On the morning after the State of the Union, this forum will provide an opportunity for some of the most influential policy advisors to the Democratic candidates to offer a response to the President's economic vision and describe why their candidate's policies offer the most compelling alternative. After brief introductory remarks, the panelists will take questions from the moderators and the audience.

The Center for American Progress presents a lunchtime forum on The State of the Union and the State of the World: A Look at U.S. Foreign Policy.

The Center for American Progress and the Georgetown University Lecture Fund for a major economic speech with Gov. Tom Vilsack of Iowa, "Understanding the Impact of the Bush Administration’s Economic Policy: A View from the States."

In their provocative new book, Lisa Heinzerling and Frank Ackerman critique the use of cost-benefit analysis in designing and evaluating regulations that affect life, health, and the environment. Please join American Progress' John Podesta for a discussion with Heinzerling, Ackerman and former OMB officials Jim Tozzi and Sally Katzen on the role of economic analysis in setting government policy.

American Progress President and CEO John Podesta joined Steven Colbert, Drew Carey, Garry Trudeau and others on an American Progress-sponsored panel at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen Colorado on Saturday, March 6, 2004.

This conference will discuss the technological development and legal regulation of video surveillance.  The panel will focus on the impact of new and emerging video surveillance technologies on privacy and civil liberties. This event features a keynote address by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT).

John D. Podesta, president of the Center for American Progress, and Robert L. Borosage, president of the Institute for America's Future, are proud to announce the formation of a task force of prominent Americans committed to excellence in public education. Please join them for a lunch featuring remarks by task force co-chairs Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano and Philip D. Murphy, senior director of Goldman Sachs.

The U.S. health system is at a crossroads.  Because there is no guarantee of health care, each of us is at risk of losing the security of health insurance for ourselves and our families.  Each year, millions of Americans - our friends and neighbors - are forced to forego necessary care because they cannot afford the cost.

Panel offers advocates of six strategies a chance to articulate 1) how their ideas are connected to Brown; and 2) why their strategy offers hope for the future in pursuing the dream in Brown.

Special interests have launched a sweeping assault on protections for public health, safety and the environment – and unfortunately the Bush administration has given way. Crucial safeguards have been swept aside or watered down; emerging problems are being ignored; and enforcement efforts have been curtailed, threatening to render existing standards meaningless.

As the situation in Iraq devolves into a near-crisis, the debate rages at home about what the United States should do next. "Iraq: What Now? What Next?" will focus on the options left for the United States in Iraq.

Please join the Center for American Progress for a major speech on homeland security with Congressman David Obey of Wisconsin. Representative Obey has played a major role in counterterrorism and homeland security oversight since the terrorist attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11th.

The Center for American Progress is launching a multi-year project to support and amplify progressive religious voices, explore the vital role of faith in public life, and promote the religious freedom afforded by the separation of church and state.

The U.S.-Saudi strategic alliance is under fire from both sides and strained by a relationship characterized at once both by mutual reliance and mutual aversion. Saudi Arabia's influence on world oil supplies continues to cement its importance to the United States, while anti-Americanism and terrorism in the kingdom places the relationship on increasingly tenuous ground.

Please join the Center for American Progress and Mother Jones for a breakfast briefing on the startling results of the first-ever Mother Jones national poll.

While profits are reaching record highs, the labor market recovery has been the worst since the Great Depression. Thus continues a trend towards greater economic inequality. In this environment, more than 42 million workers want to form unions to improve their lives. Please join Rep. George Miller (D-CA) for his keynote address.

The Center for American Progress will release "Iraq After June 30: A Strategy for Progress," a comprehensive and detailed plan for U.S. policy in Iraq. The report provides strategic guidance for the U.S. role in Iraq after June 30.

David Chappell, author of A Stone of Hope, will examine the different perspectives northern liberals and southern activists rooted in black churches had toward the civil rights movement.

In this recovery the distribution of economic gains has clearly been upside-down. While business profits are soaring to record levels, income growth is extremely slow and wage and employment gains have lagged significantly.

Growing international fears about Iran's nuclear capabilities have raised critical questions for regional and global security. The growing nuclear crisis comes amid a series of troubling developments: Iran's emergence as the dominant regional power as Iraq and Afghanistan decline; a tighter conservative grip on politics after flawed parliamentary elections; and a steep decline in U.S.-Iranian relations.

Consolidation in the media has emerged as a major threat to American democracy. As fewer media companies determine what hundreds of millions of people see, read and hear, public opinion and debate are shaped in profoundly important ways.

The Portland hearing on community schools is the first in a series of public forums to be held in different regions of the country to learn about and highlight local, innovative and effective models for improving education.

At this event, the Center for American Progress will present its report card on the administration’s achievements and failures since 9/11 in preventing the proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons; protecting the homeland; projecting leadership abroad: engaging the military; reforming intelligence; and combating the growth of terrorist movements.

The Ohio forum, sponsored by the George Gund Foundation, is the second in a series of public forums to be held throughout the country to learn about local, innovative and effective models for improving education. Upon completion of the final public forum, the Task Force will produce a major report with policy and program recommendations for modernizing and renewing public education in the United States.

