State of the Union Watch Party
January 31, 2006, 8:00pm – 10:00pmJoin the Center for American Progress Action Fund and Air America's The Majority Report to celebrate the release of Get This Party Started: How Progressives Can Fight Back and Win, a new book from Rowman & Littlefield featuring chapters from thirteen leading Beltway and grassroots progressive voices. Air America's The Majority Report will broadcast a live panel from the Center for American Progress Action Fund before President Bush's State of the Union Address featuring the authors of Get This Party Started. The authors of ThinkProgress.org and other prominent progressive blogs will be live blogging the speech and joining the discussion with our panelists. With the President poised to offer more of the same, help us get this party started on Tuesday.
Addressing the Release of the Federal Budget
February 6, 2006, 2:15pm – 4:15amPlease join New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm as they travel to Washington, D.C., to discuss the federal budget to be released by President Bush. The governors will discuss the importance of setting priorities that will make America stronger, safer, and more globally competitive to benefit all Americans.
Minimum Wage: The Way Forward in the States
February 16, 2006, 10:00am – 11:30amAs we turn to the 2006 election season, please join us for this important discussion on the future of minimum wage battles amidst the growing trend toward state ballot initiatives and referenda.
Unmarried America: The Impact of Changing Demographics on Public Policy and Politics
February 22, 2006, 8:30am – 10:00amThe fastest-growing large segment of America’s population is also among the least likely to participate in our democracy. Unmarried women currently make up 46 percent of all voting age women and their numbers are increasing. Yet 20 million unmarried women sat out the 2004 election, despite the high turnout across the board.
Ports, Politics and Priorities: A Common Sense Plan to Strengthen our Security
March 14, 2006, 10:30am – 11:30amSenator Menendez will discuss how the Bush administration’s own failure to secure our ports in the years since September 11, 2001 has made the Dubai Ports World deal such a critical public policy issue and will offer a plan to strengthen security at America’s ports.
Senator Durbin- Affordable Health Insurance for Every American by 2010: America's Moral and Economic Imperative
May 11, 2006, 12:00pm – 12:45pmFive years into the Bush presidency and 11 years after Republicans took control of Congress, America's health care system is near the breaking point. Forty-six million Americans are uninsured, six million more than five years ago. Soaring health care costs are harming America's families, businesses and our ability to compete in a global economy. While the country struggles to cope with these challenges, this week the Senate will debate legislation which would, according to independent analysis, make health coverage more expensive for most small businesses.
Senator Reed to Discuss New Center for American Progress Action Fun Mid-Year Assessment in Iraq
July 25, 2006, 9:30am – 11:30amU.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) and the Center for American Progress Action Fund will discuss a new mid-year report assessing the Bush administration's record in taking steps to ensure that 2006 is a period of significant transition. This report, the second quarterly report in a series planned by the Center for American Progress Action Fund, assesses the Bush administration's record on Iraq in four key areas: Security and Stability; Governance and Democracy; Economic Reconstruction; and Iraq's Impact on U.S. National Security.
Senator Harry Reid on American Values that Honor Americans: A Common-Ground Approach to Preventing Unintended Pregnancies
July 31, 2006, 12:00am – 1:15pmIn a summer that has seen leaders in Washington try to divide America through fear and divisive issues like gay marriage and flag burning, Senator Reid will talk about his vision to bring America together around the values all Americans share. Senator Reid, a Democrat who opposes abortion, will pay particular attention to an issue too often used to divide and conquer - abortion - and talk about how we can all support common-sense, common-ground approaches that put prevention of unintended pregnacy and promotion of women's health first.
If It's Broke, Fix It: Health Care Providers and Health Reform
August 31, 2006, 5:00pm – 6:30amThe American health care system is broken and requires fundamental change. Change that ensures that all Americans have affordable health coverage, rather than living with the financial and emotional insecurity of being uninsured. Change that controls escalating health care costs that burden American families and American businesses. Change that ensures that patients maintain their choice of doctors, hospitals and other health care providers. And change that makes prevention, wellness and health promotion a centerpiece of the American health care system.
