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Video: Jon Shure Talks About the State Budget Crisis on CSPAN's Washington Journal
July 2, 2009
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Audio: Bloomberg Radio Interviews Iris Lav on the State Budget Crisis
July 1, 2009
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Senate Finance Committee Faces Difficult Choices In Lowering Cost of Health Bill
July 1, 2009
The Senate Finance Committee is seeking to reduce the cost of its health reform bill to approximately $1 trillion over ten years. It faces difficult choices in doing so. Among the modifications it is considering are changes in the subsidies intended to enable low- and moderate-income families and individuals to afford insurance. … -
Video: CNN Interviews Jon Shure on the State Budget Crisis
July 1, 2009
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An Update on State Budget Cuts
Updated June 29, 2009
With tax revenue declining as a result of the recession and budget reserves largely drained, more than three-fourths of states are making spending cuts that hurt families and reduce necessary services. These cuts, in turn, will make the recession worse because families and businesses have less to spend in their local economies.… -
Federal Fiscal Relief Is Working As Intended
Updated June 29, 2009
As dire as the states’ fiscal condition is — with dramatic revenue downturns leading in some cases to unprecedented service cuts — evidence shows this bad situation would be substantially worse if not for federal recovery assistance. The $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act package enacted in February included about $140 billion for states … -
Policy Points: New Fiscal Year Brings Continued Trouble for States Due to Economic Downturn
Updated June 29, 2009
The weak economy continues to cause great fiscal distress among states as they begin a new fiscal year (July 1 marks the start of 2010 for most states). Combined budget gaps for the remainder of the current fiscal year and the next two years are estimated to total more than $350 … -
Press Release: New Fiscal Year Brings Painful Spending Cuts, Continued Budget Gaps In Almost Every State
June 29, 2009
The 2010 fiscal year begins for most states July 1. It brings an austere continuation of recession-driven cuts in essential services and poor prospects for improvement through 2011, according to a series of updated reports on state budget conditions issued today by the Center on Budget … -
State Budget Troubles Worsen
Updated June 29, 2009
The ongoing decline in tax receipts has worsened state budget problems. At least 48 states addressed or are facing shortfalls in their budgets for the upcoming year totaling $166 billion or 24 percent of state budgets. New data show a majority of states expect shortfalls in 2011 as well. Aggregate gaps through 2011 … -
Tax Measures Help Balance State Budgets
Updated June 29, 2009
With the recession continuing to widen the gap between shrinking revenues and residents’ increasing need for services, a growing number of states are adopting a balanced approach to their budgets that includes revenue increases as well as spending cuts. Since January 1, fully half of all states have raised taxes and another 12 states are … -
Podcast: Robert Greenstein Testifies Before the House Budget Committee on PAYGO Legislation
June 26, 2009
Robert Greenstein testified June 26th on why..."pay-as-you-go discipline is important, why enactment of a statutory pay-as-you-go rule to reinforce Congressional rules can be beneficial, and why enactment of a statutory pay-as-you-go rule is not itself sufficient to achieve fiscal … -
Audio: Nick Johnson, Director of the State Fiscal Project, Discusses State Budgets on NPR’s The Diane Rehm Show
June 25, 2009
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New EPA and CBO Estimates Refute Claims That House Climate Bill Would Impose Large Costs on Households and the Economy
June 25, 2009
The costs of fighting greenhouse gas pollution are modest and manageable, according to analyses of climate change legislation coming to the House floor that both the Environmental Protection Agency and the Congressional Budget Office have issued in recent days. These analyses decisively refute opponents’ claims that … -
Policy Basics: State Earned Income Tax Credits
Revised June 25, 2009
Twenty-four states (counting the District of Columbia) have created earned income tax credits (EITCs) to reduce the burden that state taxes can place on low- and moderate-income working families. These credits complement the federal EITC, which helps offset these families’ federal … -
Policy Basics: The Estate Tax
Revised June 25, 2009
A longstanding feature of the tax system, the estate tax is a tax on property (such as cash, real estate, stock, or other assets) that is transferred from deceased persons to their heirs. Only a Few, Large Estates Owe Any Estate Tax Fewer than 3 in 1,000 estates are expected to be subject to the … -
Testimony: Robert Greenstein on the “Pay As You Go” Budget Rule
Updated June 25, 2009
Mr. Chairman, Congressman Ryan, and members of the Committee, I appreciate the opportunity to appear here today to explain why I think pay-as-you-go discipline is important, why enactment of a statutory pay-as-you-go rule to reinforce Congressional rules can be beneficial, and why enactment of a statutory pay-as-you-go rule is … -
Employer Requirement Under Consideration For Senate Finance Committee Health Bill Could Discourage Hiring of Low-Income, Minority, Disabled Workers
June 24, 2009
While an employer responsibility requirement is an essential component of health care reform, a proposal that the Senate Finance Committee is considering for the forthcoming health legislation is flawed and would have serious unintended consequences, particularly for low-income and minority workers and workers with disabilities. [1] … -
Video: Fox Business Interviews Jon Shure on State Budget Problems
June 22, 2009
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Some Media Reports Mischaracterize CBO Estimate of Senate “HELP” Health Reform Bill
June 16, 2009
The news media are widely reporting that, according to a partial and preliminary Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis, health reform legislation that the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) is developing would cut the number of uninsured by only 16 … -
Reducing Medicaid and Medicare Drug Costs Could Help Pay For Health Reform
June 11, 2009
By lowering the costs that Medicaid and Medicare pay for prescription drugs, Congress could generate substantial savings to help pay for comprehensive health reform that achieves universal coverage. Prescription drugs are critical to providing effective health care; for many people, they are important to maintaining health and … -
Curbing Flexible Spending Accounts Could Help Pay For Health Care Reform
Revised June 10, 2009
Congress should consider scaling back or eliminating health care flexible spending accounts (FSAs) [1] as part of its effort to pay for health care reform. This paper, which is part of a series of papers on proposals to help pay for health reform, outlines several ways in which Congress could curtail FSAs. FSAs are designed to allow employees to pay out-of-pocket … -
Joint Statement: Robert Greenstein and James Horney on the President’s “Pay As You Go” Budget Proposal
June 10, 2009
President Obama’s proposal to require policymakers to fully pay for all new entitlement increases and tax cuts, rather than deficit-finance them, is an important first step to restore fiscal responsibility. Critics charge that the pay-as-you-go, or PAYGO, proposal is riddled with … -
Maintaining Current Value of Itemized Deductions For High-Income Taxpayers Could Help Pay For Health Care Reform
June 10, 2009
If Congress rejects the President’s proposal to help pay for health care reform by limiting the value of itemized deductions for high-income filers, it should at least prevent those subsidies from expanding in 2011, as they would under current law. Simply keeping the value of itemized deductions for filers in the top two brackets at … -
Reforming HUD’s “Section 3” Requirements Can Leverage Federal Investments in Housing to Expand Economic Opportunity
June 10, 2009
Executive Summary This is an important time to reform “Section 3,” the federal requirement that low-income individuals receive a portion of the economic benefits created through federal investments in affordable housing. Not only is rising unemployment creating added hardship, but federal recovery funds are … -
Podcast: Discussing the May Employment Report and What it Means for the Economy
June 8, 2009
"[May's] jobs report shows a labor market that is still deteriorating but that offers signs that the worst of the current recession may be over. "Job losses in May, while still high at 345,000, were less than half of January’s level. The unemployment rate jumped to 9.4 percent but, … -
Podcast: Will Fischer, Senior Policy Analyst, on the Section Eight Voucher Reform Act
June 8, 2009
The Section 8 Voucher Reform Act (SEVRA) would take a series of important, timely steps to strengthen the voucher program, the nation's most widely-used low-income housing program. At a time when poverty and homelessness are rising, this bill would make housing affordable to more needy … -
