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off the charts
POLICY INSIGHT
BEYOND THE NUMBERS

In Case You Missed It...

| By CBPP

This week on Off the Charts, we focused on food assistance, the federal budget and taxes, unemployment insurance, state budgets and taxes, and health reform.

  • On food assistance¸ Dottie Rosenbaum previewed the upcoming figures on how accurately states delivered SNAP (food stamp) benefits last year.  Zoë Neuberger explained that schools adopting “community eligibility” to deliver meals to all students at no charge can still receive other assistance.  Becca Segal pointed out that alternative sources of poverty data are available for schools that eliminate meal applications as part of community eligibility.
  • On the federal budget and taxes, Chuck Marr explained that cuts to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) budget have weakened enforcement and compromised taxpayer service.  He also showed that a Child Tax Credit expansion passed by the House Ways and Means Committee this week prioritizes affluent families over the working poor.  And he rebutted the claim that indexing the maximum credit to inflation would help all families, including those with low incomes.
  • On unemployment insurance, Chad Stone highlighted the nearly 300,000 veterans who have lost access to federal jobless benefits so far due to Congress’ failure to restart Emergency Unemployment Compensation.
  • On state budgets and taxes, Erica Williams listed some “do’s and don’ts” for states seeking stronger economies.
  • On health reform, Judy Solomon explained that states can reduce recidivism by expanding Medicaid.

We also issued papers on the implications of community eligibility for the education of disadvantaged students under Title I, the truth about health reform’s Medicaid expansion and people leaving jail, and the impact of cuts in the IRS budget.  In addition, we updated our guide to state fiscal policies for a stronger economy, our report on how community eligibility can help schools become hunger-free, our backgrounder on how many weeks of unemployment benefits are available in each state, and our chart book on the legacy of the Great Recession.

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:

In Punishing IRS, GOP Is Harming Honest Taxpayers
Fiscal Times
June 26, 2014

Shenandoah Valley students to get free breakfasts and lunches
Republican Herald

June 26, 2014

Nearly 300,000 veterans have lost out on jobless compensation because of the disdainful House GOP
Daily Kos
June 25, 2014

Congress Is Weighing Some Bafflingly Bad Ideas for Fixing Our Crumbling Bridges and Roads
New Republic
June 24, 2014

The Reality of Student Debt Is Different From the Clichés
New York Times
June 24, 2014

Thousands more students to get free lunch next fall
USA Today
June 23, 2014