Archives for "Jobs"
Hundreds Rally to Urge Senators Snowe and Collins to Support Maine Jobs and Families
More than one-hundred Maine Can Do Better coalition members gathered in Portland’s Lobsterman’s Park yesterday, calling on Maine’s U.S. Senators, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, to support the H.R. 4213, the Jobs Bill that has stalled in the Senate.
“Failure to pass the Jobs Bill would have devastating consequences to critical health services, unemployed workers, school funding, jobs, and Maine’s economic recovery,” said Ana Hicks of Maine Equal Justice Partners, who spoke at the event, “Maine cannot afford to lose any more jobs.”
The Jobs Bill would extend unemployment benefits and health care subsidies, provide vital funding for affordable housing projects, and extend enhanced federal Medicaid funding to states. Without this funding, the Maine Center for Economic Policy estimates Maine would lose more than 2000 private and public sector jobs and the U.S. Department of Labor says that more than 30,000 Mainers would lose their unemployment benefits in the next six months. Thousand have already lost benefits this week because of the Senates failure to act.
“Failure to pass this legislation now is not an option,” said Mark Sullivan of the Maine Center for Economic Policy, “The economic security of thousands of Maine families hangs in the balance. Maine’s fragile economic recovery is at risk. Congress needs to take action now before we slip even deeper into an economic recession.”
Already the Governor’s office is preparing itself for another budget crisis. Just yesterday Ryan Lowe, the Governor’s Chief of Staff, announced that Maine will face a $100 million budget shortfall without this federal funding, putting the jobs of educators, health care workers, and public safety officials at risk.
“What we’re really talking about when we say that Congress needs to pass this Jobs Bill is families,” said Jill Saxby of the Maine Council of Churches, “We’re talking about Maine families who are struggling to get by through the worse economic time since my grandmother was a single parent, raising two children in New York City during the Great Depression. As a nation we learned, even back then, that extraordinary times call for us to respond in extraordinary ways.”
“Keeping families working and giving them the supports they need to provide for their children are two of the best weapons we have to defend against some of the long-term consequences of this recession,” said Ellie Goldberg of the Maine Children’s Alliance.
Following the event, the coalition hand delivered more than 150 hand written post cards and letters to the Senators from Maine citizens telling of their personal stories of why the Jobs Bill is important to them and urging them to support H.R. 4213.
Rally Set to Urge Senator’s Snowe and Collins to Support the Jobs Bill
Hundreds plan to rally tomorrow in Lobsterman’s Park in Portland to urge Senator’s Snowe and Collins to support H.R. 4213, an important jobs bill!
Will you be there?
Here are the event details:
Where: Lobsterman’s Park, in front of the Nickelodeon Theatre in Portland
When: Wednesday, June 30th at 12:00pm
H.R. 4213 will extend unemployment benefits, provide vital funding for affordable housing, and will extend enhanced federal funding to the states for health care. If this bill doesn’t pass, we could see up to $85 million more dollars cut out of Maine’s state budget!
Let us know you’re coming by clicking here!
Advocates Urge Congress to Extend Unemployment Benefits, Health Care Assistance, and Aid to States
From the Maine Center for Economic Policy:
Augusta, Maine (Thursday, June 3, 2010)— Advocates supporting the extension of critical federal support for economic recovery today called on the members of Maine’s Congressional Delegation to continue their support for important federal assistance to state Medicaid programs to help states, like Maine facing significant fiscal crisis, as well as for maintaining needed health care and unemployment benefits for their people.
“This is a critical juncture for the economic security of thousands of unemployed Mainers, for the effort to recover from the Great Recession and for the future economic prosperity of all Maine families,” said MECEP Executive Director Christopher “Kit” St. John. “We are grateful to all four members of Maine’s congressional delegation for voting for these measures in the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and at different times this year to extend the unemployment and health care benefits through the end of 2010 and the enhanced federal Medicaid assistance through state fiscal year 2011. With record long-term joblessness plaguing the nation, now is the time to maintain our investment in critical safety net programs, not cut them. The fastest way to address the nation’s long-term deficit is to get the economy going again with the help of these emergency programs.”
Read more at the www.mecep.org.
Listen to MPBN’s story: “Thousands of Mainers on Verge of Unemployment Benefits”
Maine’s Budget in Jeopardy
Next week H.R. 4213, also known as the Extenders Bill, heads to the U.S. Senate for a vote. This bill plays a vital role in protecting health care services for Maine families and health care job in Maine.
Sadly however, this bill and Maine’s budget are now in jeopardy!
Originally the bill was supposed to extend enhanced federal funding for state Medicaid programs for six months, along with extending unemployment benefits and COBRA subsidies for health insurance through the end of 2010.
Last week however, the U.S. House passed a version of the Extenders Bill that eliminates the extended federal funding for state Medicaid programs. Maine is depending on that funding. Without it, Governor Baldacci and the legislature could be forced to make up to $85 million dollars in more cuts to Maine’s budget!
There is still an opportunity to get this funding BACK into the bill! When H.R. 4213 goes to the Senate next week, Senator Snowe and Collins can advocate for it. In fact, just a couple of months ago, they both voted for these extensions in the original Tax Extenders Bill!
Please call Senators Collins and Snowe’s offices TODAY!
- Thank them for their support of extending the enhanced FMAP in the past.
- Urge them to advocate for putting the extension of the enhanced Medicaid match rate (or FMAP) back into the tax extenders bill, HR 4213, when they return to the Senate after the Memorial Day recess.
