Here we go again.

Recent news stories that Congress is once again fighting over whether to double the interest rates on many student loans is distressing and all too familiar.

As the mother of a high school senior who is applying to colleges right now, I know that it may come down to what we can afford — and how much debt she will be able to carry into her life after school.

The cost of the rates doubling—about $1,000 a year -- may not seem like a lot, but it is to those of us who struggle to make ends meet every day.

This week, scores of surgeons are visiting Capitol Hill, and the Auto Alliance is pleased to join them in supporting “Decide to Drive,” a campaign to help reduce distracted driving. Their timing is perfect, because we have arrived at a crucial crossroads in addressing distracted driving.
 
Recently, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released guidelines for reducing distracted driving that articulate a perfectly calibrated goal -- one with which automakers agree. That goal is to get drivers to connect their phones to the integrated, built-in systems in vehicles -- systems increasingly operated by voice commands -- so drivers can keep their eyes on the road and hands on the wheel.

On May 1, thousands of people will take part in rallies and demonstrations nationwide to recognize that all workers – regardless of their immigration status – have rights and protections. That’s because May Day is also International Worker’s Day.

So there is no better time to reflect on the needs of immigrant workers, especially those from Asia and the Pacific Islands, who have a long history of immigrating to the United States in order to start a new life and provide for their families back home.

With spring in full bloom, the ground isn’t the only thing beginning to thaw. Finally, more than two years after Citizens United unleashed a torrent of spending in federal elections, the rigid partisan stalemate on disclosure appears to be softening.
 
Last week, Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) unveiled the Follow the Money Act, which would beef up disclosure of outside spending. Before that, the Texas Senate, a body with a 19-12 Republican majority, passed similar legislation by a 23-6 vote. The bill now moves to the Assembly after a Senate committee approved it unanimously.

In his recent blog entry on chained CPI (Chained CPI: Unfair and inaccurate, April 26th), AARP President Robert Romasco highlights his group's opposition to the change, charging that it would be “Unfair and Inaaccurate.” In fact, nothing could be further from the truth.
 
A coalition of strange bedfellows, including Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform and Moveon.org, have announced their opposition to this policy, even as many responsible policymakers from both sides of the aisle and at the highest levels of government continue to support it – notably, the president and the Speaker of the House.

When he was a senator from Delaware, Joe Biden was never one to mince words. As Vice President, he still has that same characteristic candor. It was on full display this past weekend at the McCain Institute, when Vice President Biden voiced support for releasing the Senate intelligence committee’s report on the CIA’s post-9/11 torture program during a discussion with Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.).

During their discussion, Senator McCain, a vocal supporter of releasing the report, asked Vice President Biden whether he agreed that “we should expose those abuses of human rights” committed by the United States to make sure that the nation never repeats them. Biden’s response was clear: “I’m with you John, I’m where you are.” Biden then added,  “I think the only way you excise the demons is you acknowledge, you acknowledge exactly what happened straightforwardly.”

Hagel's tenure to this point has done more than enough to rebut these malicious and false charges leveled by his fellow Republicans.
 
Now that Chuck Hagel has completed his first trip to Israel as U.S. defense secretary, it's time for the pro-Israel community to acknowledge the obvious: Secretary Hagel has demonstrated that he is following the president's lead when it comes to supporting Israel. Like his predecessors, Hagel has personally committed himself to strengthening the US-Israel defense relationship and working to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran.

The oil industry hopes to protect its control over America’s fuel supply by undermining renewable fuels. By confusing us with misleading claims and outright falsehoods, oil companies hopeCongress will overlook the real dangers caused by our almost complete dependence on oil for transportation fuels. For our economy and our environment, we cannot allow them to succeed.

The World Bank has always focused on poverty reduction; it is their stated mission to ‘help reduce poverty’. But actually ending it, with a target date, was never their explicit goal, until now. In Washington, at their annual spring meeting last week, the World Bank, with the support of the International Monetary Fund, committed to ending extreme global poverty by 2030. This is no small feat and they should be lauded for taking the leap.