Actor Matt Damon discusses his role promoting flex fuels and increased CAFE standards as part of the Center for American Progress Action Fund Project: Clean My Ride campaign (www.cleanmyride.org) on NBC's Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
Ilia Rodriguez of the Center for American Progress preps you for the week's events on Capitol Hill. The State Children's Health Insurance Program and the Defense Department's spending bill are two issues CAP is keeping an eye on. For more information on what's going on with your government please see: http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2007/07/this_week_073 0.html
What if we grew our own fuel? THE CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS www.AMERICANPROGRESS.org
Over 3,000 dead. More than 26,000 honorable Americans wounded. $463 BILLION taxpayer dollars spent. The war in Iraq needs a change in course. The Center for American Progress has a plan, STRATEGIC RESET, to end America's involvement in Iraq and reset our national security in the Middle East & in the war on terror. For more information on Strategic Reset please see: http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2007/06/strategic_reset.html
What if our most powerful weapons were ideas?
THE CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS
www.AMERICANPROGRESS.org
Episode One of Project Phin, a new web-based movie from the Center for American Progress Action Fund starring Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Sarah Silerman, Jennifer Garner, Jason Biggs and Joshua Jackson. Get involved in the campaign at www.CLEANMYRIDE.org
Tell your member of Congress it's time to end our dependence on oil and impact climate change by making flexible fuels and cars that go further on a gallon of fuel the part of America's energy policy.
Center for American Progress Senior Fellows Lawrence Korb and Brian Katulis discuss CAP's new Strategic Reset plan for Iraq and the Middle East on Capitol Hill.
To read Strategic Reset, please see: http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2007/06/strategic_reset.html THE
CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS www.AMERICANPROGRESS.org
"The White House does not want a full and an open debate on these issues and to the extent that controversy over earmarks can help them avoid it they will do everything possible to stoke the flamesregardless of their extensive involvement in creating the earmark mess that the new Congress is now trying to clean up."
THE CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS
www.AMERICANPROGRESS.orgWith the Iraq war well into its fifth year, the Bush administration still lacks a realistic plan for the Middle East and Iraq. The United States must reclaim control of its core national security interests by taking active steps to stabilize the entire Middle East and abandon the delusions at the heart of President Bush’s policies. Otherwise, U.S. security will continue to suffer by weakening the U.S. military and draining resources away from destroying terrorist networks such as Al Qaeda.
The current Iraq strategy is exactly what Al Qaeda wantsâ€â€the United States distracted and pinned down by Iraq’s internal conflicts and trapped in a quagmire that has become the perfect rallying cry and recruitment tool for Al Qaeda. The United States has no good options given the strategic and tactical mistakes made on Iraq since 2002, but simply staying the course with an indefinite military presence is not advancing U.S. interests.
Instead, the United States must reset its strategy by looking beyond the deteriorating situation in Iraq in order to counter the threat from global terrorist groups and ensure stability in the entire Middle East and Gulf region. To do this, we need to develop a new overall Middle East strategy, not just a series of tactics focused heavily on Iraq.
With the Iraq war well into its fifth year, the Bush administration still lacks a realistic plan for the Middle East and Iraq. The United States must reclaim control of its core national security interests by taking active steps to stabilize the entire Middle East and abandon the delusions at the heart of President Bush’s policies. Otherwise, U.S. security will continue to suffer by weakening the U.S. military and draining resources away from destroying terrorist networks such as Al Qaeda.
The current Iraq strategy is exactly what Al Qaeda wants—the United States distracted and pinned down by Iraq’s internal conflicts and trapped in a quagmire that has become the perfect rallying cry and recruitment tool for Al Qaeda. The United States has no good options given the strategic and tactical mistakes made on Iraq since 2002, but simply staying the course with an indefinite military presence is not advancing U.S. interests.
Instead, the United States must reset its strategy by looking beyond the deteriorating situation in Iraq in order to counter the threat from global terrorist groups and ensure stability in the entire Middle East and Gulf region. To do this, we need to develop a new overall Middle East strategy, not just a series of tactics focused heavily on Iraq.
