Nonpartisan Policy Solutions to Serve the Public Good in 2021

Data-driven policymaking is not just a tool for finding new solutions for emerging challenges, it makes government more effective and better able to serve the public interest.

In the coming months, President Joe Biden and the 117th Congress will tackle a number of environmental, health, public safety, and fiscal and economic issues—nearly all of them complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic. To help solve specific, systemic problems in a nonpartisan fashion, Pew has compiled a series of briefings and recommendations based on our research, technical assistance, and advocacy work across America.

Conservation for America’s Future

Healthy lands, rivers, and ocean provide communities with clean water and air, food, and other essential needs, showing how the vitality of ecosystems and economies is intertwined. But habitat loss and landscape fragmentation, among other threats, are degrading the supply and quality of these critical resources even as demand for them grows. By implementing new and safeguarding existing conservation policies, the president and Congress can ensure these American places remain healthy and productive—protecting wildlife and the natural resources that help our citizens thrive.

Learn more:

• The US has a significant flooding problem — Congress can help
• Biden Administration Has Opportunity to Protect Remarkable Public Lands
• 3 Ways the Biden Administration and Congress Can Lower America's Flood Risk—and Costs
• President Biden’s 30% Conservation Commitment Is Good News for People, Too
• Main U.S. Fisheries Law on Track for Overdue Improvements
• Senate: Want to Help the Economy? Pass These Conservation Bills

Reforming America’s Justice Policies

Costly and poorly performing criminal and juvenile justice policies and practices create substantial burdens for governments and residents. Decades of research show a range of strategies for reforming these policies and practices, thus reduce reoffending, shrinking corrections systems, and saving taxpayer dollars. The president and Congress can support fiscally sound, evidence-based state and federal justice policies and practices that ensure public safety, provide accountability, and reduce correctional populations and costs.

Learn More:

• How Congress and the Administration Can Improve Public Safety and Save Taxpayers Money