Ro's Op-Eds
Today, researchers across the world are using all the scientific tools available in a global race to develop a vaccine for COVID-19. But America is no longer the preeminent leader in scientific research as we were for the second half of the 20th Century. We must address this vulnerability.
Rural America will serve an integral role in saving lives and in our recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
America's farmers and the private sector have already partnered on their own to ramp up production of life-saving anti-viral medicines and therapeutics. A major investment in biomanufacturing must be part of our economic recovery strategy.
The United States has been at war in the Middle East for almost 20 years. We've spent trillions of dollars, lost thousands of service members and innocent civilians, all while neglecting our constitutional duty to debate and vote on matters of war and peace. And while there has been no military solution in the Middle East — our military presence has increased dramatically under President Trump.
Reactionary populism in its most dangerous form will tear at the very fabric of our society if we do not address the challenge of economic inequality. We see the scourge of authoritarian populist movements across the globe and believe there is a moral and economic imperative to reduce this widening gap.
We are feeling a sense of déjà vu right now. A Republican administration is lying to the American people about the "imminent threat" posed by a Middle Eastern country. The vice president is falsely claiming that the government in question is linked to the perpetrators of the September 11 attacks. Hawkish lawmakers in Washington accuse voices of restraint of "strengthening our enemies" and being "in love with terrorists."
As a child growing up in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, my connection to my Indian roots came from summer visits to New Delhi where my grandparents lived. My grandfather, or Nana Ji, as we called him, was a family legend. Amarnath Vidyalankar spent his life fighting for India's independence, which included spending four years in prison in Mahatma Gandhi's movement. I still remember the conversations we had together, many of them while playing chess. These conversations, and the stories that lived on after his passing left a lasting impression on me.
California is falling behind in addressing the climate crisis.
Donald Trump recently called Jimmy Carter to ask for advice. Carter, who normalized relations with China during his presidency, told Trump that China has not fought a single conflict since 1979, while America stayed at war. Both presidents were concerned China is "getting ahead of us."
Ro Khanna, a Democrat, represents California's 17th Congressional District, which includes much of Silicon Valley, in the U.S. House of Representatives. Michael McFaul is the director of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford and a former U.S. ambassador to Russia. Alex Stamos is the director of the Stanford Internet Observatory and the former chief security officer of Facebook.
Right now, many Americans are filing their taxes and finding that far from getting the big tax refunds President Trump promised, they actually owe the IRS money.
And the President's response this week? Making his tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires permanent in his budget, while slashing the basic programs working families rely on to get through rough times and make ends meet.
The Afghanistan peace framework is an important step in ending America's longest war. This war is now fought by some who weren't alive on 9/11, and it has cost more than the Marshall Plan and over 2,000 U.S. troops.