How does the chained consumer price index (CPI) differ from the traditional CPI and what would be the budgetary effects of using the chained CPI to make automatic adjustments in Social Security, other federal programs, and the tax code?

Jeffrey Kling, CBO’s Associate Director for Economic Analysis, discusses his testimony before the Subcommittee on Social Security of the House Committee on Ways and Means.

CBO estimates that using the chained CPI governmentwide starting in 2014 would reduce the deficit by $340 billion over ten years by lowering benefits for Social Security and other federal programs and by increasing revenues.

Over the past two decades, the number of children in federally subsidized foster care has steadily declined, while the number of children whose adoptive parents receive federal adoption assistance has increased.