Centrists.Org - The Policy Think Tank for Centrists

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last updated 6/23/2005

Press Releases
Selected News Clips from the web

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Press Releases:

June 23, 2005: Joint Statement On The Need For Pay-As-You-Go Discipline The five organizations joining in this statement have warned that large, chronic budget deficits pose a threat to the economic health of our nation. For that reason, we are increasingly alarmed at the apparent willingness of lawmakers to propose new initiatives, without offsets, that would increase deficits in both the short and long term. At a time when fiscal policies should be focused on reducing deficits in recognition of the enormous strains that the retirement of the baby-boom generation will soon place on federal resources, failure to offset new initiatives on a pay-as-you-go basis would send a dangerous signal that fiscal discipline in Washington has all but disappeared. At the very least, lawmakers need to stop digging the hole deeper.

April 7, 2005: Stenholm Joins Centrists.Org Board of Directors Centrists.Org is pleased to announce that the Honorable Charlie Stenholm (D-TX) will serve on its Board of Directors. Eugene Steuerle, one of the founding Board members of Centrists.Org, stated, “Charlie Stenholm was and is a true statesman, representing the finest that America has to offer. Always seeking to know the right answer, not just the politically easy one, he will make an outstanding addition to our board.”

January 21, 2005: Non-Partisan Consensus Calls for Facing Social Security's Financial Challenges Sooner Than Later Social Security Administration Chief Actuary Steve Goss, Congressional Budget Office Director Doug Holtz-Eakin, and United States Comptroller General David Walker today agreed that Social Security faces financial challenges that should be addressed sooner than later.

December 23, 2004: Centrists.Org Opens Montana Branch Office to Study Environmental Issues in the West Nationwide interest in the Western US spurred Centrists.Org to expand its think tank operations beyond Capitol Hill. Centrists.Org opened a research office in Sheridan, Montana in November 2004 to study and develop positions on natural resource and environmental issues in the West.

November 18, 2004. Ed Lorenzen to Join Centrists.Org Centrists.Org welcomes Ed Lorenzen as Executive Director. "I believe that Centrists.Org has a vital role to play in finding constructive middle ground solutions which bridge the ideological divide on policy issues. Americans are best served when the best ideas of both sides are blended together to reach balanced, reasonable positions,” says Lorenzen.

October 7, 2004. Jeff Lemieux to Join AHIP; Scott Payne to Launch Energy and Environment Project; Kelly Buck to be Interim Executive Director and Project Manager for the Energy and Environmental Policy Project Effective October 18, Centrists.Org co-founder Jeff Lemieux will resign as Executive Director. General Manager Kelly Buck will serve as interim Executive Director, pending a search for a permanent replacement. Centrists.Org will also initiate a search for a new director of the health care project. Link to AHIP Press Release

August 25, 2004. Centrists.Org Releases Report on Bipartisan Potential of Senator Kerry’s Health Proposal Centrists.Org, a DC think tank for bipartisan analysis and policymaking, released a report today evaluating Senator Kerry’s campaign proposals for healthcare reform. The report gauges the prospects for bipartisanship on each major part of Kerry's health proposal.

July 1, 2004. Innovative Think Tank Centrists.Org Celebrates Its First Anniversary
Political bitterness, partisanship, and legislative gridlock remain the rule in Washington, but Centrists.Org, an organization devoted to bridging the partisan policy divide, celebrates its first birthday today. Full Media Kit Available.

Selected News Clips available on the web (some may require registration or subscription):

April 27, 2005. Centrists.Org Executive Director Ed Lorenzen is quoted in a Bloomberg.Com article today, "Bush Supporters Say President Should Offer Social Security Plan."

April 6, 2005. Robert Samuelson, Washington Post's Politics Columnist, quoted Centrists.Org Board of Directors member Gene Steuerle in a column titled "Economic Death Spiral."

April 5, 2005. An Investors.Com article, “House, Senate Republicans seek common budget ground,” by William Watts quoted Centrists.Org’s Ed Lorenzen. "Getting a compromise this year requires House Republicans to compromise on the amount of spending cuts they are going to demand…”

April 4, 2005. "Proposals from the liberal perspective" hit upper income levels as hard or "even harder than progressive indexing..." said Ed Lorenzen, Centrists.Org’s Executive Director, in an article written by Jed Graham of Investor’s Business Daily titled “Why Liberals Want To Protect High Earners' Social Security Pay.”

