Colombia & the United States at a Crossroads: A Conversation with President Alvaro Uribe
May 2, 2007, 1:00pm – 2:30pmIn the coming weeks and months, the United States Congress faces decisions on the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement and the future of support for the fifth largest recipient of U.S. assistance in the world. Recent developments in Colombia, one of the longest-standing allies of the United States in the Americas, including the on-going investigation into ties between paramilitary organizations and sectors of Colombia's governing class have raised questions regarding the future direction of U.S. policy toward Colombia. In a spirit of open communication, The Americas Project at the Center for American Progress is pleased to host a conversation with His Excellency Alvaro Uribe, President of Colombia, about these and other issues that shape the relationship between two of the most closely interconnected countries in the Americas.
The Future of School Integration
May 10, 2007, 9:00am – 10:30amThe U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule shortly in high-profile cases challenging voluntary racial school integration programs in Seattle and Louisville. The cases raise the question of whether school integration matters, and, if so, why?
Morocco's Proposal for Western Sahara
May 10, 2007, 12:30pm – 2:00pmWith North Africa in the headlines in recent weeks because of terrorists' actions, Morocco responded during the same period to a request by the UN for a proposal to settle a 30-year-old Western Sahara dispute that has long undermined regional stability in other ways.
On April 30, the UN Security Council welcomed the Moroccan initiative. The Council called on Morocco and the Polisario Front to enter into direct negotiations without preconditions to achieve a lasting political solution. Given the wrangling over the Security Council resolution, it will take aggressive action by the UN to bring the parties to the table to reach the kind of compromise that will permit the region to move forward and resolve effectively this increasingly dangerous threat to stability in North Africa.
Please join us for an engaging discussion with experts who can explore and enlighten this important and insufficiently covered topic.
A Return to Competitive Contracting
May 14, 2007, 10:00am – 12:00pm"Follow the money" was the advice that "Deep Throat" gave Bob Woodward 34 years ago when he was trying to unravel the Watergate Scandal. That would also be good advice for the new Congress in its effort to reclaim its responsibility to conduct effective oversight. Specifically, the Congress would do well to look very closely at the approximately $400 billion that is being spent each year on government contracts.
This federal procurement process is the topic of a new report to be released by the Center for American Progress on Monday May 14th entitled, "A Return to Competitive Contracting" and of the event to be held at 10:00 a.m. that morning in Center's 10th floor Conference Room.
Congressman Henry Waxman, Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will be the Keynote Speaker and his presentation will be followed by a panel of experts including Angela Styles, Former Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy, Office of Management and Budget; Margaret Daum, Professional Staff, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform; Danielle Brian, Executive Director, Project on Government Oversight and Scott Lilly, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress.
Prologue to a Farce
May 17, 2007, 12:30pm – 2:00pmInspired by Madison's observation, Mark Lloyd has crafted a complex and powerful assessment of the relationship between communication and democracy in the United States. In Prologue to a Farce, he argues that citizens' political capabilities depend on broad public access to media technologies, but that the U.S. communications environment has become unfairly dominated by corporate interests.
Please join Mark Lloyd and former FCC Commissioner Gloria Tristani for a conversation on the current state of media and telecommunications policy and its impact on civic engagement and community, specifically focusing on women, children, and minorities. The discussion will consider how to ensure that democratic concerns are a priority in media and telecommunications policy, and how to promote our valued civic and cultural principles in a coarse consumer environment.
Managing Economic Risk in the Age of Terror
May 21, 2007, 9:00am – 12:00pmThe attacks of September 11 cost al Qaeda roughly $500,000 to plan and execute, but created up to $500 billion in economic impact, including an estimated $90 billion in the New York metropolitan area. The insurance industry paid more than $30 billion in claims for a risk it had not anticipated within the United States before 2001. In the aftermath, commercial terrorism risk insurance for businesses, particularly within major cities presumed to be potential targets for future attacks, was expensive, and was difficult if not impossible to obtain. This uncertainty regarding the availability of financial protection from a future attack sent ripple effects across the U.S. economy. In response, Congress in 2002 passed the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act or TRIA which provided government backing, subject to specific conditions that have changed over time, for the private commercial insurance market. Some view the law as a necessary shared responsibility between government and the private sector, while others see it as an inappropriate government intervention that has inhibited the market from effectively responding to an evolving risk.
Congress is now considering renewal of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act and the Center for American Progress has invited economic and security experts, together with corporate representatives, to consider what Congress should do now and how to protect the U.S. economy, including large and small business sectors, well into the future. What is the ongoing risk of terrorism to the United States? How does terrorism affect companies of various sizes and in different parts of the country? If TRIA should be renewed, how should it be structured to provide the maximum protection to the U.S. economy? Should the American taxpayers be compensated for the protection the government provides the insurance industry? Does government belong in the insurance business and if so for how long? What is the long-term solution?
The Disaster Gypsies
May 22, 2007, 3:30pm – 5:00pmPlease join us for a conversation about a newly published book, the Disaster Gypsies: Humanitarian Workers in the World's Deadliest Conflicts. Author John Norris and Disaster Response expert Linda Poteat will discuss the increasing intersection between relief workers and conflict specialists in the past decade and its implications for policy decisions.
"Disaster Gypsies is a highly readable tour of the sights, scares, and moral tradeoffs that Norris encountered in the earth's most troubled places. With a meticulous eye for detail, he offers a kind of 'biography of a humanitarian,' casting insight on democracy promotion and nation building at a time when we desperately need his hard-won wisdom."
--Samantha Power, Pulitzer Prize winning author of A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide
Global Warming and the Future of Coal
May 31, 2007, 9:00am – 10:30amCoal-fired electricity is a key element of our current and future energy mix. However, managing the greenhouse gas emissions generated by coal combustion remains a serious challenge in the face of global warming. According to an international panel of climate experts, rapid action is needed to stabilize and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases if the planet is to avoid the serious consequences of global warming. Congress is now considering several bills that would move in that direction.
As part of the Center for American Progress' "Energy Opportunity" series, we are presenting this event to release the report "Global Warming and the Future of Coal: The Path to Carbon Capture and Storage." The report describes a legislative path to begin the capture and storage of the carbon dioxide produced by coal combustion so that new coal plants do not worsen global warming. Berlin and Sussman describe the science and technology of carbon capture and storage (CCS) and the current incentives and drivers for industry to invest in advanced coal technologies. They conclude that the current policy framework is inadequate to encourage these investments and then analyze an array of policy options to speed deployment of carbon capture and storage technology. The report recommends legislation requiring that new power plants be built CCS-ready with a rapid timetable for capturing and storing CO2. The authors also recommend a package of incentives to offset the potential economic impact of a capture and storage regime.
It is time to take serious, comprehensive action to achieve energy independence and cut global warming emissions by 80 percent by 2050. Berlin and Sussman propose policy tools essential to achieve this target in a timely fashion. Please join Robert M. Sussman, Kenneth Berlin, and an expert panel for a discussion of "Global Warming and the Future of Coal: The Path to Carbon Capture and Storage."