About the Author

Bernie Horn has worked on politics and public policy for the past 30 years as a campaign manager, political consultant, lawyer, lobbyist, communications director, and policy director. He is currently Senior Director for Policy and Communications at the Center for Policy Alternatives (CPA), one of the premier progressive policy and leadership centers in Washington, D.C. His most recent books for CPA are the Progressive Agenda for the States (which lays out 50 policy solutions for state legislators), Progressive Platform for the States (a candidate briefing book covering 115 state issues), and Progressive Policy Models for the States (containing 123 model bills).

From 1990 to 2000, Horn was President of Strategic Campaign Initiatives, Inc. (SCI), a political consulting firm that helped elect and reelect hundreds of federal, state and local officials. SCI created direct persuasion mail, produced radio ads, and conducted polls for progressive candidates. The firm also helped win issue advocacy campaigns for gun control, tobacco taxes, and health care, and against casino gambling and restrictions on abortion.

Between 1988 and 1994, Horn served as Federal & State Legislative Director, PAC Director, State Legislative Director, and Director of Strategic Planning and Policy for Handgun Control, Inc. (now called the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence). He was one of the chief lobbyists for the Brady Bill, drafted and lobbied for the federal ban on semiautomatic assault weapons, and conceived the federal ban on handgun sales to minors. Earlier, he served as campaign manager and issues director for congressional campaigns. Horn is a graduate of the Johns Hopkins University and the Georgetown University Law Center. He lives in Washington, D.C.