In Sophisticated Sabotage, Thomas O. McGarity, Sidney Shapiro, and David Bollier attack the analytic models – both economic and scientific – that are now common in regulatory decision-making. These models, the authors argue, are deliberately designed to undermine strong health, safety and environmental protections.

The Iraq war and other U.S. combat operations are producing mental health problems at rates comparable to Vietnam.  Mental health needs remain unmet as soldiers have found barriers to care in the field and at home, including stigma.  Taking care of our troops and their families must be a top priority.

The Association of the United States Army, Center for American Progress, and Center for Peace and Security Studies at Georgetown University are pleased to invite you to a major conference exploring the future of the total force.  As the National Guard and Reserves face unprecedented demands, the military and defense and homeland security policymakers must reassess the roles of the reserve component in meeting our country’s changing and expanding security needs.

Wealth takes many forms, including cash in savings and checking accounts, stocks and bonds, pensions and 401(k) plans, and equity in property.  Such assets allow families to make down payments on homes, save for retirement, start a business, or pay for education that can advance career opportunities. They provide a cushion in times of economic distress.  Unfortunately, many Americans, especially people of color and women, have few financial assets and are unable to reap the benefits of economic opportunity.

New Mexico educators, business leaders, elected officials, researchers, students and parents will focus on teacher recruitment, retention, and training to create a new agenda for education in America. The New Mexico forum is the fourth in a series of public forums to be held throughout the country to learn about local innovative and effective models for improving education. Upon completion of the final public forum, the Task Force will produce a major report with policy and program recommendations for modernizing and renewing public education in the United States.

Terror in the Shadows brings together four leading experts on illicit trafficking – in money, guns, diamonds and human beings - to analyze how these networks operate, interact, spread and provide vital support to terrorist networks around the world.

As Afghanistan holds its presidential election on October 9, growing instability, terrorism, and an opium industry spiraling out of control threaten the prospects for security, democracy and the rule of law. The panel will explore each of these interrelated topics, examining the nature of the opium industry; security threats from warlords, the Taliban and al Qaeda; and prospects for a free and fair election. The panel will also discuss the many challenges that remain for the new president, the Afghan people and the international community.

Missouri educators, business leaders, elected officials, researchers, students and parents will focus on teacher recruitment, retention, and training to create a new agenda for education in America. The Missouri forum is the fourth in a series of public forums to be held throughout the country to learn about local innovative and effective models for improving education. Upon completion of the final public forum, the Task Force will produce a major report with policy and program recommendations for modernizing and renewing public education in the United States.

With 22 percent of the American electorate saying that moral values were the most important factor in making their pick for president, a heated debate has erupted over just what those values are and how Republicans have developed a monopoly over the voters who consider them paramount. Panelists will address the role of character, religion and values-related issues in the election.

Settling in for a second term, the Bush administration is launching significant proposals to privatize Social Security. However, replacing the current social insurance program involves high risks and a shaky investment scheme. The Center for American Progress hosted a panel of experts on November 18, 2004 to identify Social Security's financing needs, to discuss proposals to privatize Social Security, and to examine proposals to improve Social Security's financial outlook within the parameters of the existing system.

Arizona educators, business leaders, elected officials, researchers, students and parents will focus on teacher recruitment, retention, and training to create a new agenda for education in America. The Arizona forum is the fifth in a series of public forums to be held throughout the country to learn about local innovative and effective models for improving education. Upon completion of the final public forum, the Task Force will produce a major report with policy and program recommendations for modernizing and renewing public education in the United States.

In this year's "most prescient political book," Thomas Frank asks, "What's the matter with Kansas?" After the election, many progressives are now asking, "What's the matter with America?" Progressives seem increasingly befuddled by voters who claim to support an array of progressives policies but, as Frank argues, consistently vote "against their material interests." Frank attributes this to a decades-long campaign of conservatives cultural populism that demonizes progressives as out of touch with American life. 

Post-election coverage has given a great deal of attention to the role of "values" in shaping U.S. policy and informing the way Americans vote.  Esteemed European leaders will come together to discuss the values that ought to shape a progressive global partnership with Europe and the world as President Bush makes rebuilding the transatlantic relationship an important priority during his second term.

New York educators, business leaders, elected officials, researchers, students and parents will focus on post-secondary education and begin to create a new agenda for education in America. Upon completion of this forum, the Task Force will produce a major report with policy and program recommendations for modernizing and renewing public education in the United States.

United States operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have revealed deeply troubling cracks in the organization and structure of the U.S. volunteer Army.  These problems have been exacerbated both by the current challenges of the international security environment and the way in which the Bush administration has used the active-duty and reserve components since September 11th.  As a result, it appears that we are closer to breaking our volunteer Army today than at any other time in its 30-year history.

While there is broad consensus that the greatest threat facing America today is the possibility of a terrorist group acquiring nuclear weapons, there has been far too little attention paid to the risks of our own nuclear policy and posture. In the Road to Nuclear Security, Lawrence J. Korb makes an important contribution to this discussion by providing a comprehensive assessment of these dire risks.