***Due to seating restrictions, we will be unable to accommodate additional registrants. We apologize for the inconvenience.***

"Swing Vote" follows the story of Bud Johnson (Kevin Costner), an apathetic, beer-slinging, lovable loser who is coasting through a life that has passed him by. The one bright spot is his precocious, overachieving 12 year-old daughter, Molly. She takes care of both of them until one mischievous moment on Election Day, when she accidentally sets off a chain of events which culminates in the election coming down to one vote—her dad's.

"Swing Vote" is a comical look at the journey of one father and daughter who discover that everyone has the power to change the world.

The United States is seeing an increase in its aging population as the Baby Boomers reach retirement age. Whether or not families retire in dignity instead of working in their golden years will largely depend on the leadership the next president will show on private retirement savings.

Please join the Center for American Progress for a discussion on retirement income challenges and specific policy solutions. Tom Mackell Jr., author of When the Good Pensions Go Away, will present the results of his research. After his description of the challenges that policymakers will face in the coming years, a panel of experts will discuss a range of policy options from building savings outside of retirement wealth to vastly improving retirement savings plans and strengthening traditional defined benefit plans.

In this impassioned and persuasive book, Bill Ivey, the former chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, assesses the current state of the arts in America and finds cause for alarm. Even as he celebrates our ever-emerging culture and the way it enriches our lives here at home while spreading the dream of democracy around the world, he points to a looming crisis. The expanding footprint of copyright, an unconstrained arts industry marketplace, and a government unwilling to engage culture as a serious arena for public policy have come together to undermine art, artistry, and cultural heritage-the expressive life of America. Ivey blends personal and professional memoir and policy analysis -including a proposal for a new central authority, a Department of Cultural Affairs, dedicated to reclaiming a coordinated vision for art, culture, and expression in American life. Please join the Center for American Progress for this thought-provoking discussion as we explore the importance of art and preserving a cultural heritage for all Americans.

"Humanity as a Weapon of War" is a new report from the Center for American Progress that looks at the U.S. military's emerging trend of using humanitarian assistance to achieve strategic objectives. It examines the U.S. Defense Department's efforts to counter threats such as extremism, poor governance and human suffering by aiding indigenous populations, and considers the use of development activities performed by civilian agencies to achieve the same goal. Based on original research conducted on the ground in East Africa and at US military commands around the world, this report argues that the military's efforts to achieve security through development can only be successful if they are rooted in a global strategy that puts development priorities, or "human security," first.

Please join the report's author, CAP's Dr. Reuben Brigety, who will discuss the report with a panel of development and security experts.

What do we really know about the expansion of learning time? While research has long supported a correlation between time and learning, we must ask what more we know today than we did in 1983 when A Nation At Risk was released. Are schools and districts really implementing a longer school day or year, and if so, how is the time being used? What funding structures exist to support the expansion of learning time? And what policies can support expansion of effective efforts?

Please join us for a critical look at expanded learning time as the Center for American Progress releases two new papers that build on what is commonly known about the expansion of learning time and contribute original research on implementation and costs to the field.

As scientific news on the impact of global warming gets more severe, it is time for bold international action. Much of the world has already put a price on carbon and set binding targets for renewable energy and efficiency. In the United States, serious discussion of national legislation to cap carbon emissions has begun.

The Center for American Progress and the Heinrich Böll Foundation invite you to participate in a transatlantic dialog with senior European policy makers, who have provided leadership on issues ranging from the German solar energy Feed In Tariff law to establishing carbon markets in the European Union. This will be a rich dialog offering lessons from the field for U.S. policy makers as we move toward a national commitment to tackle global warming.

On July 2, Colombian military intelligence and Special Forces liberated 3 U.S. hostages, former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, and 11 Colombian police and soldiers who had been held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia for as many as 11 years. Please join The Americas Project at the Center for American Progress as it hosts Colombian Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos for a discussion of the hostage rescue mission and other recent severe blows against the FARC and their implications for efforts to bring Colombia's long history of illegal armed conflict to a close.

Conventional wisdom considers the United States to be a land of equal opportunity where the possibility for upward economic mobility is limitless. But looking at the complete picture of the economic landscape of financial security and opportunity for U.S. families reveals a country where many families struggle to maintain a consistent standard of living. This prevents families from leaving resources to provide a stepping stone for their children or a nest egg for their own retirement.

Two panels of experts will discuss the analysis and implications for public policy examined in the new report "Wealth Mobility and Volatility in Black and White." 

Please join the Center for American Progress, the authors, and policy experts on Tuesday July 29th for this special event.