April 3, 2005. A New York Times article by Nicholas Confessore, “Here's Why the Centrist Democrat Is Feeling Unloved,” quotes Centrists.Org’s Ed Lorenzen. "Instead of working with centrist Democrats to reauthorize welfare reform, for example, it makes more sense for them to stick with a really conservative piece of legislation and get all Democrats to go against it…"

March 29, 2005. An op-ed in the Christian Science Monitor by Centrist.Org Chairman Maya MacGuineas makes the case for including individual accounts as part of Social Security reform from a fiscally responsible perspective.

March 11, 2005. In an article by Jed Graham of Investor's Business Daily, "New Social Security Plan Merges Add-On And Carve-Out Accounts," both Ed Lorenzen, Centrists.Org's Executive Director, and Maya MacGuineas, Centrists.Org's Chairman of the Board, commented on Sen. Robert Bennett's (R-Utah) new Social Security plan.

March 8, 2005. Chairman Maya MacGuineas was quoted in a Kansas City Star article by Robert Dodge, "Experts Mixed About Right Path for Social Security."

March 7, 2005. Maya MacGuineas, Centrists.Org's Chairman of the Board, was quoted in a Bloomberg News article, "Hagel Bill Offers Compromise on Social Security, Analyst Says," today.

March 7, 2005. Centrists.Org's Ed Lorenzen was quoted by David Goldstein of the Kansas City Star in his recent article about Rep. Dennis Moore (D, KS) titled "Moore Preaches Doctrine of Fiscal Responsibility."  “...Dennis has been very good about bringing the issue of fiscal responsibility back to the values that people understand...”

March 4, 2005. Laura Meckler, an Associated Press Writer, quoted Centrists.Org's Executive Director, Ed Lorenzen in her article titeld "Frist Rejects Social Security Concerns."

February 17, 2005. Ed Lorenzen is quoted by Jed Graham's Investor's Business Daily article,"Small 2% Accounts For Social Security Would Limit Deficit." "...[T]he jury is still out on whether what the president has proposed will fit within the Greenspan test."

February 1, 2005. Investor's Business Daily quotes Ed Lorenzen. "Push For Social Security Reform Has Stalled With Dems Opposed"

January 21, 2005. "For House Moderates, A Lost Cause?" by David Baumann of the National Journal quoted Centrists.Org's Executive Director, Ed Lorenzen.

January 16, 2005. San Fransisco Chronicle's Carolyn Lochhead quoted Ed Lorenzen in her recent article, "Partisan tactics cost Bush Social Security allies: Resentful Dems unlikely to support GOP reform effort." Stenholm's defeat will become a powerful weapon for Pelosi and other Democratic leaders...

January 13, 2005. In a story about the battle for Social Security Reform, "The Beltway Battle Ahead," BusinessWeek's Howard Gleckman quoted Ed Lorenzen, Executive Director of Centrists.Org. "The level of opposition and the extent to which this is being made a defining issue is greater than I've ever seen," said Lorenzen.

January 12, 2005. "Investing Proposal Eluding Agreement, Discord May Sink Social Security Reform," an article by David Lightman of The Hartford Courant, quotes Centrists.Org's Ed Lorenzen on personal savings accounts.

January 8, 2005. An article written by Centrists.Org's Kelly Buck about the Iowa redistricting system is quoted in a Houston Chronicle article, "Can It Really Be Worse Than How most Do It Now?", by Cragg Hines.

January 7, 2005. Alex Wayne, of CQ Today, quoted Centrists.Org's Ed Lorenzen in "Wary Democrats Key to Bush's Social Security Plan," an article about the prospects for bipartisanship on Social Security reform.

January 6, 2005. An article published on Bloomberg.com, "Bush Budget May Omit Social Security, Underscoring Challenges," quotes Centrists.Org's Ed Lorenzen. "A lot of the Democrats they could potentially get to support them tend to be more fiscally conservative...''

January 3, 2005.  In an article headed "Proposals to overhaul of Social Security for the first time in 22 years are expected to trigger a major battle during the 109th Congress," CQ's Alex Waynes mentions the hiring of Ed Lorenzen to Centrists.Org.

December 30, 2004. The Wall Street Journal's David Wessel quoted Centrists.Org in his article on Social Security, "Democrats Divided on Social Security Fix". "The upside is that taxes would have to rise only relatively slowly..."

