The Mission Ahead
National thought leaders propose and debate innovative and dramatic public policy ideas in an ongoing project Roll Call has started with Big Think, an online global forum.
Energy and Environment
O’Keefe: Postage Stamp Promise and Other ‘Too Good to Be True’ Claims From the Cap-and-Trade CampNov. 6, 2009 The EPA's recent finding that the Kerry-Boxer cap-and-trade proposal — currently making its way through the Senate — would allegedly cost less than a postage stamp a day hinges on several dubious assumptions. |
Technology
Chun: Cyber Attacks Demand Strong Public-Private ResponseNov. 6, 2009 The federal government is increasingly taking a leadership role in improving the nation’s cybersecurity. But, with a threat that is quickly growing and more sophisticated each day, it’s clear that the government — for all of its good intentions — cannot win this battle without a robust commitment from technology companies. |
| • More on Energy and Environment | • More on Technology |
Defense
Allmond: Bill to Secure Chemical Plants Has Unintended ConsequencesOct. 30, 2009 Imagine a society in which you walk into a pharmacy and there is no common pain reliever, such as ibuprofen, on the shelves. |
Health Care
Bray: Limiting Flexible Spending Accounts Is Not Effective Health Care ReformOct. 29, 2009 Health reform proposals that would affect the use of flexible spending accounts unfortunately have received relatively little attention during the health care debate. |
| • More on Defense | • More on Health Care |
Economy
Kasoff: Investment Is the Key for Women EntrepreneursOct. 21, 2009 Women represent an increasingly powerful force in the American economy. But that force is being threatened by some dangerous rules that the Federal Communications Commission is about to propose. |
Labor
Galston, Pickus & Skerry: Compromise Is Possible on Immigration ReformOct. 19, 2009 In a time of hyper-polarized politics, is a reasonable compromise on immigration policy possible? While the rancorous and unproductive Congressional debates of recent years point toward pessimism, the report of the bipartisan Immigration Policy Roundtable convened by the Brookings Institution and Duke University’s Kenan Institute for Ethics suggests a more hopeful view. |
| • More on Economy | • More on Labor |
Children’s Issues
DiNorcia: Piece on Abstinence Education Was MisleadingOct. 9, 2009 On Oct. 6, I was shocked to find an opinion piece in Roll Call online, masquerading as a news article. Written by Valerie Huber, executive director of the National Abstinence Education Association, the piece was a slanted and misguided rant in favor of abstinence-only-until-marriage programs. It was so rife with misleading statements and outright lies, that I felt it necessitated a response. |
Crime and Punishment
Lamm: Does the Punishment Always Fit the Crime?Sept. 8, 2009 The United States is in a crisis on many fronts — from the economy, to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, to health care — so it’s not surprising that the state of our criminal justice system has been overlooked. |
| • More on Children’s Issues | • More on Crime and Punishment |
Congressional Relations
Peabody: How to Build a Better Confirmation ProcessAug. 10, 2009 Last week, immediately after the Senate approved Sonia Sotomayor to sit on the Supreme Court, national leaders praised the hearings leading up to this vote. |
Foreign Relations
Czinkota: Time for a North American Trade PolicyAug. 7, 2009 When the leaders of Mexico, Canada and the United States meet for a summit in Mexico this weekend, the agenda will include a largely predictable list of topics. The historic significance of the meeting, however, will flow from what is said, or not said, about the still-undefined U.S. trade policy. |
| • More on Congressional Relations | • More on Foreign Relations |
Transportation
Special Report: Rebuilding America's Highways and SkywaysJuly 13, 2009 Every six years, Congress and the administration attempt to set transportation policies, goals and spending priorities — a process that is currently under way on Capitol Hill. In this special report, experts lay out their vision for America’s transportation future. Among the writers: |
Telecommunications Mehlman and Irving: Making Broadband Dollars CountJune 15, 2009 Not long ago the biggest public policy challenge for universal broadband was inaction. America had no national strategy for guiding policy makers’ efforts and informing private actors. We had never invested in national broadband mapping to understand where high-speed Internet was offered and where it was lacking. |
| • More on Transportation | • More on Telecommunications |
Entitlements
Kennelly: Commissions, Cuts and Crisis CallsMarch 11, 2009 While Congress and the White House continue to consider economic recovery proposals designed to bring our country out of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, some deficit hawks are promoting the notion that the short-term costs of the economic downturn and the recovery plan ought to be linked to long-term reductions in Social Security and Medicare. They have characterized expenditures for these critical programs as representing an “entitlement crisis” or a “long-term fiscal crisis.” |
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| • More on Entitlements | |
Chun: Cyber Attacks Demand Strong Public-Private Response
Nov. 6, 12:35 p.m.
The federal government is increasingly taking a leadership role in improving the nation’s cybersecurity. But, with a threat that is quickly growing and more sophisticated each day, it’s clear that the government — for all of its good intentions — cannot win this battle without a robust commitment from technology companies. Read Full Article
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