Linked on our blogs with Graph of the week: number of Americans receiving food stamps.
- The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities is one of the nation’s premier policy organizations working at the federal and state levels on fiscal policy and public programs that affect low- and moderate-income families and individuals.
- The Center conducts research and analysis to help shape public debates over proposed budget and tax policies and to help ensure that policymakers consider the needs of low-income families and individuals in these debates. We also develop policy options to alleviate poverty … (about 1/2).
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3 of many Researche-Topics: Child Nutrition and WIC, Food Stamps; Food Assistance;
Address: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 820 First Street, NE, Suite 510, Washington, DC 20002, USA;
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About 2/2: … In addition, the Center examines the short- and long-term impacts of proposed policies on the health of the economy and the soundness of federal and state budgets.
Among the issues we explore are whether federal and state governments are fiscally sound and have sufficient revenue to address critical priorities, both for low-income populations and for the nation as a whole.
Over the past quarter-century, the Center has gained a reputation for producing materials that are balanced, authoritative, accessible to non-specialists, and responsive to issues facing the country. Our materials are used by policymakers and non-profit organizations across the political spectrum, and by journalists from a wide variety of TV, radio, print, and online outlets.
The Evolution of the Center: … //
… Areas of the Center’s Work:
Fiscal issues: The Center analyzes major federal budget and tax proposals from the standpoint of fiscal responsibility, examining their effects on the economy and the federal budget, especially over the long term. For example, we explore the potential impact of these proposals on the long-term fiscal challenges posed by the retirement of the baby-boom generation. We also examine the effects of major tax proposals on households in different income groups.
In addition, the Center explores the tradeoffs between competing budget and tax proposals that reflect different priorities, such as tax cuts that primarily benefit upper-income households versus investments in programs aimed at low- and moderate-income households or initiatives that benefit the nation as a whole, such as improving education or protecting the environment.
Our involvement in fiscal issues is extensive at both the federal and state levels, and it includes analysis of the effects that federal policy choices can have on state budgets.
Low-income programs and tax areas: The Center analyzes proposed changes in federal and state programs that affect low- and moderate-income families and individuals. One issue we consider is how a proposal would affect the federal-state relationship in administering these programs: we seek to enhance state flexibility while retaining federal financial commitments and federal legal protections for program recipients. We also help implement changes in these programs.
In addition, the Center designs improvements to make these programs more accessible to eligible populations, more effective in helping beneficiaries meet basic needs while moving toward self-sufficiency, and simpler to administer for federal and state governments. We work on programs such as:
- Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (for example, by encouraging efforts to expand health coverage among low-income working families);
- Food stamps (for example, by designing and promoting state options to simplify and streamline food stamp procedures and thereby boost participation among working-poor families);
- Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (for example, by helping states design programs that can help TANF recipients succeed in the workplace and increase their earnings);
- Supplemental Security Income (for example, by promoting policies that increase the fairness and accuracy of the disability determination process);
- WIC and child nutrition (for example, by helping states contain WIC costs by negotiating advantageous contracts with infant formula manufacturers);
- Low-income housing programs (for example, by designing improvements to help families with housing assistance use it to move to areas with better job opportunities).
- Low-income tax credits (for example, by developing proposals to improve the operation of the Earned Income Tax Credit and the refundable portion of the Child Tax Credit and by helping states create or expand state EITCs).
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