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Fri, 15 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT
The latest installment of a series that dates back nearly half a century, Financing the 2008 Election is the definitive analysis of how campaign finance and spending shaped the historic presidential and congressional races of 2008.
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Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:30:00 GMT
Event Information:
- December 02, 2009, 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM
On Wednesday, December 2, Senior Fellow Ben Wittes will participate in a live web chat and will answer questions about President Obama’s plans for closing Guantánamo, Khalid Sheik Mohammed’s upcoming trial, and White House Counsel Greg Craig’s sudden resignation. Politico’s Fred Barbash will moderate the discussion.
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Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:00:00 GMT
Event Information:
- December 02, 2009, 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM
The American educational system is fundamental to promoting social and economic mobility, civic engagement and global competiveness, but the subject of receives less media coverage than other major public policy issues. On December 2, Grover "Russ" Whitehurst and E.J. Dionne, authors of The Disappearance of Education News, will present their solutions for improving education reporting and promoting quality discourse.
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Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:29:00 GMT
The decision to prosecute alleged 9/11 master-mind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his co-conspirators in a civil trial in the Southern District of New York sparks debate on how to best try terrorism suspects. Benjamin Wittes offers his views on the significance of trying terror detainees in the U.S. civilian judicial system.
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Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:35:00 GMT
Through a new competitive grant program called Race to the Top, the U.S. Department of Education is awarding $4 billion of stimulus money to states that demonstrate a commitment to education reform and innovation. Russ Whitehurst says it is a promising program that could promote education reform and elevate the education of thousands of children.
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Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Speaking before the Senate Budget Committee, Senior Fellow William Galston discussed how the Untied States’ current fiscal course is unsustainable. The level of deficits, debt, and borrowing from abroad projected for the next decade threatens not only our economic prosperity, but also our currency, global leadership, and national independence, he asserted. Galston recommended that an independent, bi-partisan commission be created to address the challenge of developing a sustainable fiscal policy.
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Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:00:00 GMT
Event Information:
- November 09, 2009, 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM
Broadband and wireless technologies are key elements of our nation’s economic, social and civic development. With the Federal Communications Commission’s stated goals of bringing broadband access to all Americans, it is crucial to determine how to be innovative when investing in broadband infrastructure. On November 9, the Brookings Institution hosted a policy forum to examine this issue and to discuss ways to overcome barriers to developing this infrastructure.
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Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:00:00 GMT
Event Information:
- November 05, 2009, 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM
Health care innovation, done right, creates opportunities for consumers to control their own health records, rate physicians and hospitals, learn from other patients and focus on positive health outcomes. On November 5, Brookings hosted a policy forum to discuss the ways in which digital technology can empower patients and enhance the quality of the American health care system.
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Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Given a choice between the status quo in American education and change, the Obama administration has been bold in pursuit of change. The president and Education Secretary Arne Duncan have used the bully pulpit and the powerful lever of $5 billion in discretionary stimulus funds to push a catalog of initiatives, writes Brookings senior fellow, Russ Whitehurst. Whitehurst gives the administration an A+ for motive, effort and reach, but he writes the administration has made some questionable bets and ignored surer ones, most specifically improvements in curriculum and instruction.
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Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:58:00 GMT
Technological advances in health care can give consumers more control over key aspects of their care and health outcomes. Darrell West examines the benefits of new technology in the medical system and what it will mean for the quality, accessibility and affordability of health care.
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Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT
The nation appears to have entered a fragile state of recovery, with the worst recession since the 1930s at an end. After four straight quarters of contracting economic activity, the Commerce Department reported this morning that the economy grew in the third quarter of 2009, fueled by government spending on cars and homes. Experts from around the halls of Brookings responded to this news.
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Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Russ Whitehurst and Michelle Croft find no association between state scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and ratings of the quality of state standards. Moreover, their analyses suggest that the creation of common standards will have little impact on our future in and of itself.
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Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT
"Opt-out” has become the most powerful phrase in the health care debate, thanks to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s decision to include it in Senate legislation. If particular jurisdictions do not like a public option, they simply can exit the government health insurance system for uninsured residents. This is a very American idea, writes Darrell West. However, from a governance standpoint, the public option creates a worrisome precedent for other policy areas.
