Congressional Idea Book

DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP COUNCIL A New Direction for America An Action Blueprint for Congress In this election year, progressives are facing a rare opportunity: the chance to build a governing majority that can last. While much of the attention is understandably focused on the presidential race, there will also be vital elections at the congressional level nationwide. It is in Congress that progressives can deliver a legislative program that helps working families, promotes our national security, and builds a prosperous and healthy future for our children and grandchildren. This new, updated version of the Democratic Leadership Council's (DLC) Congressional Agenda is devoted to helping progressives make the most of this opportunity. Convincing Americans that we are better prepared to take on the challenges facing the nation will demand a legislative action plan that spells out modern solutions grounded in the progressive movement's commitment to opportunity, responsibility, security, and reform. The proposals that follow represent some of the most promising ideas for delivering such an agenda. The DLC and its affiliated think tank, the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI), are a leading source of practical, effective policy ideas that may not always fit neatly into the traditional left and right debate. These policies are progressive at their core, but they reflect a willingness to think "outside of the box" in order to generate good ideas that can garner broad support. The new ideas in this Congressional Agenda reflect that philosophy. They suggest ways to make American life more prosperous, more just, and more secure—from the dining-room table to the front lines of Afghanistan. They include a proposal to merge our food-inspection agencies to save millions of dollars and enhance the safety of our food supply; an idea for a temporary emergency housing voucher to help low-income families stay in their homes; a targeted plan for expanding the highly successful Earned Income Tax Credit; and a program for strengthening a National Guard and Reserve force that has been overstretched by current military commitments. These and other ideas in the Congressional Agenda first appeared in DLC and PPI policy papers. These reports, issued throughout the year, offer elected officials, legislative staffers, members of the media, and other policy leaders a continual source of smart proposals for addressing the most pressing challenges—and the most exciting opportunities—facing this nation. This is a time of great possibility for progressive policymakers in Washington, D.C., and in statehouses, city halls, and public agencies across the country. The American people have shown that they want to turn the page on the failed Bush presidency and on tired old solutions to urgent problems. This Congressional Agenda offers concrete proposals that address the most pressing issues facing our country and outlines a blueprint for expanding opportunity and making America safer and stronger in this new century. We thank you for your interest in the work of the DLC and the PPI, and for your work in public service. Please feel free to contact us at any time for more information on our policy proposals. -1- CONGRESSIONAL AGENDA -2- DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP COUNCIL Table of Contents UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO COLLEGE PROGRESSIVE ENERGY POLICY SECURING AMERICA’S FOOD SUPPLY EXPANDING AND SECURING HOMEOWNERSHIP FOR ALL AMERICANS MAKING WORK PAY: EXPANDING THE EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT OPPORTUNITY THROUGH GLOBALIZATION AND TRADE PROGRESSIVE INTERNATIONALISM HOMELAND SECURITY AND 5 7 11 13 15 17 21 23 27 29 31 -3- STRONGER CHAMPIONS OF FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY HEALTH CARE COVERAGE FOR ALL AMERICANS UNIVERSAL RETIREMENT AND PENSIONS STRONGER AMERICAN FAMILIES CONGRESSIONAL AGENDA -4- DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP COUNCIL UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO COLLEGE A college degree is increasingly important for individuals and society at large. College graduates earn $1 million more over their lifetimes than non-college graduates and are more likely to have higher savings, greater professional mobility, and better consumer decision making skills. Additionally, the country is better able to compete in the global economy with a highly skilled and educated electorate. However, the goal of starting and finishing college is becoming more unattainable for many individuals. While the U.S. used to rank first in the world in the percentage of young adults with a post-secondary degree, it has now fallen to seventh place. At the same time, the cost of tuition at public four-year institutions has increased by more than 50 percent in the last year. After adding the costs of fees, books, and room and board, the financial burden of college becomes unbearable for many working families. The following proposals will help increase college access to all Americans: Create an American Dream Grant. Congress should authorize and fund a new “American Dream Grant,” built as a performance-based block grant that would annually award states money based on the number of students who attend and graduate from their public institutions. Over the next decade, the program would give states more than $150 billion in return for their commitment to maintain current state spending on higher education and hold tuition increases to the overall rate of inflation. Each state that accepts the block grant, which would average to roughly $2,000 per student, would be required to spend the grant on making college more affordable and increasing the number of graduates. Additional Reading: — The American Dream Initiative http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?kaid=86&subid=194&contentid=254004 Offer a single, refundable, $3,000 college tuition tax credit. As the cost of college continues to rise, Washington has tried to help families through tax incentives. However, these often well-intentioned policies have complicated the tax code making the current tax-based college subsides confusing and sometimes contradictory. A single, refundable $3,000 college tax credit would replace the Hope Scholarship, the Lifetime Learning Credit, the deduction for higher education expenses, the exclusion of employee-provided education benefits and the exclusion for qualified tuition reductions. It would cover up to four years of college and graduate school and would also be eligible for workers to use for additional education and training. Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) introduced just this type of tax credit as part of their Fair Flat Tax Act of 2007. Additional Reading: — Fair Flat Tax Act of 2007, S. 1111 http://www.house.gov/emanuel/taxlegislation.shtml -5- CONGRESSIONAL AGENDA — — Family-Friendly Tax Reform http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?contentid=253276&subsecid=163&knlgArea ID=125 The American Dream Initiative http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?kaid=86&subid=194&contentid=254004 Switch to direct lending. Most federal student loans come in the form of guaranteed loans which are highly inefficient and unnecessarily expensive. Under the guaranteed student loan program, banks lend students money and profit from their interest payments. At the same time, the government guarantees the loans against default and makes subsidy payments to the banks. In order to cut out the middleman in this process, President Clinton began the process of switching to direct loans in which the government provides low-interest loans directly to the students. Experts estimate that each day, more than $15 million is wasted in the guaranteed student loan process. By switching to direct lending, the federal government would save money that could then be used to improve college access for all Americans. In September of 2007, Congress passed and the president signed into law a broad overhaul to the federal student loan programs. But rather than fiddle with improvement to the guaranteed loan system, Congress should eliminate the middle man altogether. Additional Reading: — — — College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:h.r.02669: Straight Talk on Student Loans http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=252876&kaid=110&subid=900023 The American Dream Initiative http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?kaid=86&subid=194&contentid=254004 -6- DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP COUNCIL PROGRESSIVE ENERGY POLICY America is in the midst of a long-term energy crisis. The country’s addiction to carbon-based fuels— especially imported oil—poses a triple threat to national security, economic vitality, and environmental health. Modernizing the country’s energy policies, while not easy, has the potential to generate immense benefits for the environment and economy alike. To put it simply, clean energy technology—”cleantech”— could become the next great engine of the U.S. economy, generating jobs and economic opportunities on a transformative scale. The following proposals outline a set of progressive energy policies that—in combination with a dramatic investment in cleantech—could propel the economy and protect the environment: Invest in clean technology. Creating the technology, the physical infrastructure, and the myriad support networks for a new energy grid would generate billions of dollars in new economic activity and put untold thousands of people to work in new jobs. California’s 2006 state law—led by Silicon Valley venture capitalists—that requires fossil-fuel producers to limit green house gas emissions added 20,000 jobs and a $60 billion increase in gross state product. While this state model is laudable, the energy crisis is a national problem requiring national solutions. To reestablish America’s lead in cleantech, progressives should champion a plan that leads quickly to a clean energy future for the entire nation. Additional Reading: — — California Assembly Bill 32 http://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/docs/ab32text.pdf Cleantech: The Next Engine of the U.S. Economy http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?contentid=254499&subsecid=900170&knlgArea ID=116 Cap carbon now. Congress should cap carbon emissions through a “cap-and-trade” system, creating a profit incentive for companies to burn less oil and other fossil fuels. Additionally, this type of capand-trade system that sets a mandatory national limit on carbon dioxide emissions would generate up to $100 billion annually in revenues that the federal government could use to commercialize cleanenergy technologies. In December of 2007, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved the bipartisan Climate Security Act that would reduce emissions—largely through a capand-trade system—almost 20 percent below current levels by 2020. Additional Reading: — — Lieberman-Warner Climate Change Bill, S. 2191 http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:s.02191: Cleantech: The Next Engine of the U.S. Economy http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?contentid=254499&subsecid=900170&knlgArea ID=116 -7- CONGRESSIONAL AGENDA — — The Global Climate Change Marketplace: Moving Forward without the United States http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=116&subsecid=149&contentid=254184 A Progressive Energy Platform http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=254058&kaid=116&subid=155 Replace fuel economy standards with “tailpipe trading.” Congress should replace the outdated and unsuccessful Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, which measure the miles a car gets per gallon, with a tailpipe trading system that measures the pollutants emitted by each vehicle. Doing this would give automakers an economic incentive to make vehicles that produce less carbon dioxide. Companies that exceed set emissions limits would be permitted to buy credits from other sources. This proposal could save two million barrels of oil a day—roughly the amount that the United States imports from the Persian Gulf. Additional Reading: — — — Cleantech: The Next Engine of the U.S. Economy http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?contentid=254499&subsecid=900170&knlgArea ID=116 A Progressive Energy Platform http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=254058&kaid=116&subid=155 After Oil http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=253980&kaid=116&subid=155 Make biofuels commercially available. Not only do biofuels help the battle against global warming, but the industry as a whole promises to spur the American economy. Producing 25 percent of America’s energy from biofuels would generate $700 billion annually, produce 5.1 million jobs, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions and gasoline consumption. Congress should support the market for biofuels by providing a federal funding stream to commercialize oil substitutes made from switch grass, algae, and bio-butanol, among others. Additional Reading: — — — Cleantech: The Next Engine of the U.S. Economy http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?contentid=254499&subsecid=900170&knlgArea ID=116 The Promise of Biofuels: A Homegrown Approach to Breaking America’s Oil Addiction http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=116&subsecid=149&contentid=254211 A Progressive Energy Platform http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=254058&kaid=116&subid=155 Expand nuclear power. Nuclear power produces no greenhouse gas emissions and new plant designs can produce power more safely and economically than first-generation facilities. Congressional lawmakers should support efforts to expedite the process of bringing the next generation of nuclear power facilities online. -8- DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP COUNCIL Additional Reading: — A Progressive Energy Platform http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=254058&kaid=116&subid=155 Bring “clean coal” plants online. A new, promising technology called “integrated gasification combined cycle” (IGCC)—or “clean coal”—makes electricity from coal and produces far less air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and waste than old coal burning methods. However, these IGCC plants are 25 percent more expensive to build. The federal government should assist in funding these new plants to further expand this technology. Additional Reading: — A Progressive Energy Platform http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=254058&kaid=116&subid=155 Aggressively expand the use of renewable energy. Congress should create a national renewable portfolio standard for electric utilities that would expand the use of renewable energies and provide a more uniform system for renewable power such as wind, solar power, and geo-thermal heat. Additional Reading: — A Progressive Energy Platform http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=254058&kaid=116&subid=155 Build smarter, greener buildings. The buildings in which we live and work are responsible