Reports by Robert Greenstein
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Statement by Robert Greenstein on the Congressional Budget Office’s New Long-Term Budget Forecast
December 13, 2007
The new Congressional Budget Office report shows that rising health care costs are the largest driver of the nation’s long-term budget problems. But CBO’s projections also indicate that the costs of making expiring tax cuts — such as those enacted in 2001 and 2003 … -
Statement by Robert Greenstein, Executive Director, in Response to President Bush’s Veto of The Children’s Health Insurance Bill
December 12, 2007
With today’s veto, the President again struck down legislation that would do precisely what he promised in his 2004 re-election campaign — “lead an aggressive effort to enroll millions of poor children who are eligible but not signed up for government health insurance programs.… -
President's Vetoes Could Cause Half a Million Low-Income Pregnant Women, Infants, and Children to be Denied Nutritional Benefits in One of Nation’s Most Effective Programs
Revised December 10, 2007
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides nutritious foods, counseling on healthy eating, and health care referrals to low-income pregnant and postpartum women, infants, and children under age five who are at nutritional risk. Unlike other key low-income nutrition programs, such as food stamps or school meals, there … -
The AMT's Growth Was Not "Unintended"
November 30, 2007
Various Administration officials, senators, and House members are urging Congress to waive its Pay-As-You-Go rules and deficit-finance the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) “patch.” The AMT’s explosive growth, they argue, was unanticipated and unintended, and so measures to prevent that growth should not have to be paid for. Even if the AMT’s growth were unanticipated, … -
Statement: Robert Greenstein on the President's Veto of the Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Bill
November 13, 2007
We find it stunning for the President to reject a $5 billion increase for education, medical research and other priorities as unaffordable, while insisting that Congress finance the $51 billion cost of AMT relief through higher deficits instead of by closing tax loopholes exploited by multi-millionaires. The President’s action … -
Poor Children First — or Last?
October 17, 2007
The Bush administration has recently argued that the President favors providing health insurance to “poor children first” and vetoed bipartisan children’s health legislation because it violates this principle. On “This Week” on October 7, Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt stated: “The … -
Statement by Robert Greenstein on the 2006 Census Bureau Data on Poverty, Income, and Health Insurance
Revised August 31, 2007
The new Census figures are disappointing for the fifth year of an economic recovery —showing a significant decline in poverty for people over 65 but no significant decline in poverty for children or adults aged 18 to 64, and only a modest improvement in median income. In 2006, the poverty rate … -
Addressing Longstanding Gaps in Unemployment Insurance Coverage
Revised August 7, 2007
Unemployment Insurance (UI) is a joint federal-state program designed to provide temporary income support to workers who have a demonstrated attachment to the labor force and lose their jobs due to a lay-off or for other economic reasons, or who must leave their jobs through no fault of their own. (See the box below for an … -
New Charges about How House Children's Health Bill Affects Undocumented Immigrants Are False
August 1, 2007
Rep. Nathan Deal has launched a new attack on House health insurance legislation that would cover about 5 million uninsured lower-income children, according to Congressional Budget Office estimates. Rep. Deal charged the bill opens Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to illegal immigrants, encourages … -
House SCHIP Legislation Would Repeal Dubious “45-Percent Threshold” Provision
July 30, 2007
Legislation to extend the State Children’s Health Insurance Program and make various changes in Medicare, which the House is scheduled to consider this week, would repeal a so-called “45-Percent Threshold” provision affecting Medicare that was slipped into the 2003 Medicare prescription drug bill. Some lawmakers argue … -
Congress to Consider Repeal of Medicare Demonstration Project Designed to Promote Privatization, Rather Than Yield Valid Results
July 23, 2007
Executive Summary The House Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee will begin work this week on major health care legislation. Among other proposals, they plan to consider repealing a provision of the 2003 Medicare drug law that requires a large-scale, six-year demonstration project under which private insurance … -
The Administration’s Dubious Claims about the Emerging Children’s Health Insurance Legislation
Revised July 20, 2007
Congress is considering legislation to reauthorize the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), a successful federal health program enjoying bipartisan support that, together with Medicaid, has reduced the proportion and the number of low-income children who are insured by about one third since 1997.… -
What the 2007 Trustees' Report Shows about Social Security
April 24, 2007
Executive Summary On April 23, the Social Security Board of Trustees released the 67th annual report on the program’s financial and actuarial status. The report projects that Social Security’s trust fund reserves will be exhausted in 2041, one year later than in last year’s projection. In 2041, Social Security will be … -
Statement by Robert Greenstein on the New Report from the Medicare Trustees
April 23, 2007
Today’s report shows why it is so important for Congress to stand up to the health insurance companies and eliminate the large overpayments Medicare is making to private health insurance companies. Those overpayments, which the insurance companies have launched a … -
Private Plan Overpayments Weaken Medicare’s Financing and Hasten the Program’s Insolvency
April 20, 2007
Under the Medicare program, beneficiaries may elect coverage through private “Medicare Advantage” plans rather than through the traditional fee-for-service Medicare program. Although private plans were introduced into Medicare to spur competition and reduce program costs, both the … -
Forthcoming Medicare Trustees’ Report May Contain Dubious "Medicare Funding Warning"
April 20, 2007
While Medicare faces a serious long-term financing problem that must be addressed, the annual report of the Social Security and Medicare trustees to be released on April 23 may contain a dubious “Medicare Funding Warning” that is based on a deeply misleading measure of the program’s health. Under a last-minute provision slipped … -