September 29, 2004. Centrists.Org Executive Director Jeff Lemieux is quoted discussing Senator Kerry's health plan on NPR's All Things Considered in a segment entitled "Kerry Plan Would Pay for 'Catastrophic' Illness." NOTE: Link is to an audio clip.

September 22, 2004. An article by Howard Gleckman in today's BusinessWeek, 'Kerry's Health Plan May Need Surgery', quotes Centrists.Org's Executive Director, Jeff Lemieux, on a report released yesterday by the Lewin Group of Falls Church, VA.

September 16, 2004. Factcheck.org quotes Jeff Lemieux on the controvery over Medicare premium increases in the presidential campaign.

September 14, 2004. USA Today article, "Plan Isn't a Takeover, Despite Bush Claims" by William M. Welch, quotes Jeff Lemieux. "'Bush's characterization of Kerry's plan is a misrepresentation,' said Jeffrey Lemieux, executive director of Centrists.org, a small bipartisan think tank that seeks moderate solutions to policy issues...."

September 13, 2004. Emily Heil of CongressDaily quotes Jeff Lemieux's response to the American Enterprise Institute's estimates of Senator Kerry's health proposal in an article entitled 'Panel Debates Cost Of Dueling Plans To Cover Uninsured.' (paid subscription required to access this publication) NOTE: A webcast of the question and answer session can be found at AEI's event webpage.

September 13, 2004. Jeff Lemieux quoted in Julie Rovner's report for NPR, 'Bush Attacks Kerry on Health Plan Costs.' NOTE: Link is to an audio clip of NPR's All Things Considered.

September 13, 2004. Centrists.Org cited as Independent Expert in Press Release: Kerry Campaign Releases Bush-Cheney Ad Fact Check 'Healthcare: Practical vs. Big Government.'

September 9, 2004.  A story by Julie Rovner of CongressDaily, Medicare Increases Prove To Be Complicated Political Fodder, quoted Centrists.Org's Jeff Lemieux. (paid subscription required to access this publication)

August 2, 2004. A BusinessWeek Online article by Howard Gleckman, 'Health Care: No Radical Surgery,' quotes Centrists.Org's Jeff Lemieux on the possible effects of Sen. Kerry's health proposal.

July 29, 2004. A commentary in Fortune magazine by Matthew Miller quotes Centrists.Org's Jeff Lemieux on the Medicare drug discount cards. (paid subscription required to access this publication)

July 7, 2004. A commentary by Derek Hunter, a researcher in the Center for Health Policy Studies at the Heritage Foundation, entitled "Drug Discount Cards: A Second Option" ran in today's Washington Times. The article quotes Centrists.Org's Jeff Lemieux.

June 28, 2004. Jeff Lemieux of Centrists.Org was quoted in a Washington Post article by Ceci Connolly and Jonathan Weisman, The Choice for Voters: Health Care or Tax Cuts: Policy Costs Crowd Out Other Initiatives, discussing the various campaign proposals in the 2004 Presidential race.

June 22, 2004. The Commonwealth Fund's Washington Health Policy Week in Review quotes Centrists.Org's Jeff Lemieux on why incremental health coverage initiatives.  This article originally appeared in the e-newsletter Washington HealthBeat.

June 21, 2004. An article in The Tampa Tribune, More Lack Health-Care Insurance by Sherri Ackerman and Guy Boulton, quotes Centrists.Org's Jeff Lemieux on America's uninsured.

June 15, 2004. A United Press International article by Emily Berg quotes Centrists.Org's Jeff Lemieux on Social Security Reform.

June 7, 2004. The Commonwealth Fund's Washington Health Policy Week in Review quotes Centrists.Org's Jeff Lemieux on why Democrats Should Embrace the Drug Discount Cards (CentristPolicyNetwork.Org, June 2, 2004). This article originally appeared in the e-newsletter Washington HealthBeat.

May 22, 2004. An article in National Journal on Social Security reform quotes Centrists.Org's Jeff Lemieux on the Diamond-Orszag Social Security proposal.

May 14, 2004.  An article on health coverage in the Charlotte Observer quotes Centrists.Org's Jeff Lemieux on the cost of expanding health coverage and reducing the number of Americans uninsured.

May 13, 2004.  An article on "Cover The Uninsured Week" in the Los Angeles Times quotes Centrists.Org's Jeff Lemieux on the cost of expanding health coverage and reducing the number of Americans uninsured.

