. Moreover, many of these same communities lack access to wireless telecommunications due to weak coverage in the inland mountains.
Had the FCC followed Congress’s direction, Puerto Ricans would be assured of the affordable access to equal quality telecommunications they are entitled to. And we are not just talking about voice services. Before the FCC made its decision, the Puerto Rico Telephone Company offered a commitment to use these funds to deploy voice and broadband-capable infrastructure. This would not only have ensured access to wired telephone service, it would have provided a running start toward efforts to bring broadband to more of the citizens of the Commonwealth.
On the same day that the FCC turned its back on the people of Puerto Rico, it granted a substantial increase in financial support to wire line systems in Wyoming—despite the fact that Puerto Rico has seven times the population of Wyoming and 40 percent of Puerto Rico’s population is living below the poverty line. For those of us who want to ascribe a neutral, objective basis to the FCC’s decision-making, this decision simply makes no sense.
It is time to let the FCC know that it can no longer relegate Puerto Ricans to steerage while the rest of the United States goes first class. Thankfully, the fight is not over and we are not alone. Representatives in Washington—including Resident Commissioner Pedro R. Pierluisi, Representative Nydia M. Velázquez, Representative Luis V. Gutierrez, and Representative José E. Serrano—have been working hard to urge the FCC to treat Puerto Ricans fairly, as federal law requires. The FCC’s decision to ignore these requests reveals a profound disrespect not only for those living in Puerto Rico but for these representatives as well. We must urge them to continue to fight for us and support them in the coming days as they tell the FCC to do its job and reverse its discriminatory decision.
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The author is President and CEO of the National Puerto Rican Coalition, Inc., a nonpartisan, non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., whose mission is to strengthen and enhance the social, political, and economic well-being of Puerto Ricans throughout the U.S and Puerto Rico, with a special focus on the most vulnerable.
CONTACT:
info@capitalwirepr.com
National Puerto Rican Coalition
202 223 3915
www.nprcinc.org
rfantauzzi@nprcinc.org
Note: To view this release and high resolution pictures on the web, click on the link below: http://www.capitalwirepr.com/pr_description.php?id=e324e091-3c8d-83e0-fc78-4bfa791a65be
As new HIT makes ever greater inroads into the nation’s healthcare system, there is bound to be an expanding array of stories that highlight the advantages HIT brings to patients and doctors alike.
But rather than taking too much comfort as favorable evidence piles up, policymakers should regularly wonder what percentage of the population is still not reaping the benefits.
Take this story from San Francisco. For HIT proponents, it just doesn’t get much better. A single mother with a sick child on her hands uses all available hi-tech tools to get the boy’s situation diagnosed so that, much to his chagrin, he can get back to school without missing a single class.
The story goes on to describe how doctors and patients are communicating via videoconferencing, IM, e-mail, Facebook, and Twitter, and the result, particularly for those patients with EHRs, is a system brimming with convenience, new efficiencies and improved care.
But here’s the question that should nag at policymakers no matter how many of these stories they read: What percentage of the population are we not reaching with all our new tools?
On the one hand, there will never be a time for a definitive answer to that question, because HIT will keep evolving and the healthcare system will have to evolve with it. On the other hand, however, policymakers should already be trying to figure out how to measure, at least roughly, who’s using HIT beyond the healthcare providers who are making the up-front investment.
For purposes of comparison, at least when it comes to patient use of HIT, they might want to take a look at how the “digitizing” of the nation’s school systems has changed or not changed the relationship between parents and teachers. With three kids in school and a veteran teacher for a wife, our admittedly unscientific hunch is that HIT runs the risk of being used much like “Edu-IT” is being used. That is, those who are plugged in general are plugged in when it comes to their children’s education. They access their grades on-line, for example, and they communicate regularly with their teachers via e-mail.
But ask a teacher, and you may well hear the lament that the parents who really need to be more engaged in their kids’ education aren’t using the latest technologies to plug in, and the chances are they won’t be any time soon.
So will the same divide develop as HIT becomes more prevalent? Obviously, there’s no way to know for sure. The question, however, should be one of the first things policymakers think of whenever they read another HIT success story.
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Filed under Government, Health IT, Health Information Technology, Policy, Technology, Workforce Development
Tags:Broadband, conference, DC Hispanic Business, digital divide, Health Care reform, Health IT, Hispanic-Owned Companies, Latinos en Information Sciences and Technology Association, Vish Sankaran, Washington
| The Digital Business Law Group (DBLG) co-authored the HIPAA Survival Guide with Deborah Leyva, RN, BSN, a health care and technology thought leader. |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The guide provides a concise overview of HIPAA’s Privacy and Security Rules with discussion of the implications resulting from the HITECH Act’s enhanced enforcement of HIPAA.
HITECH transforms HIPAA from a paper tiger, under a historically lax enforcement regime, to legislation that is likely to be rigorously enforced; a critical part of the Obama administration’s Electronic Health Record (EHR) initiatives contained within ARRA. Among other substantive regulations, HITECH provides for: 1) mandatory HIPAA audits; 2) expanded compliance requirements for business associates; 3) authority of State Attorney Generals to bring civil actions on behalf of residents; and 4) monetary penalties or settlements regarding HIPAA violations transferred to HHS’ Office of Civil Rights for enforcement purposes (see http://www.hipaasurvivalguide.com/hitech-act-text.html).
Developing an effective HITECH/HIPAA compliance strategy is a necessity for all HIPAA covered entities and business associates. The HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules are now included within HHS’ “meaningful use” definition–which effectively means HITECH based EHR incentive payments may be at risk if a provider or facility is found to be non-HIPAA compliant. Lost in much of the HITECH discussion to date are the transformational privacy implications of HITECH’s “Subtitle D.”
Carlos Leyva, Managing Shareholder of DBLG (http://www.digitalbusinesslawgroup.com), says: “There is a clear need for wider discussion of HITECH/HIPAA EHR compliance issues. The HIPAA Survival Guide (http://www.hipaasurvivalguide.com) was made freely available in order to ‘jumpstart’ the conversation. Subsequent releases of the guide will link directly to applicable sections of the regulations. Health care providers of all sizes will need an easy to use toolset if they are going to effectively cope with the compliance challenges that lie ahead.”
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About The Digital Business Law Group, P.A. (DBLG)
DBLG focuses on Internet law and electronic privacy/data security compliance. The firm helps clients do business online safely, securely and in accordance with applicable law. It also advises clients regarding technological complexities that have legal implications. The firm is located in the greater Tampa, FL area. To learn more about DBLG visit the firm’s website.
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