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Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Post-partisan politics is seen as providing a cure for whatever currently ails American politics. Charles Jones explores post-partisanship and the various forms of partisanship that currently exist in Washington. Although conventional wisdom tells us that we must move beyond partisanship, Jones concludes that partisanship continues to serve as the basis for the workings of American politics. Simply put, partisanship is the way lawmaking works in representative government.
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Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT
The “Black Tuesday” stock market crash of 1929 still haunts us on its 80th anniversary this Thursday. William Galston describes the actions taken over this past year to avert a second Great Depression and suggests that the flap over Wall Street bonuses signals a return to business as usual. Our political system has a duty to act against the obvious abuses, he writes.
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Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT
October 20, 2009 marked nine months since President Barack Obama took office. Russell Wheeler compares the nomination process for the courts of appeals and district courts of the George W. Bush administration with the current one, focusing on nominations made, hearings held, nominees confirmed and nominee characteristics. Wheeler reveals two striking findings: the relatively paucity of Obama administration nominees and the delay in full Senate action on those nominees.
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Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT
In a recent op-ed in Roll Call, the Brookings and Duke Immigration Policy Roundtable offered substantive recommendations on how to usher in immigration reform, including enhanced enforcement of workplace laws, new legalization standards, the establishment of an independent standing commission and engagement with the Mexico on cross-border population issues.
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Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT
President Obama has committed himself to “reform America’s public schools,” and his administration is focused on making early childhood programs, common standards, charter schools and teachers more effective. However, writes Russ Whitehurst, the administration should also undertake actions to better integrate curriculum innovation and reform into its policy framework. "Don't Forget Curriculum” compares the size of the effects on student achievement brought about by curriculum with the size of the effects of popular reform strategies favored by the Obama administration.
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Fri, 09 Oct 2009 09:30:00 GMT
Event Information:
- October 09, 2009, 9:30 AM to 11:00 AM
On October 9, the Brookings Institution will host Harvard Public Policy Lecturer Elaine Kamarck for a discussion of her new book, Primary Politics: How Presidential Candidates Have Shaped the Modern Nominating System (Brookings Institution Press, 2009), which explains how the presidential nomination process became the often bewildering system we have today.
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Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Health care today is dominated by physicians, hospitals, the pharmaceutical industry, insurance companies and government agencies. However, imagine a different system where, with the aid of technology, the patient is in charge. Darrell West outlines a vision for a new health care system based on mobile health (mHealth), remote monitors, electronic medical records, social networking sites, video conferencing and Internet-based recordkeeping.
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Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT
To dig deeper into what the American public really thinks about health care, experts at Brookings and WorldPublicOpinion.org gathered and interpreted polling research about public attitudes toward reform of the country’s health care system. Their results offer a new and complex portrait of how Americans view health care reform and the policy debate surrounding the polarizing issue.
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Thu, 08 Oct 2009 14:00:00 GMT
Event Information:
- October 08, 2009, 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM
Comprehensive health care reform legislation is moving through Congress. Democrats and Republicans have relied on vast amounts of research, including public opinion polls, to shape their positions and formulate policy solutions. Pundits and legislators alike regularly cite what the American people want in the final reform package. But just how complete is this research? On October 8, Brookings and WorldPublicOpinion.org unveiled new survey research about public attitudes on health care reform.
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Thu, 08 Oct 2009 10:00:00 GMT
Event Information:
- October 08, 2009, 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM
On October 8, The Brookings Institution hosted a policy forum to discuss how digital technology can empower patients to take responsibility for their routine health care, and rely on physicians and hospitals only for more serious medical conditions.
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Wed, 07 Oct 2009 10:00:00 GMT
Event Information:
- October 07, 2009, 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM
The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2009-2010 term will consider major arguments on issues ranging from state’s rights and separation of powers to dog-fighting videos. On October 7, the Brookings Judicial Issues Forum hosted a panel discussion to preview the most anticipated and important cases.
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Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT
The immigration debate is exceedingly difficult given the challenges to the rule of law, exploitation of vulnerable newcomers, and real and perceived competition with Americans for jobs and public resources. The Immigration Policy Roundtable, a joint undertaking of Brookings and the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University, agreed on a set of recommendations that address the most vexing and controversial obstacles to immigration reform.
