Policy Watch

• House Budget Committee Chairman Tom Price (R-GA) will unveil a budget proposal today that aims to eliminate the federal deficit within 10 years by cutting $5.5 trillion in future spending, primarily through savings generated from the repeal of the Affordable Care Act and the privatization of Medicare. Moreover, federal funding for Medicaid would be cut substantially as jurisdiction for the allocation of money would be given to state governments. Rep. Price’s plan draws strong influence from his predecessor on the budget committee, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), and calls for a $94 billion increase in defense spending for the Pentagon’s Overseas Contingency Operations program. Ahead of the Republicans’ proposal, President Obama teased parts of his own plan for the federal budget, which include across-the-board spending cuts, higher taxes, and increased military spending. [Politico]
• The Department of Health and Human Services released a report on Monday that finds that the proportion of adult Americans who lack health insurance has declined by more than one-third since the Affordable Care Act’s first open enrollment period in 2013. The study states that 14.1 million Americans have enrolled in coverage since the 2013 period, while 16.4 million total people have become insured since the law’s passage through both public healthcare exchanges and more flexible eligibility requirements for Medicaid. Overall, the proportion of uninsured adults in the U.S. has fallen to 13% from 20% in October 2013. The Congressional Budget Office anticipates the number of uninsured people to fall by 25 million through 2025. [WSJ]

Economic Indicators & News

• New residential construction fell sharply by 17% in February as record winter weather last month prevented builders from initiating projects. The decline in starts was especially pronounced in the Northeast region, falling 56.6%, where winter weather was most severe, while new projects fell by 37.0%, 18.2%, and 2.5% in the Midwest, West, and South, respectively. The annualized pace for housing starts was 897,000 units last month, significantly below market expectations for a pace of 1.081 million units. The number of homes completed fell 13.8% from January. [Census]
• The finance ministries of France and the United Kingdom announced that they would be joining the Chinese-led 21-country Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), in rebuke of the United States, in an effort to provide greater funding for energy, transport, and infrastructure projects in the region. The U.S. considers the AIIB to be a rival of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in jurisdiction, while supporters of the new consortium claim that it will amplify Western interests in Asian markets. While not supported by the White House, President Obama said that it is critical that the new institution abide by the same regulations for oversight as do the World Bank and IMF. [BBC]