Progress on Infrastructure, but the Devil May Be in the Details
Negotiations are underway between the White House and Congress about the scope of investment in infrastructure and how to pay for it. But reaching a compromise on spending may not be enough to ensure that the spending will produce results as intended.
May 21, 2021 The Hill
The Economic Wallop of COVID-19: Q&A with RAND Experts
As Washington continues to weigh economic responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, here are insights from RAND experts on how aid money might be best allocated, how this crisis compares to the 2008 recession, what business communities can do right now, and more.
Mar 26, 2020
Want to Know If a New Drug Crisis Is Growing? Check the Wastewater
Few people foresaw how quickly fentanyl would displace heroin, doubling or tripling opioid overdose deaths in some pockets of the United States from 2013 to 2017. But we could have been warned—if only we'd checked our wastewater.
Mar 26, 2020 Scientific American
The Social Distancing Economy: Q&A with RAND Experts
Congress and the White House are weighing economic policies to help people acutely affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Here are insights from RAND experts on what might be effective in terms of fiscal policy, stimulus spending, and emergency relief to affected workers.
Mar 18, 2020
The Long Game on Infrastructure
The Trump administration recently announced its Legislative Outline for Rebuilding Infrastructure in America. With its lack of new federal funding, the plan may not be the best path to fixing America's most serious regional, national, and long-term problems.
Feb 20, 2018 U.S. News & World Report
How Federal Policy Could Help Water and Wastewater Utilities
A targeted approach could help the federal government address the root causes of infrastructure problems more effectively than a spending initiative that simply spreads money around with the hope that more spending might do some good.
Jan 16, 2018 Inside Sources
When It Comes to Climate, Look for Vulnerabilities in Policy, Not Science
Federal policymakers have picked up on the concept of red teaming — actively seeking out one's own vulnerabilities. While red teaming may not make sense for climate science, it does offer great benefits when weighing climate policy options.
Aug 4, 2017 The Hill
The Big Bet: Withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement
America's formal withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement could have far-reaching consequences for U.S. global leadership on many issues, not just on efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Jun 2, 2017 Inside Sources
Impact on the Environment from President Trump's First 100 Days
President Trump's actions have not yet resulted in demonstrable change in environmental conditions or funding. But the groundwork is being laid to unwind major regulations and diminish staff at the EPA and other federal agencies with climate-related research in their portfolios.
May 4, 2017 BBC
With Trump in the White House, States Could Step Up on Climate Change
The new administration has expressed skepticism about climate change. But states may choose to pursue their own climate change initiatives.
Nov 26, 2016 Fox News Channel
COP21: Ambition and Momentum
Negotiators in Paris achieved a historic breakthrough by adopting a fundamentally different, and likely more effective, institutional framework to address climate change. It builds on two concepts missing from past attempts to forge a global treaty: voluntary participation and adaptive policymaking.
Dec 17, 2015 The RAND Blog
Breaking Down Nuclear Waste as a Two-Part Issue
The U.S. Department of Energy is now planning separate repositories for commercial waste and the waste from the military's nuclear weapons production instead of disposing of both in the same repository as originally intended. Decoupling different parts of the nuclear waste problem is a small but positive step forward.
May 5, 2015 Las Vegas Sun
Future of Coastal Flooding
President Obama's executive order that directs federal agencies to plan and build for higher flood levels as they construct new projects in flood-prone regions will affect hundreds of billions of dollars of future public works projects. In an ideal world, planners would estimate the benefits and costs for each project, taking into account everything from the details of the local landscape to the potential for adaptive responses over time.
Feb 25, 2015 The Hill
Firearms and Gun Control: Many Questions, Some Answers
President Obama's task force on gun violence has raised the stakes in the policy debate on gun control and policy in the wake of the recent shootings in Colorado and Connecticut. Some of RAND's top researchers share what is, and what isn't, known about firearms and gun control.
Jan 17, 2013 The RAND Blog
What Louisiana Can Teach New York and New Jersey
The massive damage and disruption caused by “Super Storm” Sandy has created a rare moment when New York City, New Jersey and surrounding areas are singularly focused on the infrastructure they need in a changing environment – not just the infrastructure they already have thanks to the vision and investments of past generations.
Nov 8, 2012 CNN
