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off the charts

POLICY INSIGHT
BEYOND THE NUMBERS

This week at CBPP, we focused on state budgets and taxes, food assistance, the federal budget, health, and the economy.

On state budgets and taxes, Erica Williams and Cortney Sanders outlined three principles for an anti-racist, equitable state response to COVID-19 — and a stronger recovery. Michael Leachman warned that projected state shortfalls are growing as economic forecasts worsen. We updated our State Budget Watch tracking revenue shortfalls. We also posted a fact sheet detailing how much money each state would receive through the Heroes Act’s Coronavirus State Relief Fund.
On food assistance, Brynne Keith-Jennings noted that the Heroes Act provides a much-needed SNAP boost and described how our new series of videos show why SNAP matters now more than ever. Dottie Rosenbaum cited early evidence that SNAP is responding to increased need. We updated our fact sheet explaining how states are using new flexibility in SNAP to respond to COVID-19 challenges.
On the federal budget, Richard Kogan and Paul N. Van de Water stressed that rising federal debt should not shortchange the response to the COVID-19 crisis.
On health, Tara Straw, Sarah Lueck, and Aviva Aron-Dine urged Congress to bolster ACA marketplace coverage amid COVID-19. Jessica Schubel updated her report on how states are leveraging Medicaid to respond to COVID-19.
On the economy, we issued a new backgrounder on fiscal stimulus and updated our backgrounder on how many weeks of unemployment compensation are available.

Chart of the Week — COVID-19 State Budget Shortfalls Could Be Largest on Record

A variety of news outlets featured CBPP’s work and experts this past week. Here are some of the highlights:

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