The Health Care Crisis: The Need for Reform
September 11, 2006, 7:00pm – 8:30pmThe American health care system is in crisis - almost 46 million Americans live without health insurance, while families with health care coverage, and employers who provide coverage to their workers, struggle to cope with rapidly rising insurance costs. Over the past five years, health insurance premiums have risen five times faster than wages, affecting wage growth, pension viability, and business development. Most importantly, workers and their families are losing coverage, facing higher costs, and experiencing greater insecurity.
Workers’ Rights Threatened: A Discussion of the Pending National Labor Relations Board Cases
September 22, 2006, 9:00am – 10:30amThis fall, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) will decide on a trio of cases commonly known as the “Kentucky River” cases. The NLRB’s decision could broaden the definition of “supervisor” to include anyone who assigns or directs work of others, including those who are not officially part of management. According to a July report from the Economic Policy Institute, this broad expansion of the definition could strip as many as eight million private sector workers of their remaining federal labor law protections to form unions and bargain collectively. Workers in nearly every occupation and industry are at risk of being deemed “supervisors” by the NLRB. For example, EPI finds that 843,000 registered nurses—more than one-third of all the private sector RNs in the country—may be stripped of federal labor law protections. Nearly 400,000 computer systems analysts—more than one in four—could also lose coverage. Join us for a lively conversation that explores the threat to workers' rights posed by the “Kentucky River” cases.
“How Bush Rules” and “How Would a Patriot Act?” Perspectives on Presidential Power from Inside and Outside the Beltway
October 23, 2006, 12:30pm – 2:00pmMore than any other modern president, George W. Bush has sought to consolidate and expand the power of the presidency itself. In recent books, two authors examine this phenomenon from two different perspectives. In How Bush Rules, Sidney Blumenthal, renowned journalist and former adviser to President Clinton, argues that President Bush’s expansive views of executive power make him the most radical president in American history. In How Would a Patriot Act?, Glenn Greenwald, a constitutional lawyer and self-described independent, explains how he came to believe that “the concentrated and unlimited power now claimed by President Bush constitutes a true crisis for the United States.” Join these two distinguished writers in a discussion with Center for American Progress Senior Fellow Mark Agrast.
An Open Dialogue on the Role of Health Care Providers
November 2, 2006, 12:00pm – 1:00pmThe American health care system is broken and requires fundamental change. Change that ensures that all Americans have affordable health coverage, rather than living with the financial and emotional insecurity of being uninsured.
Who Will be the Next Progressive Talk Radio Star?
November 16, 2006, 10:00am – 12:00pmIt all comes down to this. Over the past month, contestants across the country have been vying against their local competition to compete in the national search for the next Progressive Talk Radio Star. On Thursday, November 16, the two finalists will battle it out in front of a live studio audience to see who will reign supreme. The winner walks away with a one-year contract for a weekend talk radio show to be syndicated by Jones Radio Networks on Clear Channel Radio and other progressive talk stations around the country. Join our finalists and a panel of judges to see who will be the next Progressive Talk Radio Star!
Online Strategies in the 2006 Election
December 1, 2006, 12:30pm – 2:00pmWith each election cycle, the internet plays a larger role in political campaigns. Most candidates now depend on the effective use of online tools for fundraising, communications, and organizing volunteers. Each election also provides an opportunity to test new online technologies and experiment with innovative techniques and strategies.
State Progress
December 4, 2006, 2:00pm – 3:30pmJustice Louis Brandeis once referred to the states as the “laboratories of democracy.” The midterm elections of 2006 proved voters were tired of the failed conservative experiment of governance in these “laboratories” and chose candidates, ballot measures and referenda which reflect progressive values and ideas that advance the common good. Please join the Center for American Progress Action Fund and the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center as we discuss progressive victories in statehouses, governorships and ballot measures in the 2006 mid-term elections and provide thoughts on what these victories mean for states.