Our Story
The Progressive Policy Institute is a catalyst for policy innovation and political reform based in Washington, D.C. Its mission is to create radically pragmatic ideas for moving America beyond ideological and partisan deadlock.
Founded in 1989, PPI started as the intellectual home of the New Democrats and earned a reputation as President Bill Clinton’s “idea mill.” Many of its mold-breaking ideas have been translated into public policy and law and have influenced international efforts to modernize progressive politics.
Today, PPI is developing fresh proposals for stimulating U.S. economic innovation and growth; equipping all Americans with the skills and assets that social mobility in the knowledge economy requires; modernizing an overly bureaucratic and centralized public sector; and, defending liberal democracy in a dangerous world.
To connect ideas and political action, PPI relies on an extensive network of partners. The Institute has close ties to New Democrats in Congress, as well as leading governors and a host of dynamic mayors and metro leaders. It works with groups of rising progressive political leaders and millennial professionals, as well as policymakers, analysts and think tanks in Europe, Asia and Latin America.
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If we don't change how we use and develop new antimicrobial drugs, millions of people around the world could die.
Tomorrow, tune in to an urgent conversation with public and economic health experts on the need for action against superbugs.
Space is limited, RSVP today!
PPI President Will Marshall has advice for Democrats ahead of the November elections:
By speaking to authentic blue-collar aspirations, the party can begin to win back the working-class voters who were their political home not so long ago.
A new PPI report sounds the alarm on antimicrobial resistance and recommends steps the government can take on an issue that isn't getting a lot of beltway attention.
Read the full report:
With the somber announcement of the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Will Marshall marks the historic importance of her extraordinary 70-year reign.
If Democrats want this year's midterm election outcomes to break from the norm, they need to restore parent's truth in all our schools.
As America’s children start getting back to school this month, our country needs a grown-up conversation about public education’s future.
The odds of having one this fall are slim.
PPI Statement on Student Debt Cancellation:
“We are disappointed that the Biden administration has caved in to left-wing demands to pursue mass debt cancellation through executive action. This decision will cost taxpayers much more money than the Inflation Reduction Act will save for the foreseeable future and undermine the administration’s claim that it is doing everything it can to bring rising prices under control.
"Whether it's through inflation today, or higher taxes and spending cuts tomorrow, workers who don’t reap the benefits of a college education will bear the costs of canceling debt for those who do. Policymakers should instead focus on finding ways to control the underlying problem of skyrocketing tuition and provide stronger post-secondary pathways to good jobs that are more affordable and flexible than a traditional four-year degree.
“Attempting to grant mass debt cancellation by executive order also risks setting a dangerous precedent that would allow future presidents to unilaterally spend over a trillion dollars of taxpayers’ money without explicit approval from their representatives in the House and Senate. Congress and the courts must set clear guardrails to prevent future presidents from abusing their discretion and usurping the power of the purse."
Our full statement:
Next week, President Biden’s executive order imposing a freeze on student loan repayments and interest accrual is set to expire, and President Biden is under tremendous pressure from a years-long campaign by leftwing activists to cancel at least $10,000 of debt per borrower under a certain income threshold. This is a regressive and fiscally irresponsible demand likely to further estrange Democrats from working-class voters.
Here are six reasons why he should develop a plan to resume payments in a timely manner that doesn’t include mass debt cancelation by executive order:
1) Mass debt cancelation would undermine the Inflation Reduction Act
2) Canceling debt for most borrowers is a giveaway to affluent elites — paid for by workers
3) Student debt cancelation distracts from the real problem of college affordability
4) Mass debt cancelation by executive order sets a dangerous precedent
5) Student debt cancelation is bad politics
6) There are better tools available to help struggling borrowers
Lasting change is hard, and in the U.S. our system is designed to make large, systemic change nearly impossible.
But when lawmakers can coalesce around a policy, and build on it with time, big transformative change is possible.
Where’s the progressive plan to fix government?
HAPPENING NOW! The Politics of Education: Parent Voice
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Digital privacy laws are not ready for a post-Roe v. Wade future.
🚨 PPI Lauds Passage of Inflation Reduction Act
Ben Ritz, Director of the Center for Funding America’s Future at the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) released the following statement:
“The Progressive Policy Institute applauds Senate Democrats for passing the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. This historic bill will help combat the climate crisis and promote American energy security with the largest investment in clean energy ever. The health care provisions will reduce costs for millions of families. New resources to help the IRS crack down on tax cheats will reverse the defunding of our tax police and ensure all Americans pay their fair share. And the bill would not only cover the cost of these policies, it would also reduce deficits by more than a quarter trillion dollars over the coming decade, which will help bring inflation under control.
“As is the case for most bills, the Inflation Reduction Act is not perfect. Its deficit reduction depends on a flawed plan to outsource tax policy to the Financial Accounting Standards Board, a private organization that solely exists to serve the information needs of investors rather than determine an economically efficient tax base. Other, better revenue-raisers were dropped, leaving the bill’s modest savings unable to offset the deficit increases created by legislation Congress passed just last month. And we’re sorry that many other progressive priorities we advocated for throughout the reconciliation process, such as closing the Medicaid coverage gap, could not be included.
“But the final bill is still far better than the mishmash of half-baked social programs and irresponsible budget gimmicks that many on the left were pushing earlier in the reconciliation process. PPI is proud of the role our Reconciling with Reality framework and analysis of various proposals played in shaping this historic legislation. We thank Senator Manchin, Leader Schumer, Speaker Pelosi, President Biden, and all the other lawmakers whose leadership contributed to this great outcome.
“The Inflation Reduction Act, together with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the CHIPS and Science Act, represents the largest increase in public investment since the Johnson administration – it is a historic accomplishment for Democratic leaders in Washington. Now we urge them to finish the job by passing the permitting reform legislation they’ve promised to cut red tape, maximize taxpayers’ bang for their buck, and get these critical investments built in a timely manner. We also hope that additional legislation and executive orders they pursue later this year will build upon rather than squander the Inflation Reduction Act’s hard-earned deficit reduction.”
The infrastructure bill’s bipartisan broadband provisions gave unprecedented billions to cure the digital divide — $42 billion for building networks in rural areas that don’t have any yet and $14 billion to make broadband essentially free for low-income Americans who have it on their doorstep but don’t sign up. That’s huge.
But now some Democrats in the administration and in various states want to use some of those funds to actually get local governments into the business of building and operating vastly complex and expensive broadband networks themselves. This is like stealing defeat from the jaws of victory.
More from PPI's Executive Director Lindsay Lewis:
Six months after invading Ukraine, not much has gone right for Russian strongman Vladimir Putin. But it’s dangerous for despots to admit defeat, so he’s doubling down on death and destruction in hopes of salvaging something he can call a win.
Having failed to topple Ukraine’s government or overwhelm its highly motivated defense forces on the ground, Putin is settling into a grinding war of attrition, featuring World War II-style leveling of cities and terror attacks on civilians.
Read more in the latest from PPI President Will Marshall: