Last week, the City Council of Washington, DC, voted 10–1, with one abstention, to enact emergency legislation requiring rail companies to reroute hazardous cargo around the city. This legislation, “Terrorism Prevention in Hazardous Materials Transportation Emergency Act of 2005,” will make Washington the first city in the nation requiring companies to route hazardous cargo shipments away from population centers. The bill now only needs D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams’ signature.

On Jan. 31, the Center for American Progress unveiled its progressive tax plan, titled “A Fair and Simple Tax System for Our Future: A Progressive Approach to Tax Reform.” This comprehensive plan provides an alternate vision for tax reform based on the themes of fairness, simplicity, and opportunity through tax policy. The release of this plan is part of a broader Progressive Policy Series the Center is publishing aimed at outlining responsible policy proposals and proposing steps lawmakers can take to enact them.

Last week, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released an updated Budget and Economic Outlook with new 10-year deficit projections for 2006–2015. The report estimated 10-year deficits to have dropped from $2.3 trillion to $1.4 trillion since last September, a 39 percent decrease. These conclusions, however, are very misleading.