Policy Briefs

Optimizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency

As stated in Executive Order (E.O.) 14180, published January 24, 2025, establishing a council to assess the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), there is an urgent need to drastically improve the agency’s ability to assist states with responding to and recovering from natural disasters. This memo outlines five obvious and common sense ways the U.S. Congress and DOGE can optimize FEMA, ensure better customer service for Americans, all while saving American taxpayers billions a year.

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Trump’s Return and the Challenge to European Unity

Donald Trump is once again reconfiguring Europe’s strategic outlook.

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The Case for Majority Winners

A fundamental principle of America’s representative democracy is that elected officials should reflect the will of the majority of the electorate, not just a narrow faction.

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Keep America Competitive Voters Support a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism

Rainey Center conducted polling to understand how voters view the carbon-border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), a policy that places a fee on dirty energy from countries with lower environmental standards than the United States. We collaborated with the Rob and Melani Walton Sustainability Solutions Service to explore voter attitudes towards a carbon border adjustment mechanism.

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How Americans View Tech, Elections and Artificial Intelligence

Rainey Center conducted polling to understand how voters understand artificial intelligence and partnered with Anchor Change to share the results. Rainey Center fielded an online sample of 1,061 respondents from September 21 to September 22 and weighted to education, gender, race and 2020 election results. The margin of error is +/- 3.6.

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