A Powerhouse for the Poor

Although Greenstein can be an exacting taskmaster, that hasn't prevented him from attracting a talented staff that, last year alone, churned out 230 analyses on a wide range of budget, tax and social policy issues.

"They have a wonk for everything," says my Post colleague, Ruth Marcus, who says that she can get "any number that ever appeared in any federal budget document at any time of day" by calling the center's budget guru, Richard Kogan. Legislative director Ellen Nissenbaum, a 23-year veteran, may well have the best Rolodex anywhere of Hill staffers, civil servants, political activists and journalists. And there is nobody who understands the complex interaction between federal and state laws better than deputy director Iris Lav.

While this crew is renowned for its dogged advocacy, the dirty little secret about them is that they're very effective in working with people they don't agree with.

The center was among liberal groups that criticized President Bill Clinton for not vetoing the Republican version of welfare reform, predicting it would throw a million Americans into poverty. But two days after Clinton signed the legislation, Greenstein was back at the White House, eventually helping roll back some of the bill's most draconian provisions.

Similarly, although the center has railed against Bush's tax cuts since 2001, that didn't stop it from working with GOP sponsors and staff to make sure more low-income families would be able to take full advantage of an expanded child-care credit.

Indeed, getting good provisions added to bad bills has become a core competency for the center, which after all has had to deal with Republican presidents or congresses for much of its 25-year history. Even in the best of times, that's not easy for advocates who believe passionately in their cause. But in a political environment rife with ideological warfare and poisoned by partisanship, the center's knack for getting things done sets its apart from . . . well, from just about everybody else in Washington.

Steven Pearlstein can be reached atpearlsteins@washpost.com.