In August I commemorated the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina by pedaling along the self-guided "Levee Disaster Bike Tour." I began beneath the muscular oaks along New Orleans' Bayou St. John and threaded my way around potholes and waterfowl to pay my respects at three prominent levee-breach sites.
The ride gave me a chance to reflect on many problems that my adopted hometown of New Orleans faces, as well as countless opportunities for improving the policies that will take advantage of my neighbors' incredible resilience and keep us heading toward a more just and sustainable future.
In my new role as President of the Board of Directors of the Center for Progressive Reform, I thought about these issues in a new light. What might this remarkable, nationwide group of legal scholars and professional advocates do to engage in the debates that will shape the future of New Orleans, the Gulf Coast, and other regions of the country? The answer, I think, depends on how we continue to build our relationships with advocates like you.
What was the most helpful thing CPR did for you this year? Was it our analysts and Member Scholars supporting you in an advocacy campaign? Maybe you gained some new insight from a CPR report or case brief. I know our Member Scholars' congressional testimony provided a valuable counterpoint to the right-wing narrative on Capitol Hill many times. And the same goes for our blog.
Whatever we may have done to further your work, I hope you'll consider helping us provide more of the same in the coming year by donating to CPR on #GivingTuesday.
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Robert Verchick | December 1, 2015
In August I commemorated the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina by pedaling along the self-guided “Levee Disaster Bike Tour.” I began beneath the muscular oaks along New Orleans’ Bayou St. John and threaded my way around potholes and waterfowl to pay my respects at three prominent levee-breach sites. The ride gave me a chance to reflect […]
James Goodwin | November 24, 2015
From the moment they secured majorities in both chambers, congressional Republicans have made no secret of their intention to launch an all-out, guerilla warfare-style campaign against the federal government — and even the very notion of governance itself. Accordingly, they have pursued a strategy of salt-the-earth sabotage designed to spread like a communicable disease the […]
Katie Tracy | November 23, 2015
Late last week, the White House released its fall 2015 Unified Agenda—the semi-annual report on regulations under development or review by each federal agency. As usual, and therefore of little surprise, this latest agenda spells delay for a laundry list of critical safeguards at several agencies. According to CPR senior analyst James Goodwin’s review of the regulatory […]
James Goodwin | November 20, 2015
Opponents of safeguards are fond of decrying what they claim is a regulatory system out of control, churning out rules at a break-neck pace. It’s not difficult to refute this claim when the president releases the twice-annual regulatory agenda, which spells out all the active rulemakings that are currently pending and the expected timetables for […]
Evan Isaacson | November 18, 2015
Last week the Maryland Court of Appeals heard several hours of oral argument in back to back (to back) cases regarding whether five different municipal stormwater (“MS4”) permits issued by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) complied with the federal Clean Water Act and state water pollution laws. Although divided into separate cases due […]
Matthew Freeman | November 17, 2015
In an op-ed for The Hill, CPR Member Scholar Joel Mintz takes a look at the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), and concludes that it’s insufficiently protective of the environment, the Administration’s assertions notwithstanding. In his piece, he notes that the TPP “contains no mention whatsoever of what is widely seen as the most pressing threat to the global […]
Katie Tracy | November 10, 2015
A startling new report by Oxfam America reveals just how dangerous it is to work inside a poultry processing plant. The report is packed full of alarming statistics and heart-breaking personal stories from brave workers, exposing an industry that fails to protect workers from well-known hazards and that discourages workers from reporting injuries when they […]
Matthew Freeman | November 9, 2015
Fostering informed debate about sound regulatory policy to protect health, safety, and the environment is one of the Center for Progressive Reform’s fundamental objectives. Presidential candidates, on the other hand, like to focus on the issues that get them elected, not necessarily the issues that are important. Unfortunately, the media is increasingly complicit in avoiding […]
Daniel Farber | November 4, 2015
How Law Schools Serve the Public Most people probably think of law schools, when they think of them at all, as places that train future lawyers. That’s true, and it’s important, but law schools do a lot more. Faculty scholarship makes a difference — law review articles laid the foundation for many of the ideas now guiding […]