Boldly Forward: 20 Years of CAP

In 2024, the Center for American Progress celebrated its 20th anniversary. Since its founding, CAP has tackled the most pressing issues of our time—from affordable health care policies to fighting for equal rights and justice. Our innovative approach combining research, communications, and policy development has helped deliver progressive wins and improve the lives of all Americans. While we face many urgent challenges and uncertainties today, our pursuit of progress does not waver. CAP remains resilient in its commitment to find solutions for working people in America, champion equitable policies, and defend our fundamental freedoms and democracy.

Patrick Gaspard speaks in front of a podium with IDEAS Conference signage in the background
CAP President and CEO Patrick Gaspard delivers opening remarks at the 2023 CAP IDEAS Conference in Washington, D.C., October 2023. (Credit: Allison Shelley)

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Learn about the John D. Podesta Progressive Champion Award

The John D. Podesta Progressive Champion Award honors up-and-coming leaders who share a passion for public service, a record of leadership, and a vision that leads to lasting progress.

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Abortion Access Mapped by Congressional District Article

Abortion Access Mapped by Congressional District

Who is the typical woman of reproductive age in each congressional district? What is her income? What is her demographic profile? Does she live in poverty? How far must she travel to get an abortion? A new Center for American Progress analysis answers these questions and more for the districts of the 118th Congress (January 2023–January 2025).

Sara Estep

CAP Changemakers: The Intersectionality of Black Maternal Health Care and Abortion Access Video

CAP Changemakers: The Intersectionality of Black Maternal Health Care and Abortion Access

This conversation with Sabrina Talukder and Dr. Jamila K. Taylor highlights the vital intersection of Black maternal health care and abortion access, advocating for equitable policies and dignified care for marginalized communities.

Sabrina Talukder, Jamila Taylor, Toni Pandolfo, 3 More Olivia Mowry, Hai-Lam Phan, Matthew Gossage

Playbook for the Advancement of Women in the Economy Report

Playbook for the Advancement of Women in the Economy

This collection of policy recommendations reveals how policymakers can grow the economy by centering the changes that women need in their economic platforms.

Rose Khattar, Sara Estep

1 Year Without Roe Personal Story
Photo shows a closeup of a woman's hands, with one clasped around the other

1 Year Without Roe

Doctors, doulas, and nurse practitioners detail their experiences since the overturn of Roe v. Wade and their fears in the rapidly evolving legal landscape of abortion care.

State and Local Leaders Summit Past Event
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, UNITED STATES - 2018/12/21: Pattern on an old metallic bridge seen on a rural road in the State of Georgia, United States. The built structure is painted in green. (Photo by Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty Images)

State and Local Leaders Summit

Governors and mayors will have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform their economies in the months and years ahead.

Abortion Bans Will Result in More Women Dying Article
An abortion rights activist comforts her daughter following the 6-3 Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.

Abortion Bans Will Result in More Women Dying

Pregnancy carries risks, including death. Without abortion access, more women will die.

Elyssa Spitzer, Tracy Weitz, Maggie Jo Buchanan

After President Biden Cancels Student Debt Report
Three borrowers holding signs that say Cancel Student Debt

After President Biden Cancels Student Debt

Meeting the urgency of the college affordability and student debt crisis will require bold action to restore the promise of opportunity for all Americans.

Jared C. Bass, Jesse O’Connell

A Strong Start in Life: How Public Health Policies Affect the Well-Being of Pregnancies and Families Report
A mother kisses her child as her midwife examines her at a birthing center in South Los Angeles.

A Strong Start in Life: How Public Health Policies Affect the Well-Being of Pregnancies and Families

Understanding how the key social determinants of health—including housing, employment, and education—affect perinatal health is critical to ensuring that federal policies support healthy babies and families.

