Americans show great uncertainty when it comes to answering basic questions about how their government works, a survey conducted by the Annenberg Public Policy Center has found. The survey was released for Constitution Day, Sept. 17, in conjunction with the launch of the Civics Renewal Network.
On the 13th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, the three former U.S. Secretaries of Homeland Security recommended that Congress streamline its oversight of the Department of Homeland Security as “a matter of critical importance to national security on which there is broad bipartisan agreement.”
Constitution Day, Wednesday, Sept. 17, and the 225th anniversary of the drafting of the Bill of Rights will be celebrated by events spanning the nation, including naturalization ceremonies at iconic sites, students taking the “Preamble Challenge,” a panel in Washington examining the role of civics in American life, and the start-up of an online resource for civics education. The daylong commemoration will launch the Civics Renewal Network, a collaboration among 26 groups, including the Annenberg Public Policy Center.
Colleagues and friends at the Annenberg Public Policy Center are mourning the loss of Margot Adler, the journalist who was the voice of "Justice Talking," the award-winning radio show produced over a decade by APPC. Ms. Adler was 68 and had been battling cancer for several years.
Nearly 100 high school students from across the Philadelphia region took part in the Annenberg Public Policy Center’s inaugural summer camp program devoted to learning about and participating in anti-tobacco advertising research. The program brought teenagers from 19 area schools to APPC for three week-long sessions.
The struggle against terrorism "has entered a new and dangerous phase," members of the 9/11 Commission said on the 10-year anniversary of their report. The group's new report, developed with APPC and the Bipartisan Policy Center, identified emerging threats and continuing vulnerabilities.
Ten years ago, the 9/11 Commission urged Congress to overhaul its supervision of the Department of Homeland Security in the name of national security. At the time, Homeland Security answered to 88 Congressional committees and subcommittees. The issue was spotlighted in an ad in the New York Times.
At the 2014 Aspen Ideas Festival, national security experts including former 9/11 Commission chair Thomas H. Kean agreed that the nation is not as safe as it could or should be. One problem: Congressional oversight of the Department of Homeland Security was in the hands of too many committees and subcommittees.
The Annenberg Public Policy Center has partnered with NBC News and the Wall Street Journal on surveys of the American public through the 2014 election. The Annenberg/NBC News/Wall Street Journal Survey will examine Americans’ attitudes and opinions about the U.S. Congress from June through the November election.
The Annenberg Public Policy Center will take part in the new Penn Prevention Research Center, created by a five-year, $4.35 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to establish an interdisciplinary center dedicated to preventing chronic disease and reducing health disparities in southeastern Pennsylvania. APPC associate director Amy Jordan will co-lead an area of the PRC.