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Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:00:00 GMT
Event Information:
- October 06, 2009, 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM
On October 6, the Brookings-Duke Immigration Policy Roundtable released a report proposing six policy changes to break the immigration reform stalemate, including emphasizing enforcement at the workplace, setting standards for the legalization of illegal immigrants and establishing an independent Standing Commission on Immigration.
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Wed, 30 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Voters elect governments to solve social problems and governments design and implement an array of programs to ensure the public good. However, little theoretical attention has been devoted to the final step of the implementation chain: explanations of why the targets of public policies do or do not “comply” with those policies. Kent Weaver focuses on why program “targets” frequently fail to act in the way that program designers intended and wanted, even when it appears to be in their self-interest to do so.
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Tue, 29 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT
President Obama's decision not to go to Congress for help in establishing reasonable standards for the continued detention of Guantánamo detainees is a failure of leadership in the project of putting American law on a sound basis for a long-term confrontation with terrorism, writes Benjamin Wittes. It is bad for the country, for national security and for civil liberties, and represents a virtually wholesale adoption of the failed policies of his predecessor.
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Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Despite months of negotiations, Senate Finance Committee chair Max Baucus was forced to introduce his long-awaited health reform bill without gaining the support of even one Republican senator. At first glance this outcome seems puzzling, but party polarization—the ideological gap in Congress between Democrats and Republicans–is at its highest level in more than a century, writes William Galston.
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Mon, 21 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski announced his plan to expand “net neutrality” rules for Internet providers. The chairman advocated an anti-discrimination rule that would prevent Internet providers from blocking or slowing the utilization of competing services, and a transparency rule that would require providers disclose how they manage traffic, writes Darrell West.
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Mon, 21 Sep 2009 10:00:00 GMT
Event Information:
- September 21, 2009, 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Recognizing the need to expand the U.S. broadband network to ensure America’s infrastructure and economic development, Congress tasked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) with developing a national broadband plan by early 2010. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski delivered remarks at Brookings on the national broadband plan and other communications issues.
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Fri, 18 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT
The current controversy over the number of "czars" in the Obama administration enjoys the rare distinction of being a political fight in Washington that everybody wants to have. However, Stephen Hess is confounded by the controversy since presidents have always had close advisers with powerful portfolios who did not require Senate confirmation.
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Wed, 16 Sep 2009 14:00:00 GMT
Event Information:
- September 16, 2009, 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM
On September 16, the Brown Center on Education Policy at Brookings hosted an event to discuss Crossing the Finish Line (Princeton University Press, October 2009), which examines degree attainment at America's public universities. President Obama has committed the nation to the goal of producing the world's highest proportion of college graduates by 2020.
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Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Advice and Dissent explores the state of the nation's federal judicial selection system -- a process beset by deepening partisan polarization, obstructionism, and deterioration of the practice of advice and consent.
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Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT
In the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Congress tasked the FCC with developing a national broadband policy by February 17, 2010 to boost our nation’s communications infrastructure and long-term economic development. Darrell West explores in a new study what consumers want from new mobile communications in the United States, Spain, United Kingdom, and Spain and how these results demonstrate the virtue of innovation and open networks for communications policy.
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Sun, 13 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT
The United States Constitution states that "no title of nobility shall be granted by the United States," yet it seems political nobility is as American as apple pie, writes Stephen Hess. In developing a robust ranking of the country’s most prominent political families, Hess tracks the constant shift in America’s long history of dynastic politics.
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Thu, 10 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT
As President Obama ascended the podium to deliver his pivotal health care speech, he faced a number of key challenges: to regain control of a debate, to reunify a divided Democratic party, and to allay widespread public fears that have weakened support for reform in recent months. Early polls suggest that the speech was well received and had moved a substantial portion of the public in the president’s direction. On the other hand, it seems likely that three major areas of public doubt remain; Medicare, the budget deficit, and employer-provided insurance coverage, writes William Galston.
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Wed, 09 Sep 2009 12:30:00 GMT
Event Information:
- September 09, 2009, 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM
Ron Nessen, former White House Press Secretary and NBC reporter, now Journalist in Residence at the Brookings Institution, took your questions about the future of the news industry. Fred Barbash, senior editor at Politico, moderated the discussion.
