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Neera Tanden

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Neera Tanden
Tanden in April 2019
Born (1970-09-10) September 10, 1970 (age 54)
Bedford, Massachusetts, U.S.
EducationUniversity of California, Los Angeles (BA)
Yale University (JD)
OrganizationCenter for American Progress
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
​
(m. 1999)​

Neera Tanden (born September 10, 1970) is the President of the Center for American Progress, a public policy research and advocacy organization in Washington, DC.[1] She has served in this role since November 2011, before that serving as chief operating officer from 2010 and in earlier roles. During the 2016 presidential primaries, Tanden was a member of Hillary Clinton's "inner circle" of advisors.[2]

Early life

Neera Tanden was born on September 10, 1970,[3][4] in Bedford, Massachusetts,[5] to immigrant parents from India. She has a brother, Raj. Her parents divorced when she was five, after which Tanden's mother was on welfare for nearly two years before obtaining a job as a travel agent.[6]

She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1992. In 1996, she received a Juris Doctor degree from Yale University, where she was Submissions Editor for the Yale Law & Policy Review.[7]

Tanden became involved in politics at an early age, first working on the presidential campaign of Governor Michael Dukakis.[8] Tanden more recently has worked for Hillary Clinton on her senatorial campaign in New York. She served as Clinton's policy director for her bid for the presidency in 2008. Tanden later served as policy director for Barack Obama. She was a senior adviser to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, working to gain passage of healthcare legislation.[citation needed]

Career

After graduating from Yale Law School, Tanden moved to Washington, DC, where she has worked on domestic policy on Capitol Hill, in think tanks, and for senatorial and Democratic presidential campaigns. She has also written on Indian-American issues.[9]

She worked with President Bill Clinton's campaign on new energy policies and health-care reform. Continuing her association with the Clintons, Tanden was policy director for the 2008 Hillary Clinton campaign, shaping its policy proposals.[6][9] After Barack Obama was nominated as the Democratic presidential candidate, Tanden served as his domestic policy director for his campaign.[9] She also served in his administration as senior adviser to Secretary Kathleen Sebelius of the Department of Health and Human Services, aiding the effort to gain passage of Obama's healthcare legislation.[8]

Tanden with John Podesta (left) and Governor Martin O'Malley (right)

In 2011, Tanden was selected as President of the Center for American Progress, a Washington Democratic think tank. She had started with the group soon after its founding as Senior Vice President for Domestic Policy, also serving as Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and, starting in 2010, as Chief Operating Officer.[8][10]

Tanden has had a regular column for The New Republic online. She has appeared on the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, Real Time with Bill Maher, MSNBC, CNN, and Fox programs.[8]

Tanden with Ed Lee, Nancy Pelosi and Thomas Perez, 2014

In 2016, a hacker gained access to John Podesta's private emails (aka the Podesta emails), some which were emails exchanged with Tanden. In one exchange, on August 11, 2015, while discussing news that Lawrence Lessig was exploring a bid for the Democratic nomination, Tanden wrote of Lessig, "I fucking hate that guy." Lessig responded to the incident by saying that while he supported whistle blowing and a pardon of Edward Snowden, Tanden should not have to be burdened with having her private emails scrutinized and that it was not in the public interest.[11] Tanden called the release of her personal communications, which often feature her blunt private assessments, a painful experience to endure.[12]

Political views

Neera Tanden, who frequently describes herself as a progressive,[13] belongs to the liberal wing of the Democratic party. She credits her experience as a child relying on welfare programs[14] as well as the formative moment of witnessing Anita Hill's testimony[15][16] against Clarence Thomas in 1991 with setting her on the path of career in public policy.   

Tanden is a consistent advocate for robust social programs. Under her leadership the Center for American Progress has proposed strengthening the Child Tax Credit (CTC)[17] and joined efforts to push for universal paid leave,[18] and she has argued for expanding TANF to serve more families[19] and has taken a stand against work requirements for welfare recipients as well as against Right to Work laws.[20]

Having worked on passage of the Affordable Care Act during the Obama administration[21], Tanden has remained a strong proponent of universal healthcare. In 2019 the Center for American Progress proposed Medicare Extra for All,[22] a blueprint for achieving universal healthcare coverage without abolishing the private insurance industry. Tanden has praised the Medicare for America bill introduced in the House of Representatives,[23] stating "by making an enhanced Medicare program available to all Americans, “Medicare for America” would guarantee universal health care and dramatically lower out-of-pocket costs. The legislation would ensure that every American, no matter where he or she lives, is no longer subject to Republican sabotage or the whims of insurance companies".[24]   

In 2018, Tanden endorsed the idea of a jobs guarantee to help revitalize economically-stagnant regions in the United States.[25]

These views come as the Center for American Progress is backed by corporate actors such as Goldman Sachs, Boeing, and Walmart.[26]

Regarding foreign policy, leaked emails of CAP-internal discussions involving her have caused significant controversy, as the emails reflect sentiments similar to those of Donald Trump regarding using oil revenues from other nations to pay for continued military occupation in countries or other interests.[27] In a discussion regarding whether oil revenue from Libya should be used to compensate the U.S for their actions there, Tanden remarked the following in a leaked email titled, "Re:Should Libya pay us back?":

We have a giant deficit. They have a lot of oil. Most Americans would choose not to engage in the world because of that deficit. If we want to continue to engage in the world, gestures like having oil rich countries partially pay us back doesn't seem crazy to me. Do we prefer cuts to Head Start? Or WIC? Or Medicaid? Because we live in deficit politics, and that's what is happening and will be happening even more.

