Congress got it right this time!

Last week, both houses voted across party lines for a program that stands to make a huge difference in the health of people across the country. The House and Senate Agriculture Committees voted to include the creation of a Healthy Food...

Toward the end of his inspiring State of the Union address to the nation, President Obama said we must "build new ladders of opportunity into the middle class." Most pundits did not pick up on this reference to the nation's poor, but these words were more than an eloquent turn...

Election night chatter was all about race. Pundits and commentators on all the major networks, from ABC, CNN, MSNBC and Fox were marveling that President Obama had once again lost the majority of the white vote and still won the election.

Can you see it now? America has changed....

"It turns out that advancing equal opportunity and economic empowerment is both morally right and good economics. Why? Because poverty, discrimination and ignorance restrict growth. When you stifle human potential, when you don't invest in new ideas, it doesn't just cut off the people who are affected; it hurts us...

With 23 million people unemployed, underemployed, or discouraged from looking for work, our nation desperately needs a new strategy to for building an inclusive economy. The new report from Yale University's Jacob Hacker and Nate Loewentheil, Prosperity Economics: Building an Economy for All, is a welcome antidote to...

America is changing -- and we need an all hands on deck approach to build an economy that is strong, sustainable, and provides opportunities for all.

Already the majority of babies born in the United States are Latino, Asian, Native American, African American, and other people of color. In the...

Quality and affordable transportation access is more critical than ever for linking everyday Americans to jobs, schools, grocery stores, hospitals, and other vital services. Yet Congress is preparing to vote on a proposal that would strip away all investments in public transit and walking infrastructure -- leaving countless communities disconnected...

Last Tuesday, President Obama made a major speech to set the record straight on our nation's economy and what he called the most "defining issue of our time" : restoring growth and prosperity for all Americans.

Taking aim at the alarming growth of income inequality...

Now that's more like it.

President Obama's new jobs plan is a powerful step toward finally ending this terrible jobs crisis. Impressive in scope, scale and depth, his plan lays out some strong, sensible stepping stones to a more equitable and prosperous America.

With its focus on...

Since our founding, older Americans have sacrificed significantly to ensure that future generations grow up in a nation rich with promise and opportunity.

But now, with talk of cutbacks to education, Medicaid, public transportation and critical infrastructure, many are reneging on this historical commitment, calling instead for the "opportunity ladder"...

What a wonderful investment in America!

President Obama and his administration have seen the challenges facing young people in our country today who are hitting hard against the "Opportunity Ceiling" and have once again made a smart investment in the next generation by offering $30 million in grants...

Meet the next target of the "all-regulation-is-bad" crowd: school lunches.

Our children face a devastating obesity crisis -- and yet some Washington lawmakers are calling even the most commonsense moves to ensure them a healthier diet a "classic nanny-state overreach."

Really? Let's look at what these simple, straightforward...

The face of America is changing.

And the fate of America hinges on how we react to -- and invest in -- those changes.

By 2042, a majority of Americans will be people of color. Already, California, Texas, Hawaii, New Mexico, and DC have more people of color...

While Congress squabbles over the debt ceiling crisis, I am far more worried about the millions of low-income, mostly black and brown Americans who are hitting hard against the "Opportunity Ceiling."

Every day, their potential is stunted and shackled by disinvestment and disinterest. The House budget plan - aka "The...

Economists and policy analysts have already shown clearly that the drastic budget cuts proposed in the House will cost us hundreds of thousands of jobs and endanger the faltering economic recovery.

Beyond that, though, these myopic cuts threaten to knock the legs out from beneath many...

For years, we've all been lamenting the lack of a real, meaningful national discussion on race.

Starting TODAY, we hope you'll join with us to fix that.

I am very excited to announce today the "Race & America's Future Virtual Book Club" - a six-week, online...

How upside down have our politics gotten? Yesterday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said that those making more than $250,000 were "the people who were hit hardest by this recession."

The absurdity of that claim was highlighted that same day when the US Census Bureau released...

In this era of political hyperbole and base-riling, I often feel like Americans are simply not seeing the world through the same eyes -- especially in the news wasteland of August.

First, the facts: In the stifling Atlanta heat earlier this month, more than 30,000 people waited in line to...

This op-ed first appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Friday, July 30, 2010.

With the economy still in flux, money is tight for families across Western Pennsylvania and around the country. More kids are going to bed hungry or having to get by on cheaper,...

We've all seen the American Express commercials -- Geoffrey Canada telling of his long and noble fight to improve the lives of thousands of children as head of the Harlem Children's Zone.

But Geoff needs our help in the Senate now to realize his vision...