New America Foundation

Summary

We are currently in the midst of two immense economic challenges: an immediate and severe financial crisis, which has already wiped out over $20 trillion in global wealth; and a longer-term fiscal crisis, which existed before the financial crisis but will be made worse because of it.

As a new congress and new administration take their places in Washington, early education is attracting more attention. The 111th Congress will have numerous opportunities to enact policies that improve access, quality, efficiency, and alignment in early education, including the forthcoming economic stimulus package and the scheduled reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), also known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB). The New America Foundation's Early Education Initiative proposes

Far too many students leave high school unprepared for the rigors of college and the workplace. Nearly a third of all incoming freshmen- 42 percent of first-year students at public two-year colleges-require remediation. At some postsecondary institutions, more than 90 percent of first-time freshmen need to take remedial classes before enrolling in courses that count toward their degrees. Remedial courses are offered at 99 percent of public two-year colleges and more than 75 percent of public four-year institutions.

The ASPIRE Act - Universal, lifelong savings accounts at birth The ASPIRE Act promotes lifetime savings, financial literacy, and opportunities for all young adults by establishing a progressively funded savings account for every child born in America. Each account receives $500 at birth. Households below national median income receive up to an additional $500 at birth and

An updated version of this paper can be found here.

In May of 2008, Congress passed the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act (ECASLA) in response to concern that credit market conditions could disrupt federal student loan availability. The law gives the U.S. Department of Education temporary authority to purchase federally backed student loans made by private lenders, effectively providing a secondary market for the loans. Congress opted to leave the new purchase authority largely undefined in statute, giving… more

The rental housing market in the United States is characterized by a fundamental disconnect between rents and household incomes. It has been this way for decades. Millions of Americans simply earn too little to afford to rent a decent home. To meet these families' basic needs for shelter, the federal government spends more than $25 billion each year to provide rental assistance to more than four million poor and near-poor households. This assistance is delivered through a mix of housing vouchers and deep

The United States, which entered into over $23 billion in Foreign Military Sales (FMS) agreements in fiscal year (FY) 2007 and $32 billion in FY 2008 (see table 1), is the world's largest arms supplier. U.S. exports range from combat aircraft to Pakistan, Morocco, Greece, Romania, and Chile to small arms and light weapons to the Philippines, Egypt, and Georgia. In 2006 and 2007, the United States sold weapons to over 174 states and territories, a significant increase from the… more

The United States is the world's leading arms exporting nation, accounting for over 45 percent of all weapons transferred globally in 2007.

U.S. arms transfers to Africa are being carried out against the backdrop of a major strategic shift in U.S. attention toward the continent, as embodied in the creation of the Africa Command. Before the establishment of AFRICOM in October 2007, U.S. strategic planning and military missions in Africa were split between the European Command (for North Africa) and the Central Command (for sub-Saharan Africa). But with the growing U.S. interest in curbing terror and expanding access to oil in… more

U.S. arms transfers and security assistance to Georgia and Turkey have raised particularly vexing questions for U.S. policymakers. In the case of Georgia, the question is how far to go in cementing a security alliance with the government in Tbilisi while carefully gauging the impacts on U.S.-Russian relations. With respect to Turkey, one key issue is whether the billions in U.S. weaponry provided to Ankara provide any leverage in moderating Turkey's behavior in southeastern Turkey and northern… more