April 15, 2004. John Avlon's column in the New York Sun lists Centrists.Org as a resource for political independents.

April 7, 2004. An article about budget gimmicks published in The Hill quotes Jeff Lemieux, Executive Director of Centrists.Org, on the possible psychological effects to legislators that would be the result of linking spending and revenue decisions, creating a "use-it-or-lose-it" phenomena.

March 19, 2004. USA Today quotes Centrists.Org Executive Director Jeff Lemieux on early warnings of the cost of the Medicare drug benefit.

March 4, 2004. The Commonwealth Fund's Washington Health Policy Week in Review quotes Centrists.Org's article on the Durbin-Lincoln Small Employers Health Benefit Program (SEHBP). This article originally appeared in the e-newsletter Washington HealthBeat.

February 23, 2004. The Commonwealth Fund's Washington Health Policy Week in Review features an article called Will Private Health Plans Save Medicare Money? based on Centrists.Org's
The Curious, Counter-Intuitive Relationship Between Medicare Costs and HMO Enrollment (February 8, 2004). This article originally appeared in the e-newsletter Washington HealthBeat.

January 27, 2004. The LA Times quotes Centrists.Org chairman and Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget Executive Director Maya MacGuineas on the necessity of both spending cuts and revenue increases to balance the budget.

January 26, 2004. A commentary by Jonathan Rauch in REASON (previously published in National Journal) quotes Centrists.Org chairman and Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget Executive Director Maya MacGuineas on "Nixonian" budget deficits.

January 20, 2004. United Press International quotes Centrists.Org on the President's health agenda.

January-February 2004. Atlantic Monthly article by Centrists.Org chairman and Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget Executive Director Maya MacGuineas on "Radical Tax Reform."

January 12, 2004. Fox News quotes Centrists.Org chairman and Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget Executive Director Maya MacGuineas on the difficulty of controlling spending in an election year.

January 7, 2004. Online Journalism Review highlights Centrists.Org and other Internet-centric think tanks.

January 5, 2004. Associated Press quotes Centrists.Org chairman and Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget Executive Director Maya MacGuineas on the Administration's reluctance to make "hard choices" on the budget.

December 13, 2003. National Journal quotes Centrists.Org on the cost of the Social Security proposals of Sen. Lindsey Graham and anti-tax activist Peter Ferrara.

December 11, 2003. United Press International quotes Jeff Lemieux on whether or not the Rx dug bill is "transformation."

November 4, 2003. Reuters Health quotes Jeff Lemieux in a story about disease management in Medicare.

October 1, 2003. The Hill op-ed by Jeff Lemieux A Better Drug Benefit
"The Medicare drug benefit pending in Congress is flawed. The design was a rare political compromise; however, the result is a tortured policy that may be unworkable in practice." (see also (www.thehill.com)

September 30, 2003. Roll Call's Mort Kondrake cited Centrists.Org's work on a "fall-back" Medicare and prescription drug proposal. (Link may require subscription, www.rollcall.com)

September 8, 2003. NPR's Julie Rovner interviews Centrists.Org's Jeff Lemieux on privacy issues inherent in an income-tested Medicare drug benefit. (www.npr.org)

August 4, 2003. Insight Magazine quotes Centrists.Org's Jeff Lemieux on the "ugliness" of the Medicare drug benefit.

July 31, 2003. Congress Daily's AM Report quotes Centrists.Org's Jeff Lemieux on problems with the Medicare bills' stand-alone drug benefit.

July 29, 2003. Reuters quotes Centrists.Org's Jeff Lemieux on the cost of the Medicare drug benefit.

July 7, 2003. Roll Call's Guest Observer opinion column by Centrists.Org's Jeff Lemieux: On Medicare and Budget Numbers, CBO is Failing (see also www.rollcall.com).

July 6, 2003. Orange County Register cites www.Centrists.Org and quotes Centrists.Org calculations that the proposed Medicare drug benefit "will trigger 'a permanent acceleration of spending growth' that by 2030 will take a full 1 percent of Gross Domestic Product."

July 2, 2003. Washington Post column Burdening Our Children, Robert J. Samuelson uses long-run Medicare cost calculations from Drug Benefit Costs 1 Percent of GDP by 2030 (If CBO is Right), by Jeff Lemieux of Centrists.Org (June 25, 2003).