Hailey Gibbs, Marquisha Johns, Osub Ahmed, 2 More Maggie Jo Buchanan, Arohi Pathak

Future of Testing in Education: Artificial Intelligence Report

Future of Testing in Education: Artificial Intelligence

Technology and artificial intelligence can vastly improve the types of assessments teachers use to guide students in their learning.

Laura Jimenez, Ulrich Boser

Future of Testing in Education: The Way Forward for State Standardized Tests Report

Future of Testing in Education: The Way Forward for State Standardized Tests

There are valid criticisms about the current structure of state standardized testing in schools; the solution is not to get rid of these assessments but rather to design them differently.

Laura Jimenez, Ulrich Boser

The Clean Economy Revolution Will Be Unionized Report
 (A worker in a construction vest and hard hat installs solar panels on a roof in California, with mountains pictured in the background.)

The Clean Economy Revolution Will Be Unionized

State and local progress can inform federal action to support high-quality, union jobs building the clean economy.

Rita Cliffton, Malkie Wall, Sam Ricketts, 3 More Kevin Lee, Jessica Eckdish, Karla Walter

Climate Deniers in the 117th Congress Article
Clouds form above the U.S. Capitol in between rain showers on the National Mall, March 2021. (Getty/Al Drago)

Climate Deniers in the 117th Congress

There are 139 elected officials in the 117th Congress who still deny the scientific consensus of human-caused climate change.

Ari Drennen, Sally Hardin

Public Education Opportunity Grants Report

Public Education Opportunity Grants

The Center for American Progress is proposing a new federal grant program to dramatically increase the federal investment in K-12 education and make education funding more equitable at the federal, state, and local levels.

Scott Sargrad, Lisette Partelow, Jessica Yin, 1 More Khalilah M. Harris

The $78 Billion Community College Funding Shortfall Report
FREDERICK, MD - OCTOBER 6: Students study and eat in the student center at Frederick Community College, on October 6, 2015 in Frederick, Maryland. About 16,000 students of all ages attend college at FCC. Tuition and fees are about half of what they are at four-year public colleges in Maryland. Financial aid options help make learning more accessible for all students. People living in this small city have a median income a bit above the national median. Its homeownership rate is a bit below average. (Photo by Melanie Stetson Freeman/The Christian Science Monitor via Getty Images)

The $78 Billion Community College Funding Shortfall

A closer look at the revenue gaps between community colleges and public four-year institutions reveals significant inequities and underscores the need for reform.

Victoria Yuen

The Nature Gap Report

The Nature Gap

People of color, families with children, and low-income communities are most likely to be deprived of the benefits that nature provides.

Jenny Rowland-Shea, Sahir Doshi, Shanna Edberg, 1 More Robert Fanger

Transforming the Culture of Power Report
 (Protesters against U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh demonstrate at the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on October 6, 2018.)

Transforming the Culture of Power

Dismantling the culture of power that sustains and fuels gender-based violence requires a comprehensive, national strategy that connects meaningful policy solutions across the diverse issues affecting survivors and communities.

Jocelyn Frye, Shilpa Phadke, Robin Bleiweis, 6 More Maggie Jo Buchanan, Danielle Corley, Osub Ahmed, Rebecca Cokley, Laura E. Durso, Chelsea Parsons

A Quality Education for Every Child Report
Fifth and sixth grade students warm up for class at an elementary school in Washington, D.C., October 2012. (Getty/The Washington Post/Astrid Riecken)

A Quality Education for Every Child

The time is now for policymakers to take a bold and comprehensive approach to K-12 education.

Scott Sargrad, Khalilah M. Harris, Lisette Partelow, 2 More Neil Campbell, Laura Jimenez

Bold Ideas for State Action Report

Bold Ideas for State Action

Americans are ready for states—the laboratories of democracy—to offer a new progressive vision for shared prosperity. This report presents a menu of state policy priorities to help people secure good jobs and good wages and to support strong and healthy communities in which all people are treated fairly and equitably.

Center for American Progress

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