for two-thirds of America’s electricity consumption and greenhouse gasses emissions. New technologies and green building techniques can save up to 70 percent of energy used in the commercial sector and can reduce home power bills by 10 percent annually. Congress should encourage the Department of Energy to partner with state and local energy agencies and local utility companies to lead a national effort that moves us in the direction of green building. Additional Reading: — A Progressive Energy Platform http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=254058&kaid=116&subid=155 Modernize “the grid.” New innovations and technologies have made it possible to expand the capacity and stability of “the grid”—the aging system of power stations, transformers, and monitoring technologies that supply America’s electricity. These new technologies would create greater capacity and stability, allowing the grid to support a new generation of plug-in hybrid vehicles. These new vehicles would also be able to feed electricity back to the grid when they are not in use. Energy -9- CONGRESSIONAL AGENDA companies run the grid, but because these promising technologies have large up-front costs, the federal government must make initial investments into the installment and research phases in order to accelerate these developments. Additional Reading: — — Cleantech: The Next Engine of the U.S. Economy http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?contentid=254499&subsecid=900170&knlgArea ID=116 A Progressive Energy Platform http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=254058&kaid=116&subid=155 Generate more power closer to consumers. Some utility companies have developed “distributed generation” by locating clean, small-scale power sources closer to consumers, reducing the need for large plants and delivery wires. This technique reduces pollutants and makes the electricity system more secure. The federal government should reform regulatory barriers and ensure that new technologies can be developed and rolled out so that more utility companies can take advantage of this safer, cleaner, and more efficient method of supplying electricity. Additional Reading: — A Progressive Energy Platform http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=254058&kaid=116&subid=155 - 10 - DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP COUNCIL SECURING AMERICA’S FOOD SUPPLY In our country, fewer things are taken so thoroughly for granted as the safety of the food we eat. Yet, the task of providing unspoiled, unadulterated food to hundreds of millions of people every day has never been easy and is becoming increasingly more complex. This past year, our country has seen outbreaks of mercury-laden tuna, E. coli-tainted spinach, salmonella-laced peanut butter, and many other less-publicized cases. In fact, each year more than 76 million Americans get sick from eating spoiled, contaminated, or adulterated food from both foreign and domestic sources. The following five proposals can improve food safety in our country: Merge duplicative food inspection bureaucracies into a single agency. The redundancies and occasional inconsistencies between the two biggest food-inspection agencies—the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)—create some of the biggest problems in food safety today. A single food agency would mandate a united approach to food safety. Additional Reading: — — Spoiled: Keeping Tainted Food of America’s Table http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?contentid=254430&knlgAreaID=108&subsecid=206 Keeping Contaminated Goods off our Grocery Shelves http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070907/news_lz1e7milano.html Redirect funding for overseas tobacco marketing to food inspections. The USDA currently operates three agencies responsible for promoting U.S. agricultural products overseas: the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS); the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA); and the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). By cutting just two of these programs—for example, the AMS (which includes among its duties the marketing of tobacco products) and the GIPSA—the federal government could more than double the amount spent on food safety, without needing to raise a single new tax dollar. Additional Reading: — — Spoiled: Keeping Tainted Food of America’s Table http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?contentid=254430&knlgAreaID=108&subsecid=206 Keeping Contaminated Goods off our Grocery Shelves http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070907/news_lz1e7milano.html Shift to a risk-based allocation of resources. We should deploy our limited pool of inspection resources to focus more aggressively on imports from nations with problematic food-safety histories, while saving money by pooling inspection efforts with those trading partners that share our high food-safety standards. - 11 - CONGRESSIONAL AGENDA Additional Reading: — — Spoiled: Keeping Tainted Food of America’s Table http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?contentid=254430&knlgAreaID=108&subsecid=206 Keeping Contaminated Goods off our Grocery Shelves http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070907/news_lz1e7milano.html Create a stronger recall authority. When the cars we drive show signs of being unsafe, they are subject to prompt recall. The same should apply to the food we eat, and federal agencies should have a direct mandate to issue such recalls. A stronger federal recall authority for food products will remove dangerous foods from the food supply more quickly and prevent more people from getting sick. Additional Reading: — — Spoiled: Keeping Tainted Food of America’s Table http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?contentid=254430&knlgAreaID=108&subsecid=206 Keeping Contaminated Goods off our Grocery Shelves http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070907/news_lz1e7milano.html Expand the Container Security Initiative to include point-of-entry food inspections. The Container Security Initiative (CSI) was created to help prevent terrorist weapons from entering the country. As long as we are going to the necessary expense of inspecting incoming ships for bomb materials, we may as well be on the lookout for tainted food imports. By leveraging our current CSI efforts, we could greatly strengthen point-of-entry inspections of food. Additional Reading: — — Spoiled: Keeping Tainted Food of America’s Table http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?contentid=254430&knlgAreaID=108&subsecid=206 Keeping Contaminated Goods off our Grocery Shelves http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070907/news_lz1e7milano.html - 12 - DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP COUNCIL EXPANDING AND SECURING HOMEOWNERSHIP FOR ALL AMERICANS With America in the midst of the worst housing slump in 16 years, the main tenet of the American Dream—home ownership—is in crisis. Families are now holding onto properties that are worth less than their original purchase value, and worse, a rising number of Americans are losing their homes because they can no longer make their mortgage payments. The following proposals can help those families who have already lost their homes and reduce the number of those who are at risk of future foreclosure. Expand the First-Time Homebuyers Tax Credit (HBTC) beyond the District of Columbia and allow those who have been victims of foreclosure to use the credit to purchase new homes. For Washington D.C., the HBTC was one of the most