Policy Polymath Eugene Steuerle Returns to the Urban Institute

WASHINGTON, D.C., October 28, 2009 -- Eugene Steuerle, one of the nation’s most respected public policy experts, whose portfolio ranges from taxes and federal spending on children to entitlements and the vitality of nonprofits, has rejoined the Urban Institute as an Institute fellow and the Richard B. Fisher Chair.

After 19 years at the Institute, Steuerle left in May 2008 to become the vice president of New York City’s Peter G. Peterson Foundation and lead its initial research on federal fiscal policy and other national concerns.

Previously a senior fellow at the Urban Institute and codirector of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, Steuerle has been a deputy assistant secretary of the treasury for tax analysis, president of the National Tax Association, and chair of a 1999 panel advising Social Security on its methods and assumptions. From 1984 to 1986, he worked as the original organizer and economic coordinator of the Treasury Department’s tax reform effort leading to the Tax Reform Act of 1986.

Steuerle is the author, editor, or coeditor of 15 books, including Contemporary U.S. Tax Policy, Nonprofits and Business, and Retooling Social Security for the 21st Century. He is also the author of “The Government We Deserve,” a widely read and influential e-mail column. Among other honors, he received the first Bruce Davie-Albert Davis Public Service Award from the National Tax Association in 2005.

“Whether in the halls of Congress or the halls of academe, Gene stands apart for his expansive erudition, his uncommon pursuit of common ground, and his clear exposition,” said Robert Reischauer, the president of the Urban Institute. “It’s great to have him back.”

To receive “The Government We Deserve,” go to http://www.urban.org/about/signup.cfm.