A 2021 letter to Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen from Broadband Task Force co-chairs.

The $122 billion appropriated for schools under the American Rescue Plan (ARP) represents the largest single federal outlay for K–12 education in the country’s history. ARP funding is designed to address the needs of students who have lost learning during COVID-19–related school closures.

The mission of the Education Policy Group expanded to address the broader inequities affecting schools in the pandemic era. State and local leaders understand the links between strong schools and a strong economy.

Rising pro-growth progressive state and local elected officials are focusing on innovative solutions to combat climate change and its effects in their communities, and they bring a broad and robust set of experiences and perspectives on these issues.

Climate change impacts every corner of America. Norfolk, VA, sits on 144 miles of flooding coastline. Rising heat threatens Wisconsin’s rich agricultural land as Milwaukee and Madison grapple with pollution-exacerbated injustices. It seems climate change causes problems as varied as the 50 states and thousands of cities and towns in our nation.

Entrepreneurs and startups are at the heart of this economic dynamism, but since the Great Recession, entrepreneurs have struggled to find access to capital to start new businesses at the same rates as before, and the startup rate has been sluggish, with more firms failing than launching each year in most metro areas. Notably in 2018, on net the economy added no additional firms for the first time in our nation’s history.

The pandemic has forced attention on the shortcomings of our nation’s safety net, creating opportunities to reimagine and strengthen that system as policymakers focus on rethinking and rebuilding our economy.

State and city governments have long been working on making public transit more accessible and building a system that gets residents where they need to go without burdensome delays, transfers, or high fares.

The pandemic brought with it a pivot to virtual work and school wherever possible, and access to quality broadband has never been more essential to American life than it is now.

With more than 12 million children under the age of 5 in some form of child care across the country, and around 1.5 million Americans directly employed in the child care profession, child care is essential to America’s economy and future prosperity.

Prior to the pandemic, the United States was already dealing with significant housing issues, including high rents, unattainable housing prices, and a lack of housing stock.

America has rarely encountered such challenging circumstances as the country faces today, amid a once-in-a century public health emergency that has caused economic devastation for millions of people while touching every aspect of society.

Since the publication of initial recommendations in late 2018, the Future of Work Policy Group has continued its work developing and implementing innovative solutions to address the changing nature of employment.

Two forces – globalization and technological advancement– are transforming our economy at an accelerating rate. Businesses have more choices than ever about where to locate, hire, and invest, and automation already threatens nearly half of all jobs. However, our public policies have not kept pace with these massive changes in the modern workplace.