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Fri, 04 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Although President Obama’s approval ratings are declining, there is nothing inexorable about this drop or the larger swing against him among Independents, writes Thomas Mann. However, if the economic downturn persists a year from now and President Obama’s approval ratings have sunk well below 50 percent, Mann predicts, Democrats are likely to lose 20 or more seats in the House and a few in the Senate.
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Wed, 02 Sep 2009 12:30:00 GMT
Event Information:
- September 02, 2009, 12:30 PM to 1:30
On Wednesday, September 2, Brookings expert Russ Whitehurst, who directs the Brown Center for Education at Brookings, and Fred Barbash, senior editor of Politico, took questions on American education policy.
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Tue, 01 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT
We are likely to enter a period of new normality marked by lower household debt, higher personal savings, and less consumption as a share of GDP, writes William Galston. Despite these positive trends, we still need a new era of public restraint, not just private thrift. Once economic growth has become self-sustaining and the private sector’s need for capital returns to more normal levels, Congress and the administration will have to turn their attention to the difficult fiscal questions they have long evaded.
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Mon, 31 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Blogs represent opportunities for individuals to express views, comment on the opinions of others and build a new online community. The U.S. government understands blogs’ dynamism and, as a result, agencies are seeking to increase their online presence by developing their own blogs. Julianne Mahler and Priscilla Regan examine the ways governmental and non-governmental blogs are used to link citizens and government officials.
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Fri, 28 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT
According to a recent study, No Child Left Behind is having its intended effect—bettering the performance of low-achieving students—and also raising test scores for top students. However, Tom Loveless and Michael Petrilli find this latter conclusion flawed because state tests are poor measurements for high achieving students; the study’s depicted state trends create a misleading national picture; and the analysis does not compare today’s students with those of earlier eras.
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Fri, 28 Aug 2009 11:28:15 GMT
Senator Edward Kennedy served in the U.S. Senate for nearly 50 years and left behind a legacy of service and commitment. Senior Fellow Emeritus Stephen Hess observes that Kennedy was one of the most noted figures in the U.S. Senate and will likely be the last member of his family to leave such an indelible mark on politics.
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Fri, 28 Aug 2009 13:48:41 GMT
Attorney General Eric Holder appointed a special prosecutor to investigate CIA operatives’ alleged abuse of terrorism detainees. Benjamin Wittes says officials from both parties question the reach of the inquest, but that Holder has acted entirely appropriately.
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Thu, 27 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Education reformers are grappling with difficult, ideologically charged questions on how to improve the United States education system. But these debates have deep historical roots. Tom Loveless joins the Kojo Nnamdi Show to examine the great historical debates in American education and the myths about the golden era of American education.
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Wed, 26 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Higher education is fast becoming a global enterprise as students and professors hopscotch from nation to nation. Yet in this new world of mobility and competition, challenges to America’s educational primacy are inevitable—and international rankings are the means by which those challenges are most likely to arrive, writes Ben Wildavsky. A process is already under way to expand international rankings beyond the metrics of reputation and research to include measures of classroom learning. However, this could be both traumatic and useful for the American higher education system.
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Wed, 19 Aug 2009 12:30:00 GMT
Event Information:
- August 19, 2009, 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM
With Congress out on recess, climate change and health care reform efforts are stalled. Thomas Mann and Politico's Fred Barbash took questions in a live web chat on whether partisan gridlock and hefty price tags could prevent these bills’ passage.
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Mon, 17 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT
With Justice Sonia Sotomayer confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court and President Obama set to fill a number of lower court vacancies, there is renewed attention on the demographic makeup of the U.S. judiciary. Russell Wheeler examines federal judicial demographic data from the Eisenhower administration to today. He concludes that while the face of the judiciary has markedly changed over the last 30 years, it hardly mirrors the general population.
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Thu, 13 Aug 2009 10:00:00 GMT
Event Information:
- August 13, 2009, 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Six months after Congress passed a two-year, $787 billion stimulus plan to revive America’s economy, conflicting numbers fuel arguments of both proponents and critics. A panel of Brookings experts weighed the evidence and discussed whether the money was strategically deployed to invigorate the nation’s economy, to create jobs and to advance school reform.
