Why would Members of Congress commit to spend only $4.50 a day on food and live on the budget of the average SNAP recipient? The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly called Food Stamps), is an essential lifeline that helps put food on the table for 47 million hungry Americans, and it is under fire.

The Institute for America’s Future and the Opportunity to Learn Campaign have joined a diverse group of education advocates to release an “Education Declaration” that demands a new direction in public school policy, focused on opportunities and supports for students – and respect for teachers.

Most of us familiar with Down‘s Syndrome know that it brings characteristic facial features and delayed or impaired cognitive development. People with Down, however, are also more vulnerable than the general population to diabetes, leukemia, and infectious and autoimmune disease, and about 40% are born with heart defects.

The concept of a “path to citizenship” might be more than just a hopeful buzzword for Latino immigrants. It may be the path to reducing economic disparities for the growing population of Latinos in the United States.

When asked by a potential community partner what was the one thing that could be done to improve the health of its citizens, Dr. Adewale Troutman, the then newly appointed director for Louisville’s health department* answered, “to make sure that everyone graduates from high school”.  Like many others, the community partner wondered - what does high school graduation have to do with health?

This week, we found out that millions of Americans’ telephone records are being collected by the Federal Government. An article in The Guardian exposed that the National Security Agency requires cell phone provider, Verizon Wireless, to give them information on all information in their systems. The court order suggests that these records are collected without any indication of wrongdoing by the telephone users.

Dr. Maya Rockeymoore, president and CEO of Global Policy Solutions, a social change strategy firm based in Washington, D.C., guests hosts The Agenda with Ari Rabin-Havt of "Media Matters" on SiriusXM and interviews Congresswoman Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) on the Congressional Black Caucus's budget plan to create jobs, strengthen education, and support communities of color.

Melissa L. Bradley has a strong track record of creative and innovative leadership and a background as a social entrepreneur. Melissa serves as Founder and Managing Director of New Capitalist™, an organization that leverages human, financial and social capital to create economically profitable and sustainable individuals, businesses, and communities.

President Barack Obama gave a speech on counterterrorism yesterday. In the speech he suggested that the War on Terror was coming to an end but with little indication of when. He also addressed other security issues such as adding more restrictions to the use of drones overseas. 

On the morning of May 31st, Biannela Susana will find out how much more time she’ll spend in prison in connection with the death of her youngest son. Whether the judge sentences her to the maximum 30 years or not, it’s hard to imagine that any punishment will top the nightmare that her life has been so far. In 2011, Biannela and her then 12-year-old son Cristian were charged in the death of two-year-old David.

Yesterday, the Senate Armed Services Committee held a hearing related to the nation’s use of military forces. The hearing included testimonies about the law of armed conflict as well as the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force. The war authorization was passed after 9/11 and allows the President to put military forces anywhere. As you can imagine, this power outraged many policy makers, especially those committed to bringing all troops back home. 

One thing I love about my job is that no two days are the same.  “Policy and advocacy” means lots of things: listening, persuading, recommending a course of action and—perhaps most importantly—giving a voice to people who haven’t been given the opportunity to speak up for themselves. Advocacy happens when someone engages in dialogue about an issue they care about—and I care about making water and sanitation a reality for people in every corner of the globe.

Earlier this week, President Obama nominated Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx to become Secretary of the Department of Transportation. As the President solidifies his second-term cabinet, transportation policy comes to the forefront.

In a 2007 national survey, 40% of children adopted by Americans, both domestically and internationally, were of a different race than their adoptive parents (source). Transracial adoptions are very common.  But who adopts who?  If you ask Google Images, white families adopt non-white children. Six of the images below appear to feature white parents with children of color:

Senator Joel Anderson’s new bill hopes to revitalize the death penalty in California. One of the most controversial aspects of the bill is the proposal for gas chambers to be included in their death penalty system. This will allow California to be the only place globally to use suffocation as a form of criminal punishment.

Step One: Call It Out

Education has been labeled the “civil rights issue of our time.” Dropout factories––high schools where no more than 60% of the students that start as freshmen make it to their senior year––has become a common-day term. These low-performing public schools tend to be in the poorest zip codes across our country. The negative impacts of poverty on the health and education of students is well documented, mostly affecting kids of color who tend to live in lower-income communities.

On Wednesday, progress for gun control in America was challenged by the defeat of a bipartisan bill. The bill between Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) sought to expand the national background check system for gun ownership. Despite the support from Republican and Democrat lawmakers and the impact of gun-related tragedies, politics held precedence over American people. Experts provide perspectives on the defeat of the gun control legislation.