Statement: Chad Stone, Chief Economist, on the May Employment Report
June 5, 2009
Today’s jobs report shows a labor market that is still deteriorating but that offers signs that the worst of the current recession may be over. Job losses in May, while still high at 345,000, were less than half of January’s level. The unemployment rate jumped to 9.4 percent but, for the second month in a row, the labor force grew as more people … -
Limiting the Tax Exclusion for Employer-Sponsored Insurance Can Help Pay for Health Reform
Revised June 4, 2009
Limiting the tax exclusion for employer-sponsored health insurance could provide significant revenues for health reform without eroding employer-sponsored insurance or causing other undesirable side effects — if the cap and the rest of the health reform legislation are well designed and contain several key features that past proposals have lacked. … -
Testimony: Will Fischer, Senior Policy Analyst, at the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity
June 4, 2009
Thank you for the opportunity to testify. I am Will Fischer, a Senior Policy Analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The Center is an independent, nonprofit policy institute that conducts research and analysis on a range of federal and state policy issues affecting low- and moderate- income families. … -
Holding Down Increases in Utility Bills Is a Flawed Way To Protect Consumers While Fighting Global Warming
Revised June 3, 2009
Policymakers who are sensitive to the impact on consumers of higher energy prices stemming from climate-change policies should be wary of approaches to consumer relief that keep utility bills artificially low. A more straightforward — and effective — way to provide consumer relief is to refund money directly to … -
Reversing the Erosion in Alcohol Taxes Could Help Pay for Health Care Reform
May 27, 2009
To help pay for health care legislation that extends health insurance to all Americans and slows the growth of health care costs, Congress should consider reversing the substantial real decline in recent decades in federal excise taxes on alcohol. This paper, which is part of a series of papers on proposals to help pay for health reform, outlines three options … -
Taxing High-Sugar Soft Drinks Could Help Pay For Health Care Reform
May 27, 2009
By establishing a tax on high-sugar soft drinks, Congress could help finance health care reform that extends health insurance to all Americans and slows the growth of health care costs, while also improving Americans’ health. This paper, which is part of a series of papers on proposals to help pay for health … -
Video: CNN cites CBPP on States Balancing Budgets with Tax Measures
May 22, 2009
“The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities argues, ‘Listen, cutting services is even more painful for lower-income families than raising taxes.’ They also say those tax increases can target the wealthy. And that’s exactly what we’re seeing…” -
Video: Fox News Channel Interviews Elizabeth McNichol on State Budget Troubles
May 22, 2009
“…A study from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reveals 47 of the 50 states are facing substantial budget gaps this year…. All told, the states are nearly $60 billion in the hole for 2009. Next year, the gap will grow to $133 billion. Experts say it won't … -
Video: NBC Nightly News Cites CBPP on State Budget Troubles
May 22, 2009
“The Center on Budget estimates that in 2010 47 states will face deficits totaling $145 billion.” -
Designing Benefit Standards for a Health Insurance Exchange
May 21, 2009
To make a choice of affordable, comprehensive health plans available to individuals and small businesses under health reform, it is crucial to set benefit standards to ensure that all plans in a health insurance exchange cover a comprehensive array of services. Well-designed benefit standards should help prevent … -
Ensuring Affordable Health Coverage and Health Care Services in an Insurance Exchange
May 21, 2009
A health care reform proposal that requires everyone to obtain health insurance must establish mechanisms to make both health coverage and health care services affordable. Low- and moderate- income people who receive subsidies to help them afford the premiums for coverage can still end up not getting the health … -
Obscure Tax Provision of Federal Recovery Package Could Widen State Budget Gaps
May 19, 2009
States could lose up to $5.5 billion in business income tax revenues over the next three years as a result of a little-known provision in the federal economic recovery package enacted in February. States can, however, easily avoid this revenue loss by making offsetting changes in their tax laws. For states to allow … -
