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Congress Considers Further Steps to Boost Job Creation
While job loss has slowed, there is still much work to do to recover the 8 million jobs lost during the Recession. The Ways and Means committee is considering additional targeted steps that can be taken to boost job creation. Some of these measures include a tax credit for businesses hiring new workers and additional resources toward transportation projects that tend to hire quickly and improve local infrastructure. Congress must also extend the extended unemployment insurance program by the end of the year. Another priority for Rep. Levin is steps to unfreeze the credit markets so that banks are doing more lending to small businesses especially in Michigan.
Report Covering One-Third of Recovery Act Spending Released
The Economic Recovery Act consisted of three main areas: 37% or $288 Billion in tax relief, 28% or $233 Billion in direct payments to individuals through programs like unemployment insurance, and the final third or $276 Billion in grants, loans or contracts to local governments, schools, organizations and businesses. The first “recipient report” was released at the end of October covering this last third of the Recovery Act. Michigan reported that $5.2 billion had been allocated to the State through September 20th in grants, contracts or loans, $1.2 billion had been received and 22,500 Michigan jobs were creat¬ed or retained.
Unfortunately, the reporting allocated job determinations based on the agency doing the reporting, so 19,367 were attributed to Ingham County and not to the areas where the money is actually being used. That explains why Macomb County is credited with 115 jobs and Oakland is credited with 154 jobs.
A more accurate local report is found on the State Recovery page which tracks $343.6 million to Macomb County and $486 million to Oakland County to date. Per capita, this is $414 per Macomb County resident and $396 per Oakland County resident.
Extension of Unemployment Insurance Benefits Available Starting Next Week
Starting next week, Michiganders who have exhausted their unemployment compensation benefits will be able to apply for the most recent extension, signed into law on November 6th. The House passed an extension of benefits on September 22nd, but the Senate did not act until the beginning of November, leaving thousands of Michiganders without benefits for weeks. The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency has been working around the clock to speed the process for getting the newly passed benefits to unemployed workers. People who exhausted benefits before the extension was signed should be receiving specific instructions this week on how to apply for the new extension. For more information, please visit http://www.michigan.gov/uia. If you need help or have specific questions about your benefits, please call Rep. Levin’s office at 586-498-7122.
Health Reform Strengthens Medicare
There is both good and bad news to report on the subject of seniors and health care reform. The good news is that the health care reform bill that the House approved on November 7 will lower seniors’ prescription drug costs by addressing the coverage gap in the current Medicare drug benefit. The House-passed bill phases out the “donut hole” where seniors continue paying monthly insurance fees but stop receiving coverage for their medicines. The House health bill also puts money back in the pockets of seniors by eliminating co-payments for preventive care. The bad news is that there has been a lot of misinformation about the health care reform proposals in Congress aimed at scaring senior citizens. To read a recent article by Rep. Levin on seniors and health care reform that appeared in the Macomb Daily, click here.
House Approves Chemical Security Bill
On November 5, the House of Representatives voted 230 to 193 to adopt the Chemical and Water Security Act [H.R. 2868], to increase the security and safety of the country’s chemical plants and water treatment facilities. Many of the chemicals used by industry as well as water treatment plants are potentially dangerous if released. These facilities, often located in densely populated areas, hold chemicals that can cause serious harm to humans and the environment if used maliciously or without sufficient care.
H.R. 2868 renews the Department of Homeland Security’s program to implement and enforce the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS), which are currently set to expire in October 2010, and improves these standards by making facilities, as a part of their vulnerability assessments, analyze how they can reduce the consequences of a terrorist attack through the use of available, cost-effective, safer and more secure chemicals and processes. The bill also closes a critical security gap by covering security at drinking and wastewater facilities for the first time.
The Week Ahead
The House will take up H.R. 3961, the Medicare Physician Payment Reform Act this week. The House will also debate the Fire Grants Reauthorization Act [H.R. 3791] as well as legislation [H.R. 2781] to protect 21 miles of the Molalla River in Oregon under the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Systems. The House is also expected to complete action on the Commerce, Justice Science and Related Agencies funding bill [H.R. 2847].
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