Heidi Pascual's web site

By Roby Chatterji and Jessica Yin

By Tobias Harris and Trevor Sutton

Months after U.S. President Joe Biden first indicated that his administration would launch a new Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) that would signal strengthened U.S. engagement with Asian economies, the president, together with the leaders of a dozen countries from across Asia, announced the launch of the IPEF in Tokyo on May 23.

The Biden administration is convinced that the new framework is an opportunity to showcase what senior U.S. officials have described as a “foreign policy for the middle class,” an initiative that fulfills a strategic need while delivering results for U.S. workers and businesses. .-- READ MORE

From CAPAC

In recognition of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month, the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee have released a new report on economic disparities in the AANHPI community, their contributions to the U.S. economy and the need for more disaggregated data.

Data show Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders were hit hard by the pandemic and the coronavirus recession. Thanks to the American Rescue Plan and other equity-based initiatives focused on providing relief to U.S. workers, families and businesses, many groups in the AANHPI community have fully recovered from the economic crisis. In 2021, the AANHPI poverty rate dropped by nearly 22-percent. -- READ MORE

By Ben Olinsky and Grace Oyenubi

As the Supreme Court nears the end of its term, it is poised to hand down a string of decisions that carry a deeply disturbing theme. Much attention has appropriately been given to the stunning draft decision reported on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which would overturn Roe v. Wade. Yet in other cases, too, Americans will likely see significant retrenchments of their rights, including those to clean air, religious freedom, effective governance, and to live safe from the scourge of gun violence. Dobbs will not be an isolated case of overreach nor of attacks on cherished liberties. Instead, it offers a stark preview of the plans the court’s radical majority has for the future..--READ MORE

By Anne Christianson

Nature is increasingly recognized as foundational to climate action, especially the push to hold global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels in order to avoid the worst consequences of climate change. The climate mitigation and adaptation benefits of blue carbon—carbon stored in marine ecosystems—is a growing part of U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) climate dialogues. However, not all blue carbon “solutions” are created equal.

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Indeed, as argued in a newly published peer-reviewed paper led by this author, to deliver a host of climate benefits to U.S. and global coastal communities, blue carbon ocean ecosystems must be supported by proper policy mechanisms. --READ MORE