Low-Income and Minority Beneficiaries Do Not Rely Disproportionately on Medicare Advantage Plans
Revised April 12, 2007
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), Congress’ expert advisory body on Medicare payments, reported this month that Medicare is losing billions of dollars each year because of excessive payments to private insurance plans through the Medicare Advantage program. (Under that program, Medicare beneficiaries may elect … -
Options Exist for Offsetting the Cost of Extending Health Coverage to More Low-Income Children
Revised April 12, 2007
There is growing consensus that SCHIP reauthorization should make substantial progress toward covering all uninsured low-income children. SCHIP reauthorization legislation thus will require significant increases in federal funding, so states have sufficient federal SCHIP funds both to maintain their existing SCHIP programs and to enroll … -
Tax Foundation Figures Do Not Represent Typical Households' Tax Burdens
Revised March 29, 2007
Each year, the Tax Foundation releases a report projecting “Tax Freedom Day,” which it describes as the day when “Americans will finally have earned enough money to pay off their total tax bill for the year.” Over the years, many pundits and policymakers have misinterpreted the Tax Foundation’s report as reflecting the tax … -
State Earned Income Tax Credits and the "Overpayments" Issue
March 28, 2007
The federal Earned Income Tax Credit is a tax credit for low- and moderate-income working families. The EITC is widely hailed for its success in subsidizing work, reducing poverty and making the tax code fairer. For these reasons, 20 states have enacted EITCs that piggyback on the federal credit and thereby further its successes. … -
Despite the Rhetoric, Budget Would Make Nation’s Fiscal Problems Worse and Further Widen Inequality
Revised March 28, 2007
The President says he wants to promote fiscal responsibility and address growing inequality, but his budget fails on both counts. In fact, it would make both problems worse. In a sign of the President’s misguided priorities, his budget puts extremely large tax cuts for the most affluent Americans ahead of the needs of low- and middle-income … -
The 2001 and 2003 Tax Cuts and Small Business
March 21, 2007
The Bush Administration and Congressional supporters of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts have often asserted that these tax cuts, and especially the reductions in the top two income tax rates, are of great value to small business. They argue that failure to extend these tax cuts would cause significant harm to small business owners. An examination of the relevant data demonstrates, … -
Economic Effects of the Pay-As-You-Go Rule
March 19, 2007
The budget resolution approved March 15 by the Senate Budget Committee would reinstate in the Senate the Pay-As-You-Go budget rule that was in force during the 1990s. (The House of Representatives reintroduced the PAYGO rule several months ago.) PAYGO requires that the costs of any legislation that increases entitlement spending or decreases revenues be offset. Thus, if adhered … -
How Should Policymakers Treat The Budget For Non-Defense "Discretionary" Programs?
March 13, 2007
As Congress prepares a budget resolution that will (among other things) set funding limits for discretionary programs for fiscal year 2008, it is appropriate to examine funding trends for these programs in the context of the nation’s overall budgetary situation. Discretionary programs include defense and homeland security spending, international affairs programs, and domestic programs … -
Clearing Up Confusion on the Costs of Covering Uninsured Children Eligible for Medicaid or SCHIP
March 13, 2007
In recent days, several media accounts have cited some Congressional offices from both parties as saying that a Congressional Budget Office memo issued last month[1] shows that the cost of immediately covering all uninsured children who are eligible for Medicaid or the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) would be $32 billion over five years.[2] Since CBO places the net cost … -
Do Budget Data Show That the Food Stamp Program Has Been Treated More Favorably Than Farm Programs in Recent Years?
March 12, 2007
Since enactment of the 2002 farm bill, expenditures for farm programs have declined while food stamp expenditures have grown. Some farm-program advocates have cited these figures as evidence that the Food Stamp Program has been treated more favorably than farm programs and that farm programs therefore are the ones that deserve more favorable treatment … -
Statement by Robert Greenstein Regarding CBO's Preliminary Analysis of the President's 2008 Budget Request
March 2, 2007
The new CBO analysis confirms that the President’s budget is fiscally irresponsible. It finds that deficits over the next ten years will be $1.4 trillion larger under the President’s budget than if no changes in policies are made — essentially because of the … -
Why The Cost of AMT Relief Should Be Included in Estimates of the Cost of Extending the President's Tax Cuts
Revised February 20, 2007
The President’s budget estimates that extending the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts would cost $1.7 trillion over the next decade (2008-2017). (A figure of $1.6 trillion has been cited by a number of media outlets, but this number leaves out the increased outlays that will result from extending the refundable tax credit expansions enacted in 2001; the Administration’s estimate of the … -
Two High Income Tax Cuts Not Yet Fully in Effect Will Cost Billions Over the Next Five Years Freezing the Tax Cuts at 2007 Levels Would Yield Significant Savings
February 1, 2007
On January 5, the House of Representatives voted to reinstate the “Pay-As-You-Go” (PAYGO) budgeting rule, and Democratic leaders have promised that the Senate will follow suit. Because PAYGO requires that legislation that increases entitlement spending or reduces revenues be paid for, the rule increases the need to find offsets to pay for high priority legislation and to … -
New CBO Report Shows Only Modest Fiscal Improvement
January 24, 2007
Several key findings and conclusions emerge from the new Congressional Budget Office report on the budget and the economy issued today.[1] The CBO report shows significant improvement in the ten-year budget outlook, but the improvement is not nearly as large as a casual reader of the report might think. Part of what appears to be an … -
Statement of Robert Greenstein on Budget and Health Care Tax Issues in State of the Union
January 23, 2007
On Budget Policy In committing his Administration to a balanced budget by 2012, the President has acknowledged that deficits matter. This is progress. But there are reasons to doubt the strength of the President’s newfound interest in fiscal discipline. First, his budget is likely …
