Rebecca Thiess

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Rebecca Thiess
Rebecca Thiess
Rebecca Thiess
Manager
Managing Fiscal Risks
The Pew Charitable Trusts

PROFILE

Rebecca Thiess helps lead Pew’s managing fiscal risks project, which focuses on how federal policies affect states. In this position, she oversees and conducts original research and analysis on various aspects of the federal and state fiscal relationship. Thiess’ expertise includes federal grants to states, the role that federal funds play in state budgets, and the federal and state funding of higher education.

Before joining Pew, Thiess worked primarily on federal budget and tax policy issues, including as a policy analyst at the Economic Policy Institute. She additionally worked on advocacy and coalition-building around consumer and housing issues at Americans for Financial Reform.

Thiess holds a bachelor’s degree from Occidental College in California, and a master’s degree in public policy from Duke University in North Carolina

OUR WORK

Article

November 21, 2024

States Act to Use Federal Pandemic Dollars Ahead of Deadline

State policymakers are developing and employing a range of strategies to take full advantage of flexible federal pandemic funding ahead of upcoming deadlines. Lawmakers in Vermont and Mississippi, for...

Article

September 10, 2024

Record Federal Grants to States Keep Federal Share of State Budgets High

The share of states’ total revenue coming from federal funds remained elevated in fiscal year 2022, fueled by pandemic aid dollars and infrastructure investments. Total federal grants to states topped $1...

Article

August 14, 2024

End of Pandemic Funding for Schools Requires States and Districts to Plan

As students and teachers head back to school this fall, state leaders are faced with the challenge of how to fund public education without additional support from federal COVID-19 pandemic-era aid.

Article

April 18, 2024

States Face Challenges and Opportunities Using One-Time Federal Pandemic Aid

As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded, state policymakers faced the challenge—and opportunity—of allocating billions of dollars in federal relief aid in ways that would not create fiscal risks in future...

Article

March 21, 2024

What Happens When States No Longer Have Federal Pandemic Child Care Dollars?

As part of the historic infusion of assistance to states during the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government provided almost $53 billion in one-time funding for the child care industry. This support was...

Article

March 5, 2024

Economic Issues Likely to Take Center Stage in State of the Union

The economy will undoubtedly be a central theme in President Joe Biden’s State of the Union on March 7, his last address before he stands for re-election. Although the president’s focus will likely be on...