Robert Greenstein, of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Awarded 2010 Daniel Patrick Moynihan Prize

Robert Greenstein, founder and executive director of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, has been selected by the American Academy of Political and Social Science as the winner of the 2010 Daniel Patrick Moynihan Prize. The Prize will be awarded at a ceremony at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. on May 13.

The $20,000 Prize was created by the Academy to honor those whose careers in the academic or public arena have been dedicated to the use of social science research to improve public policy. The Prize is intended to honor of the legacy of Senator Moynihan by recognizing the use of sound analysis for the betterment of the human condition.

Mr. Greenstein was selected for his work at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, which the MacArthur Foundation has cited as “a model for a non-partisan research and policy organization." In addition, he was recognized for his public service as a member of President Bill Clinton’s Bipartisan Commission on Entitlement and Tax Reform and as administrator of the Food and Nutrition Service at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  The Academy also cited Mr. Greenstein’s ongoing contributions to public debates on salient policy issues through his frequent testimony before Congress as well as his outreach to the media on behalf of evidence-based social policy.

Douglas S. Massey, President of the Academy and Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs at Princeton University, said "Robert Greenstein is a champion of evidence-based policy whose work at the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities is respected on both sides of the aisle."

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities works at the federal and state levels on fiscal policy and public programs that affect low- and moderate-income families and individuals. The Center conducts research and analysis to help shape public debates over proposed budget and tax policies and to help ensure that policymakers consider the needs of low-income families and individuals in these debates.  In addition, the Center examines the short- and long-term impacts of proposed policies on the health of the economy and the soundness of federal and state budgets.

Greenstein is the third recipient of the Moynihan Prize. Alice M. Rivlin, founding director of the Congressional Budget Office and former director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, received the inaugural Prize in 2008 and David Ellwood, dean of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, was presented with the Prize in 2009.

The American Academy of Political and Social Science was founded in Philadelphia in 1889 with the objective of promoting the progress of the social sciences and using social science knowledge in the enrichment of public understanding and in the development of public policy. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science was founded in 1890. For more on the Academy and the Moynihan Prize, including speeches delivered at the 2008 and 2009 Moynihan Prize ceremonies, visit http://www.aapss.org.