WASHINGTON -- Culminating a successful yearlong effort to build a series of policy options for the next president, the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) is proud to release a collection of proposals from the Ideas Primary, a project launched to help the next administration tackle the nation's toughest challenges.

"It is critical that the next president be prepared to offer practical, workable ideas to solve our nation's most pressing problems," said Al From, DLC founder and CEO. "We think that political campaigns should be about ideas, not money or endorsements, and we hope that the next president will be able to use the ideas presented in the Ideas Primary Collection to move this country past the rhetoric and into a brighter future."

The Ideas Primary was launched last year as an effort to foment discussion about the serious challenges facing the nation in the wake of George W. Bush's disastrous tenure in office. The DLC has spent the last year collecting short essays from authors in all policy fields to offer realistic solutions to address those concerns. The compilation published today, along with scores of additional ideas found at DLC.org, will be presented to the next president after the November election.

Among the ideas included in the collection released today:

• DLC Chair Harold Ford, Jr. and DLC Founder and CEO Al From craft a plan for "A 21st Century G.I. Bill";
• Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius proposes a framework to support over-taxed National Guard troops in "Standing Up for Our Citizen Solders";
• Colorado Governor Bill Ritter, Jr. outlines legislation to grow the economy and improve our environment by "Building a New Energy Economy";
• Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.) suggests how Americans can fight climate change by "Curbing Carbon from Cars";
• Congressman Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) and DLC President Bruce Reed offer a tax reform plan to ensure fair taxation of middle-class families with the "The Middle-Class Flat Tax"; and
• PPI President Will Marshall hammers out an innovative plan for averting a fiscal meltdown "How to Pop the Deficit Bubble".

The purpose of the Ideas Primary was to open a forum for policy ideas to be heard and discussed, not politicized or turned into talking points. By focusing attention on the central challenges facing the nation, the DLC hopes to ensure that the next president can hit the ground running.

You can view the Ideas Primary Collection at:
http://www.dlc.org/specials/DLC-IdeasPrimary-Book.pdf

For questions or comment on the Ideas Primary Collection, contact Alice McKeon at (202) 608-1232 or amckeon@dlc.org.

The Democratic Leadership Council seeks to promote debate within the Democratic Party and the public at large about national and international policy and political issues. For additional information, web users may access the Democratic Leadership Council online at www.dlc.org, or contact the DLC's press office at (202) 546-0007 or at press@dlc.org.