In Case You Missed It...

This week on Off the Charts, we focused on the federal budget and taxes, the economy and unemployment, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and housing policy.

• On the federal budget and taxes, Richard Kogan showed why former House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s claim regarding the potential savings from repealing the civil service laws is incorrect.

  Kathy Ruffing explained that switching from the official Consumer Price Index (CPI) to a “chained” CPI would trim the growth of benefit programs and boost future tax revenues.

  Chuck Marr outlined our analysis of the President’s corporate tax reform framework.

• On the economy and unemployment, Michael Leachman noted that the Recovery Act continues to save jobs and support the economy.

  Chad Stone listed three important facts about unemployment insurance (UI), and we highlighted our analysis of the changes that the recent legislation to continue federal emergency UI makes to the UI system.

• On TANF, LaDonna Pavetti pointed out that when Congress recently extended the program, it failed to fund Supplemental Grants, which 17 mostly poor states have relied on to help operate their TANF programs.
• On housing policy, Barbara Sard cautioned that proposals to raise rents on households with little to no income who receive federal housing assistance could create serious hardship or even homelessness.

In other news, we released reports on the President’s corporate tax reform framework, a new Congressional Budget Office report on the impact of the Recovery Act, and switching to the “chained” consumer price index.