In this issue brief, Rice University's Baker Institute and The Episcopal Health Foundation ask, "Were Texans satisfied with the cost of health care and health insurance prior to the Affordable Care Act?"
By Vivian Ho, Ph.D.; Elena M. Marks, J.D., M.P.H.; and Patricia Gail Bray, Ph.D.
Vivian Ho, Elena M. Marks, Patricia Gail BrayFebruary 10, 2014
Information technology policy fellow Chris Bronk writes that cybersecurity threats to the U.S. energy industry and infrastructure are rising and require increased preparedness by the U.S. Army and Department of Defense.
While much media attention recently has focused on the geopolitical fault lines that connect Syria’s violence to wider region-wide trends, the plight of individual women, men, and children displaced within Syria or living in camps beyond its borders shows no sign of ending. As Secretary of State John Kerry has stated, the humanitarian situation in Syria is "an outrage" but the violence only looks set to worsen as opposition groups turn on each other and radical trans-national elements feed off the resulting vacuum of authority and control. This is the task as the international community prepares to reconvene in Switzerland on January 22, writes Baker Institute fellow Kristian Coates Ulrichsen in the Baker Institute Blog.
Edward Djerejian, founding director of Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and former U.S. ambassador to Syria and Israel, issued the following statement on the passing of former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
The election of Argentine Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio as pope underscores the growing importance of Latin America for the Roman Catholic Church. Mark P. Jones, the Joseph D. Jamail Chair in Latin American Studies, discusses the significance of Pope Francis' election for the church's future.