successful community development initiatives of the 1990s, drawing new homeowners to the nation’s capital after a net loss of population during the first seven years of the 90s. This proposal would expand the HBTC to 10 high-risk communities—places where the subprime market collapse has been particularly severe. Communities that have high foreclosure rates could apply for HBTC designation for up to five years and would be judged on their plans to match the HBTC with tax incentives or other housing programs of their own. Families who lost homes due to the subprime market collapse and who held one of the dormant subprime mortgages (228 or 327 ARM products) would also be allowed to take the HBTC. Additional Reading: — Gimme Shelter: Three Ideas to Protect the American Dream of Homeownership http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?contentid=254479&subsecid=162&knlgAreaID=125 Establish a temporary emergency housing voucher program to help those who are struggling to make payments on their subprime mortgages stay in their homes. Section 8 housing vouchers have become the dominate form of federal housing assistance. These vouchers are primarily used by families to help meet their rental payments, but they can also be used to help with mortgage payments, enabling low-income families to purchase homes. Currently the demand for housing vouchers is roughly three times greater than the supply. Therefore, Congress should create a temporary category of 100,000 new vouchers under a special program that would sunset after three years. These vouchers would target families who have purchased 228 and 327 subprime loans and are at risk of losing their home or have already suffered foreclosures. Additional Reading: — Gimme Shelter: Three Ideas to Protect the American Dream of Homeownership http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?contentid=254479&subsecid=162&knlgAreaID=125 - 13 - CONGRESSIONAL AGENDA - 14 - DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP COUNCIL MAKING WORK PAY: EXPANDING THE EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT After falling sharply in the late 1990s, poverty has risen in this decade. Although the upward trend has been modest, the trajectory is pointing in the wrong direction. Progressives now have the opportunity to drive the poverty debate and pass smart legislation that will “make work pay” and help all Americans realize the American Dream. With leaders determined to put poverty and social mobility back on the nation’s agenda, progressives and reformers have a chance to pick up where President Clinton left off. The key policy tool for making work pay is the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), which supplements the income of workers in minimum wage and low-paying jobs. Only people who work receive the EITC. As their earnings increase, their EITC benefits increase up to a maximum benefit level that is linked to family size. The following proposals would strengthen the EITC so that it could reach its full potential of rewarding work and reducing poverty in America: Expand the EITC to men and childless workers. Currently, the maximum federal EITC benefit is $4,536 for families with two or more children. Low-income workers who are not raising children get far less—an annual maximum benefit of only $412. Fathers who do not have custody of their children fall into this category because in order for a parent to receive the credit, his children must live with him for more than half a year. Therefore the EITC’s work incentive is much less powerful for low-income fathers and workers without children than for low-income mothers. Congress should triple the amount of EITC benefits for childless workers and non-custodial dads who meet their child support obligations to a maximum benefit of $1,236. Additional Reading: — — — — — Making Work Pay: For Men, Too http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?contentid=254496&subsecid=143&knlgAreaID=114 “Dad’s Need Help Too.” Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity http://www.spotlightonpoverty.org/news.aspx?id=aae4b304-a71b-41f7-9aa8-a20b98a903f1 Making Work Pay for Men http://www.ideasprimary.com/?p=380 Expand the EITC http://www.ideasprimary.com/?p=343 How to Really Help Low-Wage Workers http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/01/AR20070201017 83.html Remove the EITC’s marriage penalty. The collapse of marriage in impoverished communities, particularly among minorities, is by now an old, if enduringly tragic, story. As if the barriers to marriage were not already high enough, the EITC unwittingly imposes a financial penalty on low- - 15 - CONGRESSIONAL AGENDA income couples who deviate from the prevailing norms and decide to marry. Congress should remove the EITC’s marriage penalty so that low-income couples are not discouraged to marry. Additional Reading: — — — — — Making Work Pay: For Men, Too http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?contentid=254496&subsecid=143&knlgAreaID=114 “Dad’s Need Help Too.” Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity http://www.spotlightonpoverty.org/news.aspx?id=aae4b304-a71b-41f7-9aa8-a20b98a903f1 Making Work Pay for Men http://www.ideasprimary.com/?p=380 Expand the EITC http://www.ideasprimary.com/?p=343 How to Really Help Low-Wage Workers http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/01/AR20070201017 83.html Combine confusing tax credits into a single, turbo-charged family tax credit. Congress has the ability to expand the EITC while also simplifying the already Byzantine federal tax code by folding the EITC, the child credit, and the child and dependent care credit into a single, turbo-charged family tax credit. The new family tax credit would provide 4 million non-custodial fathers and childless workers a bonus of $1,236—three times what they currently receive in EITC benefits. It would also soften the EITC’s marriage penalty by raising the qualifying income thresholds for two-earner couples. Additional Reading: — — — — Making Work Pay: For Men, Too http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?contentid=254496&subsecid=143&knlgAreaID=114 “Dad’s Need Help Too.” Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity http://www.spotlightonpoverty.org/news.aspx?id=aae4b304-a71b-41f7-9aa8-a20b98a903f1 Making Work Pay for Men http://www.ideasprimary.com/?p=380 Family-Friendly Tax Reform http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?contentid=253276&knlgAreaID=125&subsecid=163 - 16 - DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP COUNCIL OPPORTUNITY THROUGH GLOBALIZATION AND TRADE America has been the world’s economic leader for more than a century. But the country’s competitive standing may be slipping as China and India boom. The public’s fears about job security, health insurance, pensions, and college costs are valid. Some argue that we should close our borders as a response— but shutting down trade will only weaken our economy, lower living standards, and exacerbate the problems. Instead, Congress should outline a strategy that spurs economic growth and increases innovation; strengthens the world trading system and opens world markets for America’s goods and services; supports the poor at home and abroad; and simultaneously builds a new compact for worker security in the United States. Promote Innovation Promote scientific research. Congress should create a “super” research and experimentation tax credit, by making the current Research and Experimentation Tax Credit (RETC) permanent and doubling it from 20 percent to 40 percent of all R&D expenditures. Additional Reading: — Raising our Game: A National Competition Strategy http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=108&subsecid=206&contentid=253926 Train a new generation of scientists and engineers. Congress should fund a national network of 250 science and technology public charter academies that focus on math, science, engineering, and computing to further expand the pipeline for homegrown scientific talent. Meanwhile, to meet the demand for science and engineering now—and remembering that a third of our science and engineering Ph.D.’s were born abroad—the United States should streamline visa checks for universities to help recruit the best international talent. Additional Reading: — Raising our Game: A National Competition Strategy http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=108&subsecid=206&contentid=253926 Create a network of university-based venture capital funds. New ideas and innovations are essential to economic growth and job creation. To spur economic development and help create the jobs of the future, policymakers in Washington should follow Michigan’s lead and create a network of regionally focused, university-based venture capital funds that finance loans for startup companies trying to commercialize new scientific and technological advancements. Congress should provide seed money to be matched by state governments, universities, and the private sector. The federal investment could be relatively small, approximately $50 million per year but could, over time, leverage billions of dollars in investments in new technologies that will help drive economic growth. - 17 - CONGRESSIONAL AGENDA Additional Reading: — Raising our Game: A National Competition Strategy http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=108&subsecid=206&contentid=253926 Open Markets and Enforce Trade Agreements America’s exports fell in 2001 and 2002, and now lag far behind imports. The United States needs to revitalize its efforts to open world markets and enforce trade agreements, relying more on strategic initiatives dealing with major markets and the world as a whole, in particular the WTO’s Doha Round, but also new initiatives with Europe and Japan, than on smaller bilateral trade agreements. Simultaneously, we must defend American rights in the global trading system more forcefully and actively address trade abuses. Additional Reading: — Raising our Game: A National Competition Strategy http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=108&subsecid=206&contentid=253926 Reform U.S. Trade Policies to Help the Poor & Support the War on Terror Eliminate tariffs on the poor—namely on clothes and shoes. U.S. tariffs, far higher on clothes and shoes than on any other products, are the most regressive part of American tax policy. Failing to save jobs, they nonetheless raise the price of life necessities for single mothers and other low-income American families, while imposing a heavy burden on poor countries. Congressional leaders should resist the temptation to promote anti-trade policies that benefit neither Americans nor less developed countries. Additional Reading: — Healthy Factories, Anxious Workers: Or Why Lou Dobbs is Wrong http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=108&subsecid=206&contentid=254192 Strengthen Worker Security Create a new economy scholarship program. Laid-off workers get little help in boosting their skills for other employment. A “New Economy Scholarship” plan would change this by allowing dislocated workers collecting unemployment insurance to receive up to $4,000 worth of scholarships to assist in retraining and re-employment. Additional Reading: — — Raising our Game: A National Competition Strategy http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=108&subsecid=206&contentid=253926 New Economy Work (NEW) Scholarships: Universal Access to Training for Dislocated Workers http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?contentid=250586&knlgAreaID=107&subsecid=175 - 18 - DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP COUNCIL Modernize the trade adjustment assistance and unemployment insurance (UI) systems. The UI system should be reformed so that it gives workers the right mix of incentives to get back to work and adequate benefits to help them get back on their feet. All employees who lose their job through no fault of their own should be eligible for UI, even if they have been working for a short time or are making low wages. Additional Reading: — — Raising our Game: A National Competition Strategy http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=108&subsecid=206&contentid=253926 Meeting the Offshoring Challenge http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?contentid=252767&knlgAreaID=107&subsecid=123 Provide transitional health insurance for all unemployed workers. Losing health insurance coverage is among the scariest parts of losing one’s job. The current tax credit offered to cover health insurance has a low take-up rate and does not cover all UI-eligible workers. Therefore, the program should be expanded to cover all workers collecting unemployment insurance and streamlined so that the recipients receive timely tax credits. Additional Reading: — Raising our Game: A National Competition Strategy http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=108&subsecid=206&contentid=253926 Address the problem of globalization with an accurate diagnosis of American manufacturing. American industry is evolving very quickly, and its very success is eroding old sources of security for workers. We need to address the anxieties brought about by these changes with public policies that are grounded in an accurate diagnosis of the problem that is causing them. Job loss is not the same as industrial decline. In fact, despite claims of trade-related “de-industrialization” from some politicians and famous pundits, American manufacturers are responding well to their foreign challengers. Faced with rapidly growing low-cost competition, they have cut costs, retooled, and now manufacture and export more than ever before. At the same time, the U.S. is attracting manufacturing investment from all over the world. The government must let businesses meet their competitive needs while working with the private sector, unions, and non-profits to devise a new contract for American workers—one that changes government policies, strengthens adjustment, reshapes health and pension policies, and finds a new role for trade unions. Additional Reading: — Healthy Factories, Anxious Workers: Or Why Lou Dobbs is Wrong http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=108&subsecid=206&contentid=254192 - 19 - CONGRESSIONAL AGENDA - 20 - DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP COUNCIL PROGRESSIVE INTERNATIONALISM AND STRONGER HOMELAND SECURITY As Congress faces the challenge of keeping America safe and restoring this country’s image as the champions of liberty, prosperity, and peace, progressives have the unique role of offering a new vision for a safer America and reclaiming their voice on an issue that has largely been dominated by conservatives. The following policies outline a plan to restore America’s strength: Fix the Department of Homeland Security. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), now in its sixth year, is plagued with problems and chronic mismanagement—with the biggest and most spectacular failure its abysmal response to Hurricane Katrina. In order to reform DHS so that it better protects the American people, Congress should: focus the department on border protection and remove functions that do not relate directly to this task, including spinning off entities such as FEMA; make DHS the primary conduit for integrating and sharing homeland security intelligence with state, local, and private-sector sources; raise the pay for cyber-security employees to attract highly skilled technology personnel; and consolidate congressional oversight into one committee in the House of Representatives and one in the Senate. Additional Reading: — Fixing the Department of Homeland Security http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=124&subsecID=900019&content ID=254508 Rebuild America’s Reserves. America’s military reserves face unprecedented strains. These vital components of our national security—consisting of citizen soldiers who are deployed for crises ranging from domestic natural disasters to overseas combat—have been misused and overstretched. As a result, the National Guard and Reserve are increasingly unable to carry out their core missions. Congress should rebuild America’s reserves by: restoring the “strategic” reserve role and moving them out of the “operational” force they have been serving; addressing the military’s overall lack of sufficient manpower and shoring up active duty forces; giving volunteers the equipment they need; expanding the National Guard and Reserve by broadening opportunities for Americans to volunteer; and ensuring that the nation provides the proper care and benefits for its veterans. Additional Reading: — Rebuilding America’s Reserves http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=124&subsecID=900019&content ID=254506 - 21 - CONGRESSIONAL AGENDA Institute a Federal Terrorism Court. The current administration, Congress, and the federal courts have struggled with the myriad problems and legal quagmires that arise from modern terrorism with very little success. One new approach is the establishment of a secure and specialized Federal Terrorism Court for terrorism cases. This court would have a dedicated set of federal trial judges working with an expert bar of federal and military prosecutors and defense counsel—all with high level security clearances. The court could be established under the authority of Congress as defined in Article I of the Constitution, with a 10-year or 14-year appointment for the judges. Additional Reading: — A Federal Terrorism Court: The Answer to the Legal Quagmire on Terrorism, Detainees, and International Norms http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=124&subsecID=307&contentID=254507 - 22 - DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP COUNCIL CHAMPIONS OF FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY America is at a fiscal crossroads. In the last six years, the Bush administration has turned a budget surplus projected to be $5 trillion over 10 years into a deficit projected to be more than $2.8 trillion. It would be one thing if all this new debt was racked up to finance smart public investments designed to expand economic opportunity for the middle class. But the surplus has instead been squandered on tax cuts for the wealthiest slice of American society and on a wasteful governmental spending spree. As progressives in Congress move forward, they must restore fiscal discipline, create surpluses that will allow us to begin paying off our national debt, and ensure the long-term financial viability of Social Security. The following proposals can put America back on the road to fiscal responsibility without wreaking havoc on the economy; they can enable the country to deal more effectively with the coming retirement of the baby boom generation, and they can make the government more efficient and responsive: Create a Permanent Commission on Government Waste. The United States spends billions of dollars every year on unnecessary business subsidies. Congress should create an independent, nonpartisan commission to evaluate current corporate subsidies and eliminate the wasteful and outdated ones. This type of commission could save the federal government $200 billion to $250 billion over 10 years. Additional Reading: — The American Dream Initiative http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?kaid=86&subid=194&contentid=254004 Reduce the number of federal contractors by 750,000. Between 2002 and 2005, more than 2.4 million new federal contractors were added to the payroll. As a result, there are now approximately three times more contractors working for the federal government than the total number of military personnel and civil servants combined. While contractors and consultants provide useful services— sometimes at a lower cost than the federal government—their rapid expansion suggests incredible excess. Congress should control the escalating size of the federal government by reducing the number of contractors by 750,000 over the next 10 years. This could save $285 billion over the next decade. Additional Reading: — — — Three Ways to Reduce Federal Spending http://www.ideasprimary.com/?p=341 Return to Fiscal Responsibility II http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=125&subsecID=162&contentID=254284 The American Dream Initiative http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?kaid=86&subid=194&contentid=254004 - 23 - CONGRESSIONAL AGENDA Reduce the federal travel budget. One of the first things companies cut when faced with budget problems is travel. Yet, despite our record deficits, government expenditures for travel have grown by leaps and bounds. Between 2000 and 2006, the federal government witnessed a 55 percent increase in travel expenses. Congress should create a hard cap on travel expenditures and cut the expected rate of growth in half. To ensure that emergency travel needs are met, agencies should be required to hold 10 percent of their travel budget in reserve until the last month of each fiscal year. This change could save the federal government $18.5 billion over 10 years. Additional Reading: — — — Cutting Back on Federal Travel http://www.ideasprimary.com/?p=435 Three Ways to Reduce Federal Spending http://www.ideasprimary.com/?p=341 Return to Fiscal Responsibility II http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=125&subsecID=162&contentID=254284 Ban bonuses for political appointees. Since he became president, George Bush has reinstituted a policy of providing bonuses to political appointees, despite the fact that the country has been running budget deficits. While the savings from banning bonuses to political appointees would be small in relation to the deficit ($15 million over 10 years), the principle it would re-establish—service to one’s country is bonus enough—is important in order to restore budget accountability and the responsibility ethic to our government in Washington. Additional Reading: — — Three Ways to Reduce Federal Spending http://www.ideasprimary.com/?p=341 Return to Fiscal Responsibility II http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=125&subsecID=162&contentID=254284 Switch to the superlative Consumer Price Index. Many of the federal entitlement program benefits, including Social Security, are adjusted annually to keep pace with inflation according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI). However, virtually all economists agree that the CPI slightly overstates the rate of inflation, causing unnecessary spending. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has created a “superlative CPI” to account for the discrepancies between actual inflation and the over-estimated inflation in the traditional CPI. The BLS expects this new index to rise about two-tenths of one percentage point less than the traditional CPI. While a fraction of a percentage point may seem inconsequential, it could actually save the federal government $153 billion over the next 10 years. Additional Reading: — Return to Fiscal Responsibility II http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=125&subsecID=162&contentID=254284 - 24 - DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP COUNCIL Institute third-party reporting of capital gains. Every year there is a difference of approximately $325 billion between what taxpayers owe and what they actually pay. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) calls it the “tax gap.” Most of it—about $285 billion—comes from taxpayers underreporting their income, mostly by accident but sometimes through chicanery. Yet with one type of income— wages and salaries—there is virtually no under-reporting problem because wage and salary income is subject to third-party reporting. However, capital gains income—money made when someone sells an investment—is not subject to third party reporting. By requiring financial institutions to track and report capital gains to the IRS, the federal government could save $250 billion over the next 10 years. Reps. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), Richard Neal (D-Mass.), and Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) have introduced legislation that would close the tax gap through third-party reporting of capital gains. Additional Reading: — — — H.R. 878 and S. 601: Simplification Through Additional Reporting Tax Act of 2007 http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h110-878 Return to Fiscal Responsibility II http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=125&subsecID=162&contentID=254284 The American Dream Initiative http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?kaid=86&subid=194&contentid=254004 - 25 - CONGRESSIONAL AGENDA - 26 - DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP COUNCIL HEALTH CARE COVERAGE FOR ALL AMERICANS With nearly 47 million uninsured Americans and health care costs rising exponentially, access to affordable quality care is one of most pressing issues facing the country today. America’s health care system needs a comprehensive reform plan that gives everyone an equal opportunity to be healthy without forcing anyone to give up the care they already have. The following proposals can help Congress address this nationwide economic and social challenge: Use the Federal Employees Health Benefit (FEHB) program as a backstop for guaranteeing all workers a choice of coverage. Congress should open the FEHB to individuals and states without an insurance pool. The FEHB program already exists in all 50 states and gives federal workers a choice between 11 and 20 health plans, depending on the state. Additional Reading: — Health Coverage for All: States Lead the Way http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=111&subsecid=137&contentid=254475 Expand federal financial assistance to make coverage affordable. Congress should establish a national sliding scale of health care subsidies through a combination of tax credits and expansions of Medicaid and SCHIP. The tax credit would primarily benefit moderate-income residents who can afford to pay for a portion of their coverage but whose lower tax brackets prevent them from deriving much benefit from paying for coverage with pre-tax dollars. Medicaid and SCHIP expansions would fill the gaps in coverage for low- to moderate-income workers. Additional Reading: — Health Coverage for All: States Lead the Way http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=111&subsecid=137&contentid=254475 Mandate that all Americans enroll in an insurance program. The uninsured impose a cost on everyone because they depend on emergency rooms when they get sick, and though hospitals are required to serve them, they are rarely compensated for services rendered. Taxpayers are then left making up the difference. Only by covering everyone can we end this inefficient and inhumane system of cost shifting. Everyone should be required to make sure he or she has coverage or pay a tax penalty such as the loss of a personal tax exemption. The tax-penalty payments would go to an uninsured-care fund to finance last-resort providers. - 27 - CONGRESSIONAL AGENDA Additional Reading: Health Coverage for All: States Lead the Way http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=111&subsecid=137&contentid=254475 Expand and invest in health information technology. Even though information technology pervades our lives, it is rarely used in the health care field. And when it is, it is employed in a piecemeal fashion. Congress should work to make sure that the health sector embraces the efficiencies of information technology and enable every American to have access to an electronic health record (EHR) by setting federal rules for independent health record trusts and tightening federal privacy laws. Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) has introduced a bill that would promote the use of EHRs among federal employees. Rep. Dennis Moore (D-Kan.), has introduced the Independent Health Records Bank Act, to define a formal role for trusted third parties, which would maintain separate health records as patients go from one doctor to the next. — Additional Reading: — — — Federal Employees Electronic Personal Health Records Act, S. 3846 http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c109:S.3846: Independent Health Record Bank Act of 2006, S. 3454 http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:s.03454: Building a Health Information Network http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=111&subsecID=140&contentID=254315 Create a fair and reliable justice system for injured patients with new health courts. Both Democrats and Republicans point to medical malpractice as part of the escalating health care costs. While Republicans place the blame on medical malpractice lawsuits, Democrats fault the rapidly rising premiums on the malpractice insurance industry. However, Congress can offer a better option to bridge medical care and access to justice: a new network of specialized health courts that would replace America’s broken medical justice system. Federal guidelines for these health courts should include: specialized judges who make rulings on standards of care as a matter of law; experts hired by the court rather than hired guns for plaintiffs and defendants; a liberalized standard for negligence (a mistake of medical treatment falling outside a range of good practice, without need to show personal fault); expedited proceedings and improved patient access; a schedule of limits on noneconomic damages based on the severity of the injury, set by an independent commission created by Congress; adjudication of claims against health plans for coverage and decisions; and public reporting of cases settled or adjudicated. Additional Reading: — — Health Care Costs and Malpractice Reform http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=111&subsecID=138&contentID=254574 Health Courts: Fair and Reliable Justice for Injured Patients http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=111&subsecID=138&contentID=253178 - 28 - DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP COUNCIL UNIVERSAL RETIREMENT AND PENSIONS It was only a generation ago when hard-working Americans could count on a secure retirement. Today, workers are more likely to have multiple jobs over the course of a working lifetime. At the same time, companies have moved away from pension plans that guarantee payouts throughout an employee’s retirement—leaving many