The National Tax Association holds its 34th Spring Symposium on Tax Policy in Transition on Thursday, May 20 – Friday, May 21 at the Holiday Inn Capitol in Washington, D.C. Here are today’s panel programs and speakers:

8:45am
Welcome
John McClelland (Office of Tax Analysis, Department of the Treasury), Program Chair

9:00-10:30am
Revenue and Rules: Effects on the Federal Budget
Moderator: Eric Engen (American Enterprise Institute)
Presenters:
• Where Did Revenues Go? (David Weiner, Congressional Budget Office)
• The Persistence of Individual and Corporate Capital Gains and Losses (Nicholas Bull, James Cilke & Christopher Giosa, Joint Committee on Taxation)
• Budget Rules for 2005 and Beyond (Rudolph Penner & C. Eugene Steuerle, The Urban Institute)

10:45am-12:15pm
Exploring Selected State and Local Issues
Moderator: Dennis Zimmerman (Congressional Budget Office)
Presenters:
• State Structural Deficits (Bruce Baker, Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Commerce Department; Daniel Besendorfer, University of Freiburg; & Laurence J. Kotlikoff, Boston University)
• History and Evaluation of the Unfunded Mandates Law (Theresa Gullo, Congressional Budget Office)
• Is “No Child Left Behind” an Un (or under) funded Federal Mandate? Evidence from Texas
(Jennifer Imazeki, San Diego State; & Andrew Reschovsky, Wisconsin)

12:30-2:00pm Luncheon
Presiding: Thomas S. Neubig (President, National Tax Association)
Speaker: Harvey S. Rosen (Member, Council of Economic Advisers)

2:00-3:30pm
The Role of a Public Policy Economist: Lessons from Bruce Davie’s Career
Moderator: Allen H. Lerman (Office of Tax Analysis, U.S. Treasury Department)
Presenters:
• Jousting with Rent Seekers: Bruce Davie and Tax-Exempt Bonds (Dennis Zimmerman, Congressional Budget Office)
• The Costs of State-Sponsored Terrorism: The Case of the Barbary Pirates (J. Thomas Woodward, Congressional Budget Office)
• A Tax Expenditure Budget for Excise Taxes (Lindsay Oldenski, Office of Tax Analysis, U.S. Treasury Department)

3:45-5:15pm
Effects of a Changing Pension Landscape on Saving
Moderator: Karen M. Pence (Federal Reserve Board of Governors)
Presenters:
• How Will the Changing Pension Landscape Affect Retiree Benefits? (Amy Rehder Harris, Kevin Perese & John Sabelhaus, Congressional Budget Office)
• Distributional Effects of Tax-Preferred Saving Options (Leonard E. Burman, The Urban Institute; & William Gale & Peter Orszag, The Brookings Institution)
• Pension Reform and Saving (Barry Bosworth & Gary Burtless, The Brookings Institution)