The Senate begins debate today on changing U.S. military policy in Iraq as it considers the fiscal 2008 defense authorization bill. Amendments addressing the war are expected from both sides of the aisle.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (R-NV) and Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin (D-MI) are planning an amendment together that would require the military to begin decreasing the size of its deployed force within 120 days. The amendment would also call for a withdrawal of most combat troops by April 2008.
Senate Appropriations Chairman Robert Byrd (D-WV) and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) may also introduce their bill repealing the 2002 authorization for the Iraq war. And Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) is planning on sponsoring language setting minimum lengths of time between deployments to the Iraq war zone. His amendment would mandate that active-duty troops receive as much time at home as they served overseas. Reservists would receive three times as much time off from active duty as they spent deployed.
Foreign Relations ranking member Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN), Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH), and Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM), fresh from their recent defection from Bush’s Iraq strategy, will also be prominent during the debate. Domenici has already announced his support for a bipartisan bill intended to create conditions that would allow the military to significantly reduce the size of its forces in Iraq by next spring. The bill specifically calls for the implementation of the 70 recommendations offered by the Iraq Study Group and is sponsored by Sens. Ken Salazar (D-CO) and Lamar Alexander (R-TN).
Former chairman of the Armed Services Committee Sen. John Warner (R-VA) has said he is working on his own Iraq language as a substitute to the Democratic language. Warner is one of the chamber's most respected voices on defense issues and was the author of the Iraq supplemental language that passed the Senate earlier this spring.
In the House, the Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense will be marking up its spending bill this Thursday, although the details have not yet been announced.
Read the Center for American Progress’s recently released report that details a four-point strategy for reclaiming control of U.S. security in the Middle East:
Higher Education ActThe House will consider amendments this week to the Higher Education Act, which is intended to make college more affordable. Conservatives in the House are preparing for a fight by seeking to increase funding for Pell grants by taking $1.5 billion from new entitlement spending meant for institutions, including historically black colleges. House Education and Labor committee ranking member Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon (R-CA) has already filed an amendment in committee to shift the funds.
The bill’s price tag totals $18 billion in student aid including Pell grant funding, halving interest rates, increasing borrowing limits, limiting repayments to 15 percent of income, and allowing loan forgiveness of up to $5,000 for military personnel and civilian first responders.
HousingThe House is scheduled to take on legislation late this week that would overhaul the Section 8 housing voucher program. The bill is sponsored by Financial Services Housing Subcommittee Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) and would give housing authorities more flexibility in renting to poor and homeless persons and allow vouchers in certain cases to be used for purchasing manufactured homes on leased land. The HUD program currently issues housing vouchers to 2 million low-income people.
Come back on Tuesday for CAP Associate Director for Economic Mobility Andrew Jakabovics’ take on the Section 8 voucher program.
SCHIPÂSenate Finance Committee members are hoping this week to reach an agreement on and markup the reauthorization and expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program. Before the recess, questions about whether it’s possible to reach the $50 billion target set by the budget resolution and how that expansion would be paid for were still not answered.
House Energy and Commerce Committee Democrats want to reveal a draft of the bill this week. Along with the House Ways and Means Committee, leaders on the issue have said they plan to defer for two or three years pending a 10 percent physician payment cut. They also hinted at trying to get some money out of overhauling some of Medicare's payment systems, particularly within Medicare Advantage.
Read a recent report on key issues of the SCHIP reauthorization:
Discriminatory PayThe House Education and Labor Workforce Protections Subcommittee will examine a bill this week proposed by Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) to increase the damages plaintiffs can seek under the Equal Pay Act on Wednesday. The law bars employers from paying employees in the same job different wages based on gender, but women's advocates say the statute has weak enforcement provisions that make it difficult for plaintiffs to win compensation. Her bill will likely be opposed by employer groups. The committee has recently passed a bill in response to the Ledbetter v. Goodyear Supreme Court case involving discriminatory pay, but that bill had not addressed the Equal Pay Act.