Americans more vulnerable to financial hardships after they leave their job. Today only 55 percent of full-time American workers hold a job with a retirement savings plan. Of those who are offered a savings plan, one-quarter turn them down. Furthermore, many people are barely making ends meet, leaving little room for savings. The following proposals would ensure that every American has the chance to save and prepare for retirement: Create an American Dream Account. A lifetime of work should lead to a financially secure retirement. American Dream Accounts would offer a new approach to retirement savings that would require all employers to open a retirement account for every worker; enroll workers automatically unless they opt out; increase their contribution automatically over time unless they direct otherwise; give employees the advice and guidance to allow them to invest wisely; and enable workers to take their pensions with them when they change jobs. Additional Reading: — The American Dream Initiative http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?kaid=86&subid=194&contentid=254004 Strengthen the Saver’s Credit. In 2001, the Saver’s Credit was implemented as part of the Bush administration’s tax cut legislation. Even though the Saver’s Credit is targeted to middle- and lowincome families, however, very few people who fall in the required income range actually receive any benefits. The reason is because the credit is non-refundable, meaning that people with no tax liability—those who do not earn enough to pay federal income taxes—cannot take advantage. In order to better increase savings among low- and moderate-income families, Congress should strengthen the Saver’s Credit by making it permanent and refundable and by creating a 50 percent match for all savers with incomes below $50,000. Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) has proposed a bi-partisan bill, “The Retirement Savings for Working Americans Act of 2007,” that would improve the Saver’s Credit. Additional Reading: — — H.R. 2724: The Retirement Savings for Working Americans Act of 2007 http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c110:1:./temp/~c11030ogiW:: Expanding Opportunities for Working Families to Save - 29 - CONGRESSIONAL AGENDA http://www.ideasprimary.com/?p=382 — The American Dream Initiative http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?kaid=86&subid=194&contentid=254004 Create a universal pensions system. Retirement security in America is at a crossroads. It is time to overhaul the current system and fold all the existing tax-favored savings accounts into one “universal pension,” which would simplify the complex retirement savings systems and provide universal access, greater choice, and increased portability for all Americans. Specifically, this new plan would replace the 16 IRA-type accounts with one portable retirement account for all workers. It would provide a $500 stake and tax-deferred saving, and workers could roll their 401k plans to their “universal pension” when they change jobs. Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) and Sen. Ron Wyden (R-Ore.) have introduced bills to secure retirement savings. Additional Reading: — — — Fair, Flat Tax Act of 2007, S. 1111 http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:s.01111: Fair, Flat Tax Act of 2006, H.R. 5176 http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c109:H.R.5176: Universal Pensions: A Common-Sense Approach to Retirement Security in the New Economy http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=250222&kaid=125&subid=164 - 30 - DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP COUNCIL STRONGER AMERICAN FAMILIES American families continue to feel the pressures of pursuing a middle-class lifestyle. In an effort to make ends meet, both mothers and fathers spend an increasing amount of time at work. More than 70 percent of mothers with children under the age of 18 are members of the labor force. Additionally, fathers report working longer hours each week than working fathers 30 years ago. As parents work harder to secure a financially healthy family, they worry about the lack of time and flexibility needed to care for their children. A country is only as healthy as its families, and Congress must find ways to bring greater balance to this dilemma facing the majority of American parents. The following proposals would help families take greater control of their work schedules and give them more time to spend with their children. Institute a 3-6-12 system of guaranteed leave. Parents long for more guaranteed leave to allow them to take care of their families. Under this new leave system, workers would receive an annual guaranteed combination of three days of unpaid short-term leave for non-emergency family needs, such as parent-teacher conferences, and six weeks of paid leave for a new child or serious health issue. Additionally, millions more workers would be eligible for the 12 weeks of unpaid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Additional Reading: — — Flexible Work for Strong Families http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=254111&kaid=114&subid=144 Expanding the Family and Medical Leave Act on its 15th Anniversary http://www.ideasprimary.com/?p=466 Give parents the right to request flexibility. Many working parents feel trapped by the rigid schedules of the work day. Workers with young children should be guaranteed the right to request flexible schedules—placing the burden of proof on employers to claim that flexible schedules are untenable. Workers seeking flexibility would have to submit a plan for the new schedule and delineate how they would address any disruptions for their employer. Employers would be required to consider the request. Additional Reading: — Flexible Work for Strong Families http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=254111&kaid=114&subid=144 - 31 - CONGRESSIONAL AGENDA Create a “Home Work” tax credit for telecommuters. Increasingly, many families are finding a greater work-family balance by working from home. A “Home Work” tax credit would assist employees who work from home in order to better care for a family member. Additional Reading: — Flexible Work for Strong Families http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=254111&kaid=114&subid=144 Reduce the consumer culture’s hold on American children. Parents are spending more time juggling work and family demands. As a result, children are spending more time with electronic media, including TV and the Internet and, in the process, are becoming unwitting targets of increasingly invasive and surreptitious marketing campaigns. Such campaigns aimed at children seek to circumvent parents’ authority and often include messages with inappropriate sexual and violent content. This growing and unrelenting marketing barrage is leading to a host of physical and emotional problems in children. Congress should: restore the Federal Trade Commission’s authority to regulate unfair advertising to children; use the power of public disclosure to discourage companies from marketing adult entertainment in media with large youth audiences; prevent children’s personal information from being used for commercial purposes; require the packaging of spinoff products to carry the same age recommendations as the entertainment products from which they are derived; and work with states to curtail commercial marketing inside public schools. Additional Reading: — Childhood for Sale: Consumer Culture’s Bid for Our Kids http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=253497&kaid=114&subid=144 - 32 -