Tanden herself has apologized for this on Twitter, stating that this was a question asked in an internal discussion and not her stated or argued position now or even at the time she asked it.[28][29][30]

Personal

At the University of California, Los Angeles, Tanden met Ben Edwards, an artist, whom she later married.[8] They have two children.[5]

Honors

  • 2011, Tanden was named one of the "Most Influential Women in Washington" by National Journal and received the India Abroad Publisher's Award for Excellence.[31]
  • 2014, Elle magazine honored Tanden during its annual "Women in Washington Power List". The event was held at the Italian Embassy in the United States.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b Watters, Susan (March 26, 2014). "Gucci and Elle Honor Women in Washington Power List". WWD. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
  2. ^ How Neera Tanden Works. Emails released by WikiLeaks reveal the maneuverings of a liberal think-tank president and member of Hillary Clinton's inner circle. By Alex Shephard and Clio Chang. New Republic. October 28, 2016
  3. ^ "Neera Tanden on Twitter". Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  4. ^ Drum, Kevin (May 21, 2016). "The Great Matt Bruenig–Neera Tanden Kerfuffle Sort of Explained". Mother Jones. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
  5. ^ a b "Neera Tanden". NNDB. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
  6. ^ a b Nikhila Panti, "Hillary is a role model & a friend", Times of India, March 11, 2007
  7. ^ [ http://ylpr.yale.edu/sites/default/files/mastheads/masthead_13_2.pdf], YLPR masthead, Issue 13.2
  8. ^ a b c d e Appointments: "Neera Tanden", NRI (Non-Resident Indian) Internet, February 2, 2011; accessed August 1, 2016
  9. ^ a b c The New Republic: "The GOP's New Diversity", NPR, June 30, 2010
  10. ^ Bio: Neera Tanden", Center of American Progress, 2016; accessed August 1, 2016
  11. ^ Golshan, Tara. "Lawrence Lessig's classy response to being insulted in John Podesta's leaked emails". Vox. Retrieved October 20, 2016. Neera has only ever served in the public (and public interest) sector. Her work has always and only been devoted to advancing her vision of the public good. It is not right that she should bear the burden of this sort of breach
  12. ^ Eder, Steve; Confessore, Nicholas. "WikiLeaks Lays Bare a Clinton Insider's Emphatic Cheers and Jeers". NYT. Retrieved November 6, 2016. In a sphere encrusted with suck-ups, soothers, and self-puffery, Ms. Tanden has emerged as a loyal but insistent straight-talker and acute assessor of Mrs. Clinton's stubbornness and weaknesses.
  13. ^ "Neera Tanden (@neeratanden) | Twitter". twitter.com. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  14. ^ "Neera Tanden on what it's like to work for Hillary Clinton". www.bullhorn.fm. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  15. ^ Tanden, Neera (October 5, 2018). "I'm going to share my story of how I became active in politics". @neeratanden. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  16. ^ Tanden, Neera. "Outraged by Brett Kavanaugh confirmation? Make 2018 another Year of the Woman". USA TODAY. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  17. ^ West, Rachel; Boteach, Melissa; Vallas, Rebecca. "Harnessing the Child Tax Credit as a Tool to Invest in the Next Generation". Center for American Progress. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  18. ^ "Members and Supporters". Paid Leave for All. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  19. ^ Boteach, Melissa; T, Neera; en. "This Father's Day, let's find common ground for strengthening American families". Washington Post. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  20. ^ Tanden, Neera (August 7, 2018). "If "right to work" goes down in Missouri- that is a huge progressive victory!https://twitter.com/Taniel/status/1027003667503898624 …". @neeratanden. Retrieved December 6, 2019. {{cite web}}: no-break space character in |title= at position 131 (help)
  21. ^ Horowitz, Jason (November 3, 2011). "Think-tank post puts spotlight on veteran Democratic operative Neera Tanden". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  22. ^ Team, the CAP Health Policy. "Medicare Extra for All". Center for American Progress. Retrieved December 6, 2019. {{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  23. ^ "DeLauro, Schakowsky Reintroduce Medicare for America". Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro. May 1, 2019. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  24. ^ "STATEMENT: CAP Action's Neera Tanden Praises New 'Medicare for America' Legislation". Center for American Progress Action. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  25. ^ "RELEASE: CAP Releases Major Plan for Investing in Communities and Establishing a Job Guarantee for Hard-Hit Regions". Center for American Progress. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  26. ^ "Center for American Progress (CAP)". www.influencewatch.org. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
  27. ^ Greenwald, Glenn (November 5, 2015). "Leaked Emails From Pro-Clinton Group Reveal Censorship of Staff on Israel, AIPAC Pandering, Warped Militarism". The Intercept. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
  28. ^ Tanden, Neera (October 9, 2016). "Expressed regret on Libya x times. As you know never agreed w/ rest of premise. See ex of TP on Israelhttps://thinkprogress.org/why-no-one-ignores-the-boycott-israel-movement-anymore-1761a0bba473#.hdf7xs9ap …". @neeratanden. Retrieved January 18, 2020. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help); no-break space character in |title= at position 207 (help)
  29. ^ Tanden, Neera (June 18, 2017). "Let me say-- it was a dumb q posed in an internal email. Do you think you should be forever judged by your dumbest tweet, which is a public?". @neeratanden. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  30. ^ Tanden, Neera (January 5, 2020). "Mr. Jackson - this wasn't wikileaks, it was a news story based on a leaked email from an internal debate. We never took a posture and of course, I wouldn't push this, the email was a mistake. All of which I said a long time ago". @neeratanden. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  31. ^ Neera Tanden: Winner The India Abroad Publisher's Award for Excellence, retrieved December 11, 2019
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