Think Tanked

CAP's John Podesta on the Hill: Time to Fully Implement GPRA Modernization Act

Today, Center for American Progress President and CEO John Podesta is testifying before the Senate Budget Committee Task Force on Government Performance, praising the Government Performance and Results Modernization Act of 2010. Moving toward a balanced budget does, among other things, require cuts. But which ones? And is that enough?

We should immediately cut programs and efforts that are ineffective, redundant, or low priorities. And we should support efforts that are working well, that boost American competitiveness and create jobs, and help us reach our goals on critical priorities such as education, health care, and energy.

This is not just rhetoric for us. The Center for American Progress has put forward a plan to bring the federal budget into “primary balance” by 2015, which includes nearly $130 billion in spending cuts. We are also pleased that President Obama is undertaking an effort to consolidate related federal agencies to strengthen American competitiveness, something CAP recommended in a December report. Similarly, the Government Accountability Office recently released a report on duplicative federal programs that identified opportunities for consolidation. These echo a number of similar recommendations we have made in recent months.

Improving government performance is not always about cutting budgets, of course. It’s about getting better results for the public. For example, like the GAO, we have recommended combining and streamlining the confusing array of federal nutrition assistance programs. The goal here should not be to reduce the deficit by taking food away from hungry people, but to redirect the savings into a more effective way to serve needy families. At a time when unemployment is just under 9 percent and millions more Americans are living in poverty, we must squeeze every ounce of benefit from the limited money we invest in helping our neediest fellow citizens.

Read Podesta's full remarks on how the GPRA Modernization Act will not just provide cuts, but also improve the government's overall performance and boost American competitiveness.

CAP to Gingrich: You Didn't Balance the Budget

AEI's Newt Gingrich, no doubt in preparation for his 2012 presidential bid, has claimed shutting down the government in 1995 is what led to a balanced budget in 1998. The Center for American Progress pictures it differently.

CAP's Dan Weiss Talk Budget & Energy on Energy Now

CAP's Idea of the Day: Evaluating Program Effectiveness

In their Idea of the Day, the Center for American Progress questions that with all the tough fiscal decisions in front of the Obama administration, how did they come to propose 211 terminations and reductions resulting in more than $33 billion in cuts?

Each proposed termination or reduction in the budget document boasts a brief justification but the process within the government was far from systematic. Agencies proposed programs they thought might be candidates, budget examiners in the Office of Management and Budget had their own list, and a negotiation followed.

We believe that government needs a better process for deciding which budget lines to terminate or trim. It needs a comprehensive system to review the performance and impact of all programs to guide future budget decisions.

That’s why we developed the “Reviewing What Works” tools, a process including practical tools for evaluating the effectiveness of government programs. They are part of a recent Center for American Progress report entitled “The Secret to Programs that Work.”

Read the full report, "'What Works' Budgeting," by Jitinder Kohli and John Griffith.

CAP's Jitinder Kohli on U.S. Competitiveness

CAP's Tanden & AEI's Miller Talk Health Care on PBS

CAP's Kate Gordon: China's Lessons for U.S. Innovation

Think Tankers Weigh In on Energy and SOTU

National Journal has posed the question:  What significance does President Obama's State of the Union address have for his administration's energy and climate policy?  

Among the responders are two think tankers. Center for a New American Security's Christine Parthemore reminds the Obama administration that while the economy has to be a priority, security and energy go hand-in-hand.

Concentrating entirely on jobs, however, would prove a lost opportunity to discuss the national security imperative for transitioning to a more diverse and resilient energy economy. It is true that the security of the nation rests in part on the strength of the American economy, but U.S. energy policy must also account for the destabilizing effects of growing worldwide fossil fuel demands and the stabilizing potential of diversifying energy supplies. The United States should bolster its renewable energy economy not just for the sake of leading global innovation, but so that our energy security is increasingly in our own hands. The President should use this State of the Union address to speak to the broad American public on the need to reduce the grip of energy demands on geopolitics globally, and on U.S. foreign and security policy specifically.

And Center for American Progress scholar, Daniel Weiss, says clean energy should be part of Obama's Innovation pillar.

President Obama should forcefully advocate more investments in the invention, production, and deployment of clean energy technologies. The creation of a Clean Energy Deployment Administration or “green bank” would help companies take new technologies from successful R&D to commercialization, and restoring funds to the Department of Energy’s loan guarantee program would support the development of innovative low-carbon pollution technologies. The administration also should assess America’s advanced manufacturing capability and collaborate with Congress to help manufacturers become more efficient and able to produce clean energy technologies.

CAP: State of Communities of Color

CAP's John Podesta on Meet the Press 1/23/11