Blog

During the week of August 24, the Republican National Committee held its 2020 Convention – which featured speeches and videos from key leaders and elected officials across the four-night event and highlighted the second term agenda announced by the Trump Administration on August 23rd. Several Republican policies and priorities, outlined both in President Trump’s agenda and throughout the convention, reflect those outlined in America Forward’s 2020 Presidential Policy Playbook.

Below, we summarize key areas of alignment between America Forward’s work and the 2020 Republican policies, to identify potential areas of support and future collaboration.

Economic Growth

• The President’s recently released second term agenda calls for expanding the workforce with the creation of “10 million new jobs in 10 months” and “1 million new small businesses.” It urges the expansion of opportunity zones, designed to encourage investment in traditionally under-resourced areas through tax incentives.
• America Forward’s 2020 Presidential Policy Playbook calls for expanding the workforce by investing in “a talent pipeline for the social sector to fill shortages, support quality and scale, and reflect the communities served”; “redesign the workforce development system with the goal of aligning education and training with career pathways to high-growth sectors”; and “develop an inclusive workforce development strategy.” Additionally, the Policy Playbook advocates for moving families out of poverty by “investing directly in the initiative and strength of low-income families working toward economic mobility.”

Educational Opportunity

• At last week’s Republican National Convention, Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) emphasized the importance of quality education, saying, “A quality education is the closest thing we have to magic in America,” and calling on policymakers to ensure “every child, in every neighborhood has a quality education.”
• America Forward’s Presidential Policy Playbook also emphasizes the importance of a quality education for every child, advocating to “strengthen the early childhood workforce” and “ensure all students have effective teachers and attend schools with strong educational leaders,” as well as create safe environments and positive contexts to cultivate the optimal conditions for student thriving. In addition, America Forward recently launched the Advancing Whole-Learner Education initiative, to increase public understanding and support for policies that reflect a holistic approach to education and support the development of the breadth of skills that all learners need to thrive.

Innovation

• The President’s recently released second term agenda also promises to “innovate for the future,” working to meet the challenges of tomorrow by, among other things, establishing “a National High-Speed Wireless Internet Network.”
• Many students do not have adequate access to the internet at home, and the “homework gap” that exists between students with adequate internet connections at home and those without is only increasing as the COVID-19 crisis continues and distance learning forces a reliance on technology. America Forward advocates for increased Internet access to “harness the power of technology for education” and “end the digital divide in schools and at home,” to ensure every student has the tools and resources necessary to thrive.