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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”
“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.
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.
New Federal Money Helps Fill Maine’s Budget Gap
Thanks to the U.S. Senate passing legislation that will extend enhanced federal medicaid assistance to the states, Governor Baldacci has outlined about $94 million in proposed budget restorations.
Maine’s U.S. Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, as well as U.S. Representatives Michael Michaud and Chellie Pingree all voted in favor of this federal action.
According to a press release from the Governor’s office… he proposes to:
- Fill the $35 million placeholder proposed in the current budget for increased federal Medicaid support;
- Restore $33.6 million in proposed reductions in health and human services, including proposed cuts to the Drugs for the Elderly program, hospitals, nursing homes, service providers and crisis services;
- Restore $5.6 million to a proposed reduction in the Circuit Breaker Program, which benefits 13,000 low- and middle-income homeowners;
- Restore $5 million to municipal revenue sharing in fiscal year 2011;
- Restore $5 million to General Purpose Aid to Education;
- Restore $1.1 million for schools who voted to support the State’s education reform law but whose partner districts rejected administrative consolidation;
- Restore $580,000 for adult education;
- Provide $470,000 in debt service for the University of Maine System to bring facilities at the University of Maine into ADA compliance and remove asbestos and mercury contamination;
- Provide $200,000 for the Maine Uncontrolled Hazardous Sites Cleanup; Restore $80,000 to the Maine Judiciary.
Read his full Press Release by clicking 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.
Maine Can Do Better Reacts to Proposed Supplemental Budget Changes
On March 3rd, Governor Baldacci announced changes to his proposed supplemental budget. While many news reports focused on the restoration of cuts, few focused on the $360 million cuts that still remain. After deep analysis of the supplemental budget changes, it’s clear to Maine Can Do Better that, despite the positive changes, filling the remaining budget gap with cuts alone is not the right answer for Maine. Here’s a response from Ben Dudley, spokesperson for Maine Can Do Better’s to proposed changes to the supplemental budget package….
“We’re heartened by the Governor’s proposed changes to the supplemental budget. They represent substantial restorations to programs vital to the public interest, such as funding for nursing homes, assisted living facilities, disability services, mental health crisis intervention and home-based services, k-12 and higher education, and municipal revenue sharing. Clearly Governor Baldacci heard the concerns of Maine citizens and we thank him for his efforts.
“Despite this progress, there’s still major hole in the state budget: $360 million. That’s equivalent to annual state & federal funding for the Maine Departments of Agriculture, Conservation, Economic Development, Marine Resources, The Secretary of State, The Community College System, The Maine Human Rights Commission, and the state court system combined. To make up that sizable shortfall, this budget still proposes a host of harmful cuts:
- $1.8 million cut to the Low Cost Drugs for the Elderly and Disabled program;
- $45 million cut (including lost matching funds) to MaineCare, cutting access to health care, mental health services and programs for people with developmental disabilities.
- $3.7 million cut non-MaineCare mental health services;
- $500 thousand in cuts for community support programs, including family planning, domestic violence, homeless services and child abuse prevention programs.
- $82 million cut to municipalities in revenue sharing and education funding;
- $5.6 million cut to property tax circuit breaker program;
“The remaining cuts will have a real impact on Maine families and Maine’s economy as we work to rebound from this recession. Defunding programs that keep people healthy, prepare Maine’s workforce, support local communities, and preserve jobs in a difficult economy will only make things harder in the long run. Preventing problems from getting worse, and more costly, down the line will give Maine a leg up as we work toward economic recovery.
“Will Rogers said it best, ‘When you find yourself in a hole, quit digging.’ There are other options to resolving our budget problems. Instead of relying on cuts alone to close the gap, we urge state legislators and the Governor to take another positive step toward greater fiscal responsibility, one that fully considers the costs and benefits of a mix of revenues and spending cuts. It’s the only way to ensure a budget that best positions Maine for economic recovery and future prosperity.”
New Report Reveals a Need for Balanced Budget Solutions
Portland, Maine — The Maine Can Do Better Coalition, a coalition of more than 150 organizations from across Maine, praised the annual report by the Maine Economic Growth Council (MEGC), saying it should serve as a wake up call for Maine legislators.
In their report, “Measures of Growth in Focus”, the MEGC echoed Maine Can Do Better’s call for policymakers to look beyond Maine’s immediate challenges, stating “it is precisely during [economic] downturns that states, just like companies, must position themselves for growth when the economy finally turns around.” The report continues, “We need to continue investment in our workforce and in our infrastructure. We need to support investments that will grow the ‘new economy’ in Maine”.
In contrast, the current supplemental budget proposal would weaken the state’s ability to address two of the three measures flagged by MEGC as needing attention: higher degree attainment and the cost of health care. The budget proposal includes dramatic cuts to health care and education (both k-12 and higher education) which, if adopted by the Legislature, threaten to worsen these key economic indicators.
In keeping with the MEGC recommendations, Maine Can Do Better is advocating a more balanced approach to the state fiscal crisis to ensure a speedier return to economic prosperity in Maine.
“Two of the hardest hit sectors in the budget are education and health care,” says Sara Gagne-Holmes, Executive Director of Maine Equal Justice Partners, “yet, those are the sectors that have been flagged as needing the most attention in order for Maine’s economy to thrive. Hopefully our elected leaders will see this as evidence that Maine cannot reach its full potential if we limit the budget conversation to cuts alone.”
“We need to start connecting the dots,” says Ben Dudley, spokesperson for the Maine Can Do Better Coalition, “Continually cutting health and education funding increases long term costs by diminishing the ability of Maine’s workforce to compete in the new economy. This is why the state budget writers must consider the relative costs and benefits of all available balancing options: program cuts, operational efficiencies, and responsible enhanced revenues.”
Click here to read the full report: http://mdf.org/publications/Measures-of-Growth-in-Focus-2010/214/
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