Calorie Cutback: Progress Report on 2010 Commitment to Reduce Calories in the Marketplace

May 30, 2013
Bipartisan Policy Center

In May of 2010, at a White House event, 16 food and beverage companies stepped forward and made a commitment to reduce calories in the marketplace by 1.5 trillion by 2015, with an interim goal of a one trillion reduction by the end of 2012. This was the first commitment made to the First Lady’s Partnership for a Healthier America.

A Bipartisan Rx for Patient-Centered Care and System-wide Cost Containment

Apr. 18, 2013
Bipartisan Policy Center

Recap: New Report Envisions More Cost-Effective Health Care System

The United States spends more on health care than any other country and yet tens of millions of Americans are facing uncoordinated and costly medical care. With health care spending expected to continue to grow for the foreseeable future and with the nation's growing federal deficit and debt, system-wide health care cost containment is both a critical component of any long term deficit reduction strategy and urgently needed to ensure the sustainability of our health care system.

Building a More Sustainable Future for America's National Parks

Mar. 19, 2013
Bipartisan Policy Center

Our national parks have an extraordinary, special place in American life and culture. Yet the erosion of park funding threatens the future of these beloved American institutions. Without creative and collaborative approaches, our parks will face increased closures, a decline in the quality of facilities and ranger services, and a diminished ability to protect threatened inholdings and maintain existing resources. The National Parks Conservation Association and the National Park Hospitality Association are launching a national dialogue to identify potential funding strategies that can tap into the deep bipartisan appreciation for America's treasured national parks and draw on bipartisan support.

Lots to Lose: How America's Health and Obesity Crisis Threatens our Economic Future

Jun. 5, 2012
Bipartisan Policy Center

A bipartisan group of former cabinet secretaries released a comprehensive and actionable plan to improve America’s physical and fiscal crises, driven by the alarming rates of obesity and chronic disease today. Former Secretaries of Agriculture Dan Glickman and Ann M. Veneman and former Secretaries of Health and Human Services Donna E. Shalala and Mike Leavitt released the recommendations today, calling needed attention to our mounting health care spending, which is expected to reach $4.6 trillion dollars annually by 2020 and consume 19.8% of GDP.

The report, entitled, Lots to Lose: How America’s Health and Obesity Crisis Threatens our Economic Future, from the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Nutrition and Physical Activity Initiative, calls on the public and private sectors to collaborate in creating healthy families, schools, workplaces and communities, focusing on existing best practices that can be implemented on a large scale to broaden their impact and help scale back obesity in the U.S. The co-chairs recognize that given America’s limited federal resources, any effective plan to reduce obesity and health care costs will need to engage private sector partners and build on successful examples, targeting those actions with the most promise to bring about large-scale shifts over time.

Nutrition and Physical Activity Initiative Opening Forum

Apr. 20, 2011
Newman Alumni Center, University of Miami

View the main Nutrition and Physical Activity Initiative page here.

The Bipartisan Policy Center's Nutrition and Physical Activity Initiative held its first public forum on nutrition information and education at the University of Miami.

The event featured Initiative co-chairs

Former Secretaries of Agriculture

Dan Glickman and Ann M. Veneman

Former Secretaries of Health and Human Services

Mike Leavitt and Donna E. Shalala

Nutrition and Physical Activity Initiative Launch

Mar. 28, 2011
The Bipartisan Policy Center

Featuring Co-Chairs:

Former Secretaries of Agriculture
Dan Glickman and Ann M. Veneman