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Wed, 12 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT
As Americans debate about health care reform and how it will affect the doctor-patient relationship, Darrell West discusses how new technologies can bring in a new era of "participatory medicine." The advent of health information technology can generate efficiency, reduce costs, and improve outcomes.
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Wed, 12 Aug 2009 12:30:00 GMT
Event Information:
- August 12, 2009, 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM
At the six-month mark of his presidency, Barack Obama is dealing with issues from a renewed insurgency in Afghanistan and political turmoil in Iran to a heated health care debate at home. Brookings expert William Galston and Senior Politico Editor Fred Barbash took a close look at President Obama’s progress and answered questions about how the president is doing in this edition of the Scouting Report.
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Fri, 07 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Many conservative commentators including, Michael Gerson, disdain President Obama’s stimulus bill and have trumpeted its alleged shortcomings. However, the accuracy of these criticisms is far from self-evident; it will be assessed by analysts in the months and years ahead as the bill’s funds are expended and evidence becomes available on their impact on the micro and macro-economy, writes Thomas Mann.
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Fri, 07 Aug 2009 09:40:09 GMT
Back in their states and districts for the summer recess, Members of Congress are hearing from their constituents on health care reform legislation. Sarah Binder says trying to pass a health care reform bill is a gamble for legislators, who fear they could lose votes in the 2010 election if the bill is perceived as too costly.
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Fri, 07 Aug 2009 14:45:59 GMT
Sonia Sotomayor took the judicial oath of office on August 8, becoming the first Hspanic and third woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. Visiting Fellow Russell Wheeler examines how the Obama administration will impact the judicial system and what we can expect from Justice Sotomayor.
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Wed, 05 Aug 2009 09:24:05 GMT
The Obama administration is considering two different options for prosecuting Guantánamo Bay detainees in the United States. One option calls for trying detainees in several different federal courts in New York, Washington, D.C. and Virginia. The other idea is to try all such cases at a super-max prison in either Michigan or Kansas. Benjamin Wittes says resolving the many issues associated with Guantánamo Bay presents a challenge for the administration.
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Tue, 04 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT
With his approval ratings declining and increasing congressional infighting about health care overhaul, President Obama's reform efforts are starting to resemble President Clinton's failed attempt in 1994. However, Darrell West argues President Obama has already demonstrated much greater political effectiveness than President Clinton, and on this issue ultimately, Democrats will succeed in passing health care reform because the risks of failure are too high.
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Sat, 01 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT
The judicial appointment process – for both the Supreme Court and the lower federal courts – has been increasingly characterized by senatorial foot-dragging, declining confirmation rates, and protestations by both political parties. Sarah Binder and Forrest Maltzman explore the politics of judicial selection, focusing on partisan, institutional, and temporal forces that shape the fate of presidential appointments to the federal trial and appellate courts. Analyzing historical patterns from over the past 60 years, they find that the polarization of advice and consent worsened over the Bush years, but was broadly consistent with the deterioration of judicial selection over the past several decades.
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Wed, 29 Jul 2009 12:30:00 GMT
Event Information:
- July 29, 2009, 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM
President Obama recently announced that his administration will need at least six more months to devise a long-term plan for detainees in the military detention facility at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba who cannot be tried but are considered too dangerous for release. Brookings expert Benjamin Wittes joined Fred Barbash, senior editor at Politico, in a live web chat about the challenges the Obama administration faces in closing Guantánamo.
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Tue, 28 Jul 2009 10:07:41 GMT
“How We're Doing: A Composite Index of Global and National Trends” compares President Obama to the prior five presidents at the six-month point and marks a baseline for future quarterly indexes. It reveals that the public is generally pleased with the new president’s performance. Darrell West, vice president and director of Governance Studies, says that maintaining the trust and confidence of the American people could take some doing.
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Mon, 27 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Proponents have high hopes for health care reform, but legislation is unlikely to alter personal behavior. What is needed today, writes Darrell West, is serious thinking about how to get Americans to lead healthier lifestyles. If we want health care reform to reduce costs and improve good health, we need a public education campaign emphasizing exercise, balanced diets and healthier living.
