BEYOND THE NUMBERS
In Case You Missed It...
CBPP’s main focus this week was the announcement of President Biden’s proposed American Families Plan. CBPP President Sharon Parrott released a statement that the President’s recovery agenda is an ambitious plan to tackle big problems and a tweet thread discussing key provisions of the President’s recovery proposals. We also released other publications covering specific policy areas:
- On federal taxes, Chuck Marr tweeted that Congress needs to make the historic expansions to the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit permanent for an equitable recovery. Marr also tweeted about the American Families Plan’s robust plan to close the tax gap. Samantha Jacoby tweeted that the Families Plan would work toward a more equitable tax system and raise significant revenue by raising taxes on the wealthiest.
- On the economy, Kathleen Romig and Kathleen Bryant demonstrated that a national paid leave program would help workers and families. Romig also explained that the paid leave plans of both the White House and the House Ways and Means Committee would help workers and families and she tweeted that the plans would make progressive, comprehensive paid leave benefits permanently available to workers. Chad Stone tweeted that Congress should heed President Biden’s call for fundamental reforms to create a more robust and equitable unemployment insurance program.
- On housing, Will Fischer discussed what’s missing in the president’s recovery plans: help for families struggling to pay rent. Douglas Rice tweeted that Congress should add mandatory, multi-year funding to make housing vouchers available to many more low-income renters. Anna Bailey tweeted that expanding housing vouchers in the American Families Plan is especially important for people with disabilities living near or below the poverty line. Sonya Acosta stated that rental assistance in recovery legislation is needed to protect children from hardship and help build a more equitable future.
- On food assistance, Zoë Neuberger noted an opportunity to make summer childhood hunger history through the American Families Plan and tweeted about the Plan’s summer grocery benefits. Brynne Keith-Jennings tweeted that the Families Plan’s removal of SNAP's ban on people with drug convictions will build toward a more equitable future.
- On health, Judith Solomon tweeted that the American Families Plan and the American Jobs Plan would make big strides in helping people get affordable health coverage. Sarah Lueck tweeted about improvements to the marketplace and premium tax credits in the Families Plan. Paul Van de Water tweeted that the Families Plan's promise to reduce the cost of prescription drugs is noteworthy, but more remains to be done.
- On family income support, Laura Meyer asserted that subsidized employment must be a part of any recovery package.
- On immigration, Danilo Trisi tweeted that Congress should act on Biden’s call for a path to citizenship for people who are undocumented.
We also released pieces on several other topics:
- On food assistance, Brynne Keith-Jennings, Catlin Nchako, and Joseph Llobrera showed that the number of families struggling to afford food rose steeply in the pandemic and remains high, especially among children and households of color. Zoë Neuberger and Jess Maneely of Benefits Data Trust discussed how matching data across benefit programs can increase WIC enrollment. We updated our fact sheet explaining how states are using much-needed temporary flexibility in SNAP to respond to COVID-19’s challenges.
- On state budgets and taxes, Cortney Sanders, Michael Leachman, and Erica Williams updated their report discussing 3 principles for an antiracist, equitable state response to COVID-19 — and a stronger recovery. Samantha Waxman reported that rigid limits on state taxes and spending damage families and communities.
- On the economy, we updated our backgrounder on how many weeks of unemployment compensation are available and our chart book tracking the post-Great Recession economy.
Chart of the Week — The President’s Ambitious Recovery Agenda Tackles Big Problems
A variety of news outlets featured CBPP’s work and experts this past week. Here are some of the highlights:
Key piece of Biden's $1.8T families plan expires after 2025
Associated Press
April 30, 2021
Biden isn't shying away from big new health-related spending
The Washington Post
April 29, 2021
Biden’s Two-Part Economic Strategy Was Years in the Making
New York Magazine
April 28, 2021
This could be the year federal paid leave finally passes
Vox
April 28, 2021
Biden to Seek $80 Billion to Bolster IRS, Tax Enforcement
Wall Street Journal
April 27, 2021
Ultra-Rich Fear Biden Will Close Their Favorite Tax Loopholes
Bloomberg
April 27, 2021
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