- Explain that the enhanced FMAP is critical for protecting both vital health care services and health care jobs in Maine.
Once you’ve made the call, click on this link so we can keep track of how many calls have been made!
U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe
(202)224-5344
U.S. Senator Susan Collins
(202)224-2523
“States’ budget crises land on children”
Here’s a troubling story by the AP about the consequences of huge budget cuts by state government across the country. These consequences clearly demonstrate the need for fiscal responsibility and investment in public services.
“CHICAGO – Now the crisis is reaching the children
In Arizona, a program that helped blind high school students care for themselves and find jobs is suspended. In South Carolina, all five state-run group homes for kids closed and a program that helped paroled youths get jobs is shuttered. And in Hawaii, a program to reduce child abuse and neglect was cut so much that two years after serving 4,000 families, it now serves 100.
All over the country, the financial crisis has forced states to make historic cuts to close what the National Conference of State Legislatures found was an overall budget gap of $174.1 billion this fiscal year and has lawmakers looking to trim another $89 billion next year. That means slashing services to the one population they’ve long protected: children.” Read More.
What would you do to create 3,000 jobs in Maine?
That very question is what Maine’s Senate is confronted with today, as it works to pass an $85 million dollars bond package, LD 1826. This bond package could bring more than 3,000 jobs to Maine.
Creating jobs is an extreme priority for Maine and the nation right now, especially in a time when almost 32,000 Mainers have lost their job since the start of the recession. After all, our economic recovery depends on getting Mainers back to work. The best way to do that is to fuel our economy by investing in and expanding our public infrastructure.
LD 1826 will do just that. If it passes, $85 million in state dollars would be matched by another $54 million in federal funds. Among other programs, the funds would be spent on the following job saving or job creating projects:
- Purchase 241 miles of Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway (saves up to 1,000 jobs)
- Improved Freight rail service & Preparation for Passenger Rail Topsham-Lewiston/Auburn (120 jobs)
- Mountain Division Rail-Western Maine (120 Jobs)
- Highway Maintenance (835 jobs)
- Ocean Gateway-Portland (168 jobs)
- Drinking Water Revolving Loan Fund (304 jobs)
- Wastewater Treatment Facility Construction (460 jobs)
In a time when Maine families are struggling to make ends meet, this bond offers great opportunity hope.
Maine’s Supplemental Budget takes a Responsible Approach
After two months of work, on Monday night (2.22.10), the house appropriations committee voted to unanimously approve Maine’s supplemental budget.
Thanks to new revenues from the 2009 federal stimulus bill and a newer companion measure that together will directly infuse $114 million into the state budget (both of which had the support of Maine’s U.S. Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, as well as Maine’s U.S. Representatives Michael Michaud and Chellie Pingree), the supplemental budget was able to restore important funds to vital public structures that were cut in the original supplemental budget proposal.
Here are some of the restorations:
- 70 million in programs serving the needs of seniors, people with disabilities and families living in poverty
- $26 million in support for k-12 education
- $11 million in funding to Maine towns and cities
- $8 million for higher education; and $5.6 million in property tax relief to low and middle income families.
Maine Can Do Better is praising this effort.
“These federal revenues and the restorations in the budget clearly demonstrate that Maine’s state and federal leaders recognize the need to preserve public structures that serve all our interests, especially in challenging times,” said Ben Dudley, spokesperson for Maine Can Do Better, “The heart of fiscal responsibility is to prevent problems from getting worse and more costly down the line. That’s precisely what the restorations in this budget do.”
To read Maine Can Do Better’s complete response to the supplemental budget click here.
Times Record Says “Maine Can Do Better”
Great editorial in the Times Record this Thursday:
“Yes, it’s good news that a $50 million improvement in state revenues and a $28 million Medicaid windfall allowed Gov. John Baldacci a week ago to lower the state’s budget shortfall by some $78 million.
And on Wednesday, the state budget picture brightened even more with the announcement that additional federal funds would come to Maine under the just-approved Jobs Bill, bringing the Medicaid windfall up to $46 million.
Those revenue boosts have enabled Baldacci to restore millions in funding for health and human services, including increased support for nursing homes, assisted living facilities, disability services, mental health crisis intervention and home-based services. The governor also partially restored funding for public schools and higher education — with $20 million being provided for K-12 education and $8 million for higher education in FY 2011. He also added $6 million for municipal revenue sharing for FY 2010.”
See the full story at the Times Record.
Proposed state budget would likely cause loss of 7000-10,000 jobs
New analysis reveals that the Governor’s proposed supplemental budget would put thousands of Maine residents in the unemployment line.
Using nationally recognized economic modeling, The Maine Center for Economic Policy (MECEP) estimates that between 7,000 and 10,000 jobs would be eliminated if the legislature were to pass the Governor’s proposal. These job losses would be felt most acutely in employment related to long-term care in nursing homes, home health care, and care for people with mental illness and developmental disabilities. Large job losses would also occur in k-12 and higher education. See full story at the Maine Center for Economic Policy.
Report: State Budget Cuts Could Cost Up to 10,000 Jobs
Governor Baldacci’s proposed state budget will cost Maine as many as 10,000 jobs, according to an analysis by a progressive think-tank based in Augusta. The Maine Center for Economic Policy says the report shows that the state simply can’t cut its way out of the recession. But anti-tax activists say the report leaves out the other side of the equation. See MPBN