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Tue, 21 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT
The Obama administration announced plans to restructure how immigrants—most of whom have no criminal records—are detained. Immigration presents courts and administrative agencies tremendous challenges due to a lack of consensus and resources for total enforcement of laws governing entry to and status in the country. Russell Wheeler has explained why crafting better policies for institutions most responsible for enforcing the laws fairly should be part of the broader immigration reform effort.
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Tue, 21 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT
With the new political landscape, the importance of immigration for the American economy and new policy ideas that address concerns regarding low-skill workers and border security, the ingredients are in place for comprehensive immigration reform. What are required are bold leadership, a new narrative and a commitment to overcome old stereotypes. History does not have to repeat itself on immigration policy, writes Darrell West.
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Sat, 18 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT
New federal policies on immigration will require a new narrative, bold and innovative ideas and a determination to overcome major obstacles to action. Darrell West and Thomas Mann offer a forecast for immigration reform in the new political climate as the nation’s growing Latino factor and some recent shifts in immigration positions suggest that forging a new policy is possible. However, the topic still evokes economic, social, political and cultural obstacles that must be overcome if congressional reform is going to effective.
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Fri, 17 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT
There is broad agreement that the nation needs to overhaul its immigration policies, but how to change national policy is shaping up to be a major debate. Sketching the policy outlook for immigration reform, William Galston divides the problem into the specific issues that new immigration legislation must confront: overall level of new legal permanent residents to be admitted; the role of family reunification; employment and skills; making the new law responsive to economic change; enforcement; coping with past policy failures, and integrating the new arrivals.
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Fri, 17 Jul 2009 13:41:51 GMT
In her quest to be confirmed as a U.S. Supreme Court justice, Judge Sonia Sotomayor faced four days of questioning and testimony on Capitol Hill. Russell Wheeler says Sotomayor’s Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings played out as expected — and that she will be confirmed — but adds that it’s too soon to say how she will influence the court’s decisions.
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Fri, 10 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Washington’s arguments on new health care reform appear far removed from the public’s needs, writes Darrell West. He argues that the clashes on the so-called public option do not satisfy the most important concern consumers have: that their current care will not suffer.
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Thu, 09 Jul 2009 10:00:00 GMT
Event Information:
- July 09, 2009, 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM
On July 9, the Brookings Institution hosted an event to discuss the pros and cons of expanding the new public insurance plan for health care, how to reduce costs while expanding coverage, and the central role of information technology in health reform.
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Wed, 08 Jul 2009 12:30:00 GMT
Event Information:
- July 08, 2009, 12:30 PM to 01:30 PM
Brookings expert Russell Wheeler and Politico Senior Editor Fred Barbash took questions about the historic nomination of Sonia Sotomayor in the July 8 edition of the Scouting Report.
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Tue, 07 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee began July 13th. Melissa Rogers urged Senators to engage Sotomayor in a discussion of the broad principles and values animating the constitutional commands on religious freedom.
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Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT
A new report by the AEI-Brookings Continuity of Government Commission examines vulnerabilities in the U.S. presidential succession. It has long been assumed that prospects for a smooth transfer of presidential power in the event of a terrorist attack are assured, as there is already a clear line of succession to the nation's highest office. However, as the report's authors point out, the existing presidential succession could be rendered useless by a catastrophic attack because everyone in line to succeed the president lives and works in Washington, D.C.
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Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:00:00 GMT
Editor Benjamin Wittes leads an authoritative lineup of legal experts and former government officials, many of whom have served on the legal front lines of the War on Terror. Together they present an agenda for reforming the statutory law governing this new battle, balancing the need for security, the rule of law, and the constitutional rights of freedom.
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Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT
President Obama seems poised to adopt the Bush administration's unilateral approach to detention. This approach has failed President Bush and it will not serve President Obama any better, write Benjamin Wittes and Jack Goldsmith. The president can still get what he needs on detention, they say, if he works from Congress's bipartisan center, releases more substantial information about the detainees he thinks cannot be set free, and speaks often about the need for stable rules to govern non-criminal detentions.
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Fri, 26 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Closing the detention camp at Guantánamo Bay by President Obama's January deadline is pressuring the administration to craft a new system for incarcerating terrorist suspects, possibly through an executive order. Benjamin Wittes and Colleen Peppard suggest instead a model law for terrorist incapacitation.