One of our Pinterest boards collects images that reveal that men are the “neutral” sex in contemporary Western cultures. This means that (1)  the image that pops up in our minds when we say “person” or “human” or “worker” is usually implicitly male, (2) non-sexed representations of people are usually assumed to be male (e.g., cartoon animals appear female to us unless we slap on eyelashes and lipstick), (3) items for sale often get marketed as either “item” or “women’s item” (e.g., “deodorant” and “women’s deodorant”), and (4) men and male bodies get to stand in for humanity (e.g., in scientific research).

I am pleased that the President's FY14 Budget addresses the student loan crisis in our country. From leading the world into the age of democracy to spearheading the technological revolution, America has always been at the forefront of greatness. 

Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR) brought attention to social security when he criticized President Obama’s budget proposal on Wednesday. President Obama’s budget seeks to lower cost-of-living increases for those who receive social security. Some lawmakers, both Republican and Democrat, were outraged by the cuts between $200 billion and $380 billion on social security. While others like House Speaker John Boehner believes the President is taking necessary steps to help the nation. This week, experts weigh in on the importance of social security and whether or not these cuts will benefit our country.

During the last election cycle Al Sharpton famously said, "It's not about Obama, it's about your momma." He was making a compelling argument that the public needed to be concerned about Mitt Romney's draconian Social Security and Medicare proposals. Now that the Obama Administration has released its 2014 budget that includes cuts to both Social Security and Medicare, African Americans must now face the bitter reality that it's literally about Obama and our mommas.

Imagine the year 2057. What does it look like? Are you picturing driverless cars, tiny tablet supercomputers, and everyone wearing a pair of Google glasses? Are you picturing a country where women finally earn as much as men?

North Korea had the attention of Americans after threatening to bomb several U.S. cities. Kim Jong Un, North Korean ruler, announced his potential attack on the U.S. after the deployment of U.S. battalion in South Korea, a known adversary of North Korea. Some Americans laughed at the young ruler, while other panicked at the thought of an attack. As North Korea continues to be the topic of conversation this week, let’s see what experts have written on the subject.

Although boys and girls who drop out of high school sometimes do so for similar reasons, there are also some clear gender differences in what drives them to drop out. If we are to make progress in supporting all students to graduate, we need to understand these different causes for boys and for girls, and create solutions tailored to anticipate, prevent and respond to them.

Reid Cramer is director of the Asset Building Program at the New America Foundation, which aims to promote policies and ideas that significantly broaden access to economic resources through increased savings and asset ownership, especially among lower-income families. 

This week the Supreme Court heard arguments in cases related to marriage equality. The two cases separately examine Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)-- laws that prevent the LGBT community from freely marrying. As this topic gained national attention this week experts offer their opinion on whether or not everyone should have the right to marry.

Ms. Judd, I was disheartened to read that you decided not to run against Mitch McConnell for the Kentucky senate seat. Several days prior to your announcement, I was especially disturbed by reports that the Clinton machine had thrown their support behind newly elected Secretary of State, Alison Lundergan Grimes. News accounts suggested that they favored Ms. Lundergan Grimes because of her family's political ties and her more moderate ideological views, which they believed would go over well in the supposedly conservative state.

Did you know that the growth of support for same-sex marriage over the past ten years represents one the largest changes in public opinion on any policy issue over this time period? Back in 2003 more than half (58%) of Americans opposed gay marriage, whereas today less than half (44%) oppose it.

The Cyber Intelligence Sharing Protection Act (CISPA) is currently under review in the House Intelligence Committee. This bill will determine if private companies can share information with the federal government regarding cyber threats.

Water is a women’s issue.

It’s an important adage, one that highlights how we expect governments to prioritize investments in safe drinking water, sanitation, hygiene (WASH), and water resource management. It links to the theme of this year’s World Water Day, too.

Here we are in 2013. You may wonder, is there really still a need for an International Women’s Day?
The answer, in short, is an unabashed yes!

Earlier this month, President Obama announced Gina McCarthy as the new administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency and Ernez Moniz as the Secretary of the Department of Energy. These nominations are only a catalyst for a stronger focus on environmental-related policy this term.

"Remember that this is not just a debate about policy. It’s about people. It’s about men and women and young people who want nothing more than the chance to earn their way into the American story.” These were the words of President Obama on January 29, 2013 as he called for comprehensive immigration reform.

While in search of the American Dream, many immigrants have made unimaginable sacrifices to create a better life for their families. Some arrived to our shores legally with temporary visitor, worker or student visas which they have overstayed.