2009 Trustees’ Report Underscores Urgency of Health Reform, Medicare Changes
May 18, 2009
The 2009 annual report of Medicare’s trustees underscores the need for system-wide reform of health care financing that will slow the growth of health care costs in both Medicare and the private sector and extend health coverage to the uninsured. [1] In evaluating the new report, it is … -
What the 2009 Trustees’ Report Shows About Social Security
May 18, 2009
On May 12, the Social Security Board of Trustees issued the 69th annual report on the program’s financial and actuarial status.[1] The trustees’ report shows some deterioration in the program’s long-run outlook, a finding that was widely expected. Nevertheless, the report … -
Introduction to the Housing Voucher Program
Revised May 15, 2009
The Housing Choice Voucher Program (sometimes referred to as the “Section 8 voucher program” after the section of the U.S. Housing Act that authorizes it) is the largest federal low-income housing assistance program. Families who are awarded vouchers use them to help pay the cost of renting … -
Policy Basics: The Housing Choice Voucher Program
Updated May 15, 2009
Created in the 1970s, the “Section 8” Housing Choice Voucher Program, has become the dominant form of federal housing assistance. What is the housing voucher program? Low-income families use vouchers to help pay for housing that they find in the private market. The program is federally funded, but vouchers are distributed by a network of 2,400 … -
Press Release: More States Are Raising Revenues to Help Close Budget Gaps
May 13, 2009
As tax revenues continue to fall dramatically, making a prolonged budget crisis likely, more states are raising revenues, or considering doing so, to help maintain important services, according to one of a series of updated reports on state budget conditions that the Center on Budget and … -
Podcast: The 2009 Social Security and Medicare Trustees' Reports
May 12, 2009
The Social Security and Medicare Trustees' report on Medicare underscores the urgency of health care reforms to slow health care cost growth, starting with President Obama’s proposed Medicare reforms. The Trustees’ report shows Social Security doesn’t face an immediate … -
Statement: Robert Greenstein on Trustees’ Report on Medicare
May 12, 2009
The new trustees’ disturbing report on Medicare underscores the urgency that Congress enact health care reform that slows the growth of health care costs, while extending coverage to the uninsured. In particular, the report should prod Congress to adopt the President’s proposed … -
Statement: Robert Greenstein on Trustees’ Social Security Report
May 12, 2009
The trustees’ report on Social Security shows that the program does not face an immediate crisis and isn’t at risk of collapsing and lacking funds to pay any benefits, even in the long run, but that Congress needs to restore Social Security’s long-term solvency so it can meet its … -
Statement: Robert Greenstein to Health Reform Financing Roundtable of the Senate Finance Committee
May 12, 2009
Thank you for inviting me to discuss health care reform financing issues. This is an important aspect of health care reform. Financing is Critical Some 46 million Americans are uninsured, a problem that other western industrialized nations have been able to address. In addition, rising health care costs … -
Minority of States Still Granting Net Operating Loss “Carryback” Deductions Should Eliminate Them Now
Revised May 11, 2009
As a result of the current recession, nearly all states are experiencing the most serious fiscal crisis of at least the last 25 years. Many are already being forced to cut vital services, lay off employees, increase taxes and college tuitions, and tap reserves. In this context, they can ill-afford maintaining any … -
Podcast: Discussing the April Employment Report and What it Means for the Economy
May 8, 2009
"Today’s jobs report brings more sobering news about the depth and duration of the recession. Even if the economy hits bottom soon and begins growing again, it will take time to reverse the severe job losses and sharp increase in unemployment that have already occurred.... [I]t is … -
Statement by Chad Stone, Chief Economist, on the April Employment Report
May 8, 2009
Today’s jobs report brings more sobering news about the depth and duration of the recession. Even if the economy hits bottom soon and begins growing again, it will take time to reverse the severe job losses and sharp increase in unemployment that have already occurred. The official unemployment rate hit 8.9 …
