Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Recession and Recovery

Chad Stone Statement on October Employment Report

“The economy is in a very deep hole and faces a long climb back to full employment.

"Policymakers can make that climb easier by extending or bolstering key provisions of the economic recovery legislation that the Administration and Congress enacted at the start of the year — particularly those related to unemployment insurance and state fiscal relief, whose scheduled expiration would otherwise exert a job-killing drag on the fragile recovery.”

Health Reform

House Health Bill Would Expand, Strengthen Coverage for Children and Families

"The [House] health reform bill...would provide affordable, comprehensive health insurance coverage to 36 million Americans who otherwise would be uninsured.... [This includes] millions of children and parents.

"Since the large majority of uninsured parents and children have low or moderate incomes, the House bill would be particularly beneficial for this group." Read more

House Health Bill’s High-Income Surcharge Is Sound and Well Targeted

“A 5.4 percent surcharge on couples with incomes over $1 million, a key financing feature of the House health reform bill, is sound and well targeted. It would affect just a fraction of 1 percent of taxpayers, a group whose incomes have soared and tax burdens have fallen in recent years….

“The surcharge…would have no impact at all on more than 98 percent of small business [and] would benefit small businesses by enhancing their ability to offer affordable health insurance to their employees.” Read more