Center for American Progress Center for American Progress
Issues Idea of the Day2009 March

March

March 31, 2009

Idea of the Day: Composition of the G20

Composition should be revisited every five years, starting in 2014, to ensure that changes over time in the global hierarchy of economic power are reflected at the table. In addition, countries facing U.N. sanctions should not be admitted. We believe future membership should be comprised of two countries from each of the world’s five regions and the subsequent 10 largest economies in the world.
March 30, 2009

Idea of the Day: Establish a Voluntary Public Long-Term Care Insurance Program

Another option for broad public insurance protection for long-term care is to create a new program specifically designed for this purpose.
March 27, 2009

Idea of the Day: Delivering Better Service for Medicare-Medicaid “Dual Eligibles”

Coordination of acute and long-term care services for dual eligibles has the potential to promote both more efficient use of resources and better quality care.
March 26, 2009

Idea of the Day: Extending Medicaid Support for Home and Community-Based Care

Different approaches would expand the availability of home and community-based services in Medicaid in different ways.
March 25, 2009

Idea of the Day: Cash for Clunkers

Legislation now moving through Congress encourages consumers to trade in their old clunkers for newer, energy-efficient cars.
March 24, 2009

Idea of the Day: Enact a National Energy Efficiency Resource Standard

By including a national EERS in the Senate and House energy bills, Congress can set the United States on a path to producing the greatest reduction in emissions at the lowest cost as part of a national effort to slow global warming.
March 23, 2009

Idea of the Day: Ensure Quality for Alternative Certification Programs for Teachers

In order to ensure program quality, state policies should support the recruitment of talented candidates, assessment and support of program participants, mentoring and induction support, and accountability for programs to produce effective teachers.
March 20, 2009

Idea of the Day: Ethical Stem Cell Research

To enforce ethical guidelines and to ensure that all stem cell research (embryonic or otherwise) is conducted cautiously and responsibly so as not to threaten the safety or autonomy of research subjects or the donors of research materials, administrative oversight requirements should be included either in the NIH guidelines that respond to the president’s executive order or in legislation that should be passed in the first session of the 111th Congress.
March 19, 2009

Idea of the Day: Affordable Health Care for All

Assuring all Americans affordable health insurance is the most fundamental goal of health reform.
March 18, 2009

Idea of the Day: Protect the Fundamental Development Mission

The lack of a formidable domestic constituency for foreign assistance often makes such assistance vulnerable to budget cuts. Yet we know that fundamental development requires long-term commitment. Furthermore, the United States has a clear interest in helping states continue along the path of sustainable democratic development, regardless of their near-term strategic value. Thus funds dedicated to this mission must be protected against the vicissitudes of the annual appropriations process.
March 17, 2009

Idea of the Day: Work with Brazil on Energy and Environmental Issues

The United States can engage Brazil on a number of different issues related to energy and the environment, including conservation efforts.
March 16, 2009

Idea of the Day: Cooperate with Brazil on Security Matters

The United States should collaborate with Brazil on security matters both bilaterally and multilaterally, particularly when they reinforce Brazilian interests as well, and our interests are more often in synch than is considered by either side.
March 13, 2009

Idea of the Day: Improve Long-Range Planning at DHS

DHS has to create its vision of the future and a path to get there.
March 12, 2009

Idea of the Day: An Integrated Approach to Homeland Security

In an interdependent global environment, there are no longer bright lines that separate the foreign from the domestic or the public from the private. National security and homeland security overlap.
March 11, 2009

Idea of the Day: Long-Term Sustainability in Homeland Security

DHS must move past its perpetual state of emergency and shift its emphasis to long-term sustainability.
March 10, 2009

Idea of the Day: Using Carbon Capture and Sequestration to Meet Emission Goals

Carbon capture and sequestration is at the center of the debate, primed by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and President Obama's budget blueprint, on how to reduce U.S. CO2 emissions.
March 9, 2009

Idea of the Day: Restructure Bureaucratically to Address Pakistan Regionally and to Improve U.S. Government Response

The U.S. government must organize itself differently so that regional strategies are conducted, not just country-specific policies.
March 6, 2009

Idea of the Day: Create a Comprehensive Counterinsurgency Strategy for Addressing Militant Groups in Pakistan

The Obama administration will need to outline a vision for defeating extremism in Pakistan.
March 5, 2009

Idea of the Day: Collaborate with the EU to Advance the China-Tibetan Dialogue

The conflict over Tibet is so volatile that it cries out for a multilateral strategy.
March 4, 2009

Idea of the Day: Creating a Skilled Workforce to Build a Clean-Energy Smart Grid

The need for a well-trained, highly skilled workforce is a critical constraint in implementing a national clean-energy smart grid.
March 3, 2009

Idea of the Day: End the Military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Policy

With U.S. military and public opinion now firmly in opposition to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” it is time to put an end to this outdated, discriminatory policy—before it imposes further costs on our budget and our national security.
March 2, 2009

Idea of the Day: Implement Recommendations of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom

The recommendations of the Commission should be reviewed by Congress and the Obama administration and a determination made as to which are most feasible and how they should be enacted.