America in the World - Senator Gordon Smith (R) Oregon
Smith began his remarks with the observation that it is better to be trusted than to be loved, and that American must re-establish values the world trusts.
Vis a vis Iraq, he called for a redeployment, arguing that they will not stand up until we begin standing down.
Smiths comments focused on Americas relationship with Iran. Irans policies could further radicalize the Middle East, and its nuclear program could start a Sunni-Shia arms race with destabilizing consequences. Iranian weapons had found their way to militants in Iraq and Afghanistan, and there was no defense against Iranian bombs.
Smith, who sponsored the Iran Counter-Proliferation Act, argued for serious economic sanctions. The act restricts financing for Iran, seizes assets, singles out Russia as the primary supporter of Irans program, and requires reporting of all investment within Iran.
The administrations continued refusal to negotiate with Iran is correct, he argued, since a favorable outcome is unlikely unless Irans enrichment is suspended during negotiations. He made clear that he is currently against any military option, but asserted, We must use all the tools in the tool box.
Forging a New Vision for Foreign Policy and International Security
At a time when the American people are beginning the process of choosing new leaders, the conference on Tuesday, June 12, 2007, explored how the United States can re-assert its leadership for a more peaceful, prosperous, and secure world.
Sponsored by The Century Foundation and the Center for American Progress, the conference featured speakers and panels on today's most pressing international issues of peace and security, including U.S. nuclear weapons policy, configuring America's defenses to 21st century realities, America's role in the Middle East, the global economy, and energy and the environment. Panelists included established and emerging voices in the international policy realm, including senior policy makers.
Speakers included former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, former National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Wesley Clark, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, former CIA Director John Deutch, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel and Egypt Daniel Kurtzer, former Secretary of Treasury Bob Rubin, Senator Gordon Smith, and former Deputy Commander, Headquarters U.S. European Command Charles Wald.
Former National Security Advisor Sandy Berger closed the America in the World conference with a five-point agenda for the next president. He outlined the great challenges facing America and provided some insights on how our next leader may tackle them:
Berger argued that each of these issues demands unique and specific attention, but that the keystone upon which each rested was to “restore American moral authority†in the world. It is possible, he noted, that our “insights, passions, and efforts†are not enough, but “we can at least get caught trying.â€
America and the Middle East: Helene Cooper (moderator), Daniel Kurtzer, Ellen Laipson, Daniel Levy, and Rep. David Price
America in the World
Forging a New Vision for Foreign Policy and International Security
At a time when the American people are beginning the process of choosing new leaders, the conference on Tuesday, June 12, 2007, explored how the United States can re-assert its leadership for a more peaceful, prosperous, and secure world.
Sponsored by The Century Foundation and the Center for American Progress, the conference featured speakers and panels on today's most pressing international issues of peace and security, including U.S. nuclear weapons policy, configuring America's defenses to 21st century realities, America's role in the Middle East, the global economy, and energy and the environment. Panelists included established and emerging voices in the international policy realm, including senior policy makers.
Speakers included former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, former National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Wesley Clark, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, former CIA Director John Deutch, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel and Egypt Daniel Kurtzer, former Secretary of Treasury Bob Rubin, Senator Gordon Smith, and former Deputy Commander, Headquarters U.S. European Command Charles Wald.
Forging a New Vision for Foreign Policy and International Security
Sponsored by The Century Foundation and the Center for American Progress, the conference featured speakers and panels on today's most pressing international issues of peace and security, including U.S. nuclear weapons policy, configuring America's defenses to 21st century realities, America's role in the Middle East, the global economy, and energy and the environment. Panelists included established and emerging voices in the international policy realm, including senior policy makers.
Speakers included former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, former National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Wesley Clark, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, former CIA Director John Deutch, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel and Egypt Daniel Kurtzer, former Secretary of Treasury Bob Rubin, Senator Gordon Smith, and former Deputy Commander, Headquarters U.S. European Command Charles Wald.
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