Experts in the News

The Texas House Committee on International Trade and Intergovernmental Affairs recently held hearings related to proposed changes to NAFTA. In testimony before the committee, fellow Russell A. Green warned that cutting off U.S. firms from cross-border supply chains would adversely affect their competitiveness in global markets.

The proposed Republican-sponsored bill to replace the Affordable Care Act might prompt those who cannot afford health insurance to allow their coverage lapse, which will lead to a sicker general population and increase overall insurance costs. Center for Health and Biosciences director Vivian Ho comments in the Houston Chronicle.

The roll-call votes of Texas members in the U.S. House of Representatives demonstrate that both Texas Republicans and Democrats on average tend to vote more conservatively than their respective congressional counterparts, according to political science fellow Mark P. Jones.

Energy companies like Exxon Mobil Corp. could abandon plans to tap into reserves in Canada’s oil sands, as high extraction costs and a Canadian carbon tax make extraction unprofitable, The Wall Street Journal reports. “For a lot of reasons the oil sands look like a prime candidate for eventual abandonment,” said energy fellow Jim Krane. “One problem is that costs are persistently higher. The high carbon content only makes it worse.”

Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg unveiled her new plan to essentially decriminalize low-level possession of marijuana, citing the high cost associated with marijuana-related arrests and prosecutions. Postdoctoral fellow in drug policy Katharine A. Neill appeared on Houston Matters with DA Ogg to discuss how this program compares to recent measures in other cities and states.