This fall the United States will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 and, Clifford Winston and Steven Morrison argue, the nation has reason to celebrate because airline deregulation has benefited both travelers and carriers.
In congressional testimony, Martin Indyk argued that the current policy of isolating Syria has had mixed results. He believes that the next U.S. president should consider a different approach that could foster a more productive relationship allowing mutual goals to be realized in the troubled region.
Testifying before the Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Peter Rodman argued "the conditions do not exist for an improvement of relations with Syria as long as Syrian policies remain hostile to important interest of ours in the Middle East." He concluded that Syria must change course in relation to Iraq, Lebanon, and Arab-Israeli peace before the U.S. reaches out to the country.
As the world faces security threats from impoverished states, the global community searches for solutions to poverty. Lael Brainard offers Congress recommendations for modernizing the U.S. aid infrastructure.
Testifying before the Senate Finance Committee on Tax Day—April 15, Jason Furman described how policy-makers can make the tax code more efficient by following principles of "tax neutrality" so that individuals' decisions are made on economic merits and not for tax reasons. Further, Furman argues, non-tax neutral measures to encourage such goals as homeownership or childcare should be implemented through refundable tax credits rather than deductions.
The March unemployment rate jumped to 5.1 percent, fueling concerns about a flagging economy. Rebecca Blank, noting the unusually high rates of long-term unemployment, recommends extending benefits to assist these workers who are clearly having difficulty finding jobs.
Congress and the administration are moving forward in myriad ways to boost beleaguered homeowners and put the economy back on track. Doug Elmendorf, testifying before the Senate, urged policy-makers to expand the role of the Federal Housing Administration to help families in trouble refinance their mortgages, and offered comments on the compromise Senate housing bill.
During this time of economic uncertainty, environmental anxiety and household stress the nation must get the most out of its largest discretionary domestic program—transportation. In recent testimony before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Robert Puentes recommends the federal government adopt a three-pronged strategy to lead in certain areas, empower states and metropolitan areas in others and maximize performance across the nation.