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Mon, 22 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT
The role of Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter in recent Iranian street demonstrations shows the power of digital technologies. At the same time that these technologies facilitate grass-roots communications, they also sow the seeds for future political repression, writes Darrell West.
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Fri, 19 Jun 2009 10:30:00 GMT
Event Information:
- June 19, 2009, 10:30 AM to 12:00:00 PM
In a roundtable discussion on education reform, Australian Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard outlined the similarities between the reform agendas in the United States and Australia. Highlighting a commitment to transparency and a promise to create a high-quality national curriculum, Minister Gillard notes that Australia would keep pace with its Asia-Pacific neighbors and create a plan to increase secondary school graduation rates.
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Wed, 17 Jun 2009 10:00:00 GMT
Event Information:
- June 17, 2009, 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM
On June 17, Brookings hosted an event on how new technology can make the public sector perform faster and smarter. Brookings Vice President and Director of Governance Studies Darrell West released a new study, “Comparing Technology Innovation in the Private and Public Sectors.”
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Wed, 17 Jun 2009 12:30:00 GMT
Event Information:
- June 17, 2009, 12:30 PM to 01:30
Brookings expert Darrell West and Politico Senior Editor David Mark discussed ways the government can use the Internet and new technologies to provide better, faster, more transparent and accountable service to its people in the June 17 edition of the Scouting Report.
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Thu, 11 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Technology can be a tool for making government better and democracy stronger. However, the public sector has continued to fall behind the private sector in technology innovation, writes Darrell West. Evaluating the web sites of leading U.S. corporations with state and national governments, West offers five reasons why the private sector has outpaced government in effective innovation, and ways the public sector could improve.
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Fri, 05 Jun 2009 12:18:52 GMT
President Obama’s address to the Muslim world was largely well received by the Islamic community, the public and world leaders. William Galston says the speech covered many issues but hard work must follow the president’s eloquent words.
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Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT
As members of Congress prepare to delve into health care reform, William Galston writes that it’s time for elected officials to begin leveling with the American people about the choices they face if we are finally to achieve universal health insurance with meaningful cost containment.
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Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT
The explicit theme of President Obama’s speech in Cairo, was "A New Beginning," writes William Galston. President Obama has wagered his presidency on the premise that the U.S. have entered new chapter. If he is right, he will be a transformative president of historic stature.
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Thu, 28 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT
As President Obama prepared for his historic speech in Cairo, he faced a dual challenge–not only to redefine the troubled relations between the U.S. and the Muslim world, but also to clarify the place of democracy and human rights in his administration's foreign policy. Brookings expert William Galston previewed Obama’s major address.
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Thu, 28 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT
In nominating Sonia Sotomayor, the Obama administration must be more than satisfied with the early reaction from a political standpoint, writes William Galston. While Democrats are united and Hispanics are thrilled, those who oppose her must choose their words and tactics carefully so as not to antagonize further the nation’s fastest-growing demographic group.
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Wed, 27 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Only a few years ago, a Supreme Court nominee like Judge Sonia Sotomayor could expect quick, nearly unanimous confirmation. Yet recent trends in Supreme Court nominations show Sotomayor can expect a highly contentious confirmation. Brookings expert Ben Wittes writes, our system has gone from one in which people like Sotomayor, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito are shoe-ins for confirmation to a system in which they are shoo-ins for confirmation confrontations.
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Tue, 26 May 2009 15:57:00 GMT
With newspapers going under and declaring bankruptcy, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) debates the future of the industry with Darrell West, vice president and director of the Governance Studies program at Brookings; Brookings expert Shibley Telhami releases results from the latest poll of Arab public opinion; and the man on the street opines on President Obama’s new CAFE fuel economy standards. All on our podcast, @ Brookings.
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Tue, 26 May 2009 14:00:00 GMT
Event Information:
- May 26, 2009, 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM
President Obama has committed to the goal of having the world's highest rate of college graduates by 2020. The funding and delivery of student financial aid will be critical to reaching that goal. To that end, the president has announced plans for an overhaul of the federal college loan system. The Brown Center on Education Policy at Brookings hosted an event to explore ways of improving the effectiveness of student financial aid.
