Fresh Updates from RAC

This post is part of our Planning for 7 Billion series, highlighting the challenges posed by a quickly growing global population.

The world is growing—and fast. We’ve just eclipsed seven billion people here on Earth, and that number is only going to increase faster in the future. Moreover, on our way to seven billion people, the world has, for the first time, more urban residents then rural ones. There are countless challenges stemming from these two shifts, but the need to feed and house so many people, and in so many places, will provide stern tests for our national and international leadership in the future.

More people on the planet will mean a greater demand for resources. ThinkProgress, summarizing a United Nations report, notes that global population growth will require “by 2030…a 50 percent increase in food production, 45 percent more energy, and 30 percent more water.”

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When we last visited the Farm Bill, the Senate was considering, but then defeated, an amendment from Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand to restore the $4.5 billion cut from SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps) in the 2012 Farm Bill. Since that time, the Senate has passed a Farm Bill proposal.

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I am an absolute nut for the Olympics. I sing along to the national anthems (whenever I know any of the words), and have been known to wake up at all hours of the morning to watch obscure sports (handball and fencing are two particular favorites—and during every winter games my passion for curling reaches previously unseen heights).

This year, I’ve even been watching the Olympic trials—all in preparation for just two events: the individual men’s 400 meter run, and the 4×400 relay. In a rare departure from my Team USA zealotry, I’ll be pulling for South Africa.

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In mid-May, college graduates across the country realized America was again approaching an important debt ceiling. On July 1, interest rates on government-subsidized Stafford loans were set to double, from 3.4 to 6.8 percent. Working through weeks of disagreement, and in contrast to much of its track record of late, Congress came together in late June and passed a bill that will keep interest rates at their reduced level of 3.4 percent for another year.

The legislation is estimated to save students nationwide an average of $1,000 each—but it raises questions about the viability of debt-financed education. As this space wrote in May:

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Late last month, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released an alarming report—that the country was headed toward a “fiscal cliff” in January 2013, which could shatter an already fragile economic recovery. The culprit? A one-two punch of the expiration of President Bush’s tax cuts and a series of massive spending cuts borne of the debt ceiling debate from last August.

The irony of the situation is that the combination of spending cuts and tax hikes will make ample headway on the national debt, but this headway will likely come at the cost of a renewed recession. Though there is ample time for Congress to take action to prevent or lessen the impact of the jumping off the cliff, such late-breaking action would do little to calm investors scared of the consequences of inaction, thus amplifying the impact of jumping off the cliff. Indeed, fear of the consequences of inaction have already prompted many businesses to remain lean for the time being, rather than expanding.

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On any given night in America, more than 640,000 people are homeless. Though such studies often encounter serious methodological difficulties, this estimate nonetheless helps us understand the extent of homelessness in America. What’s more, homelessness is on the rise, as a December 2011 study by the US Conference of Mayors reported a 6 percent increase in homelessness in the 29 major cities surveyed.

Amid rising numbers, new hope for the homeless has come from Rhode Island, where the state House of Representatives and the state Senate have passed a “homeless bill of rights,” which Governor Lincoln Chaffee is expected to sign soon. The legislation prohibits police, health care workers, landlords or employers from treating homeless people unfairly because of their housing status. As the Boston Globe explained, though “state law already prohibits discrimination based on characteristics such as a person’s religion, gender, race or disability, there is no formal, specific protection for the homeless.”

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Yesterday, the Senate agreed to move forward in consideration of its version of the Farm Bill. Today, the Senate is considering 73 amendments to the legislation, including one by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) that would restore $4.5 billion to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps).

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In 2009, the United States signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Convention is based on the ideals of the Americans with Disabilities Act, intended to empower persons with disabilities to be independent and productive citizens. It represents an international effort to bring the world closer to achieving the goals of equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living and economic self-sufficiency for people with disabilities. What’s more, the Convention could make traveling and working abroad possible for more Americans, especially those who do so frequently such as veterans with disabilities or military family members with disabilities.

The Convention now stands at a crossroads. In May, a bipartisan group of seven senators, including Senators Dick Durbin and John McCain came forward as strong supporters of the treaty, just after it was formally introduced in the Senate. It now falls to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to deliberate the Convention and bring it before the full Senate. A two-thirds majority vote in the Senate is required to ratify international treaties.

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