In Case You Missed It...

This week on Off the Charts, we focused on state budgets and taxes, food assistance, health care, the safety net, and Social Security.

• On state budgets and taxes, Elizabeth McNichol listed five ways that states can produce a more trusted and reliable revenue estimate.

• On food assistance, Becca Segal explained how community eligibility is poised to help millions more students nationwide receive free school meals.

• On health care, Edwin Park highlighted new findings from the Congressional Budget Office that concur with our analysis of the reasons for Medicare Part D’s lower-than-expected costs.

• On the safety net, Will Fischer pointed out how House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s anti-poverty plan could undercut rental assistance programs’ effectiveness and put substantial numbers of vulnerable families at risk for homelessness.

• On Social Security, Kathy Ruffing highlighted recent updates to our chart book and a paper on Social Security Disability Insurance.

We released papers on best practices for state revenue forecasting, a new policy that makes it easier for community eligibility schools to participate in the E-rate program, and findings from the 2014 Medicare trustees’ report.  We also updated our chart book on Social Security Disability Insurance. CBPP’s Chart of the Week:

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A variety of news outlets featured CBPP’s work and experts recently. Here are some highlights: Nine myths about the social safety net, annotated Washington Post August 7, 2014 States Watching Congress on Internet Access Taxes Stateline August 5, 2014 Don’t miss any of our posts, papers, or charts — follow us on Twitter and Instagram.