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Tue, 26 May 2009 15:46:44 GMT
Russell Wheeler says there is no doubt that U.S. Appeals Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor will be confirmed to replace retiring Justice David Souter on the U.S. Supreme Court. The real question is whether she will be confirmed by the October start of the court.
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Fri, 22 May 2009 10:40:59 GMT
As the national security debate continues, one question is whether the president has provided enough specifics for lawmakers to accede to his requests. There are no easy options for closing the prison camp at Guantánamo Bay, according to Wittes; as commander in chief, Obama must weigh all risks to Americans.
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Thu, 21 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Last week, President Obama outlined his approach to closing the Guantánamo Bay detention center on the heels of Congress voting overwhelmingly to block the $80 million he requested to close the the prison. The speech was forward-looking, writes Brookings expert Ben Wittes, in that he maintained the need for a preventative detention system created by Congress and overseen by the courts.
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Wed, 20 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Armed with $19 billion dollars from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Obama administration hopes to employ health information technology to improve medical treatment, cut costs by reducing errors and redundancies, and empower patients by giving them control over their own medical records. Not an easy task, warns Brookings expert Darrell West, since the federal government will need to address the financial, organization, and technological barriers limiting the utilization of health IT in the US.
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Tue, 19 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT
President Obama will soon make his first Supreme Court nomination. It seems unlikely that the addition of President Obama’s nominee to the Supreme Court will change the outcome in church-state cases, writes Rogers, but the views and voice of his nominee will certainly affect the debate at the Court and shape decisions long after Obama leaves the White House.
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Mon, 18 May 2009 12:00:00 GMT
Event Information:
- May 18, 2009, 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM
Rising unemployment and a declining economy are placing enormous fiscal pressures on news organizations around the globe. On May 18, Time’s Karen Tumulty moderated a discussion with Darrell West, Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), Michael Kinsley and others on how to “re-engineer” the traditional business model of the news industry and to improve media coverage of public affairs.
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Fri, 15 May 2009 17:57:00 GMT
This week on @ Brookings, U.S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan shares the administration’s plans for improving the nation’s schools; former President Bill Clinton speaks about the need for corporations to partner with the government and community groups in order to combat social issues; and the man on the street talks health care reform.
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Mon, 11 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT
American domestic law has long accepted the use of targeted killings as self-defense toward ends of vital national security that do not necessarily fall within the strict terms of armed conflict. However, the legal space for it and the legal rationales on which it has been traditionally justified are in danger of shrinking, writes Kenneth Anderson.
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Mon, 11 May 2009 09:00:00 GMT
Event Information:
- May 11, 2009, 9:00 AM to 10:30 AM
The Brown Center on Education Policy at Brookings hosted Secretary of Education Arne Duncan for a conversation on the billions of dollars of economic stimulus aid being delivered to states and school districts under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Secretary Duncan discussed how the stimulus funds can advance the president’s goals for education reform.
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Sun, 10 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT
Benjamin Wittes and Stuart Taylor examine how to amend American interrogation laws to balance the need to avoid the past administration's excesses against the need to get intelligence from captured terrorists. They review the post-September 11 evolution of Bush administration policies on interrogation, the experiences of the CIA and the military and the lessons to be learned from those experiences.
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Fri, 08 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT
More than seven years after 9/11, the government’s legal, practical and moral authority to detain suspected terrorists without trial remains a subject of fierce debate. Robert Litt and Wells Bennett say Congress could significantly ameliorate the problem by authorizing the creation of a National Security Bar, a permanent corps of security-cleared lawyers who could represent defendants in terrorism-related cases.
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Mon, 04 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT
There is no question we are witnessing a fundamental economic and technological transformation of journalism, writes Darrell West. However, while traditional business models are dying, new ones are still being developed. In this multi-faceted, new-media universe, West says we need an information strategy for the news industry that expands on digital media's strengths while encouraging in-depth coverage.
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Mon, 04 May 2009 12:00:00 GMT
Event Information:
- May 04, 2009, 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM
With more than $19 billion planned in new federal expenditures on health information technology, the Obama administration is taking serious steps towards modernizing the U.S. health care system to reduce health care costs and medical errors. Brookings hosted a discussion on how to bring the benefits of information technology to health care in the United States.