Subject: What the governor is talking about today
What the Governor’s Talking about Today
Friday, June 25, 2010
 
Republican Obstructionism in U.S. Senate Threatens Thousands of Michigan Families
 
The governor today said that obstructionism by Republicans in the U.S. Senate threatens unemployment benefits and federal Medicaid assistance (FMAP) for thousands of Michigan workers and families.
 
Without an extension, the Extended Benefit program is scheduled to end in Michigan with the program making its final unemployment benefit payments in the week ending July 3.  In addition, the federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation program has now stopped taking new claims.  Republican opposition in the U.S. Senate has blocked both unemployment benefits and FMAP from being extended.
 
“Senate Republicans are turning their backs on working men and women by saying no to prescription drug coverage and mental health care for citizens whose lives depend upon those services, by saying no to paying doctors who treat the poor, by saying no to families who will have a harder time putting food on the table,” the governor said.
 
Key messages:
 
•  By the end of next week, more than 87,000 workers will have been cut off from unemployment benefits because of this stalemate.  By the end of July, that number will double, and by the end of the year the number will exceed 408,000 (people losing benefits or not being eligible for an extension).
 
•  FMAP is supported by 47 governors.  More than 30 state budgets, proposed by both Republicans and Democrats, are counting on the FMAP extension to avoid devastating cuts.
 
•  For Michigan, failure to extend FMAP could create an additional budget shortfall of $500 million.  This could mean cuts to payments to doctors who treat the poor, mental health services, university funding and funding for local police and fire services.
 
•  Even the budget recently released by Michigan Senate Republicans relies on an extension of FMAP for their budget to work.
 
•  Republicans in Congress need to reconsider.  Republicans in Michigan’s congressional delegation and the Michigan Senate need to help send that message to Washington.
 
More Than 17,000 School Employees Retire, Saving Schools $515 Million; Part of Reform Agenda Proposed by Governor
 
The governor today announced that 17,063 school employees have filed for retirement with the state’s Office of Retirement Services as a result of school employee retirement reforms.  Changes to the Michigan Public School Employees’ Retirement System were among the major reforms to Michigan government proposed by the governor in January, and she signed school retirement reform legislation into law on May 19.
  
Calculations from the State Budget Office estimate that the school retirement reforms will produce first-year savings of $515 million for school districts across Michigan.
 
Ninety-five percent of schools across the state had employees retire.  Of the 17,063 retirement applications filed, more than 10,000 came from the ranks of teachers and administrators.
 
Key messages:
 
•  The number of school retirements is more than triple what’s typically seen in a given summer.
 
•  The school retirement reforms are working as we intended: helping resolve the long-term structural imbalance in the School Aid Fund so we can properly fund K-12 education, and creating thousands of job opportunities for new teachers just entering the profession.
 
Governor Announces Second Round of Winners for Recovery Act Grants and Loans to Help Michigan’s Small Manufacturers
 
The governor today announced that the state of Michigan will award nine small manufacturers $15 million in grants and $5 million in loans for a total of $20 million through the Clean Energy Advanced Manufacturing (CEAM) program.  Michigan’s CEAM awards, funded by the federal Recovery Act, are designed to help Michigan businesses diversify into high-growth, clean-energy industries.
 
The CEAM award recipients were selected from among 40 applicants representing more than $105 million in proposed projects.  Any for-profit Michigan business with 500 or fewer employees was eligible to apply.
 
CEAM funding will allow small Michigan businesses to diversify into advanced manufacturing of renewable energy systems and components that will boost the state’s economy, create jobs and reduce reliance on imported energy.
 
The second round CEAM award winners are AMPTECH, Manistee; Great Lakes Industry Gear, Jackson; Grid Logic, Metamora; Heat Transfer International, Kentwood; Innotec, Zeeland; KC Jones Plating Company, Warren; Polar Seal Window, Grand Rapids; URV USA, Rochester; and Ventower Industries, Monroe.
 
The governor singled out Michigan Senators Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow along with key Michigan members of the U.S. House of Representatives for their leadership in supporting Recovery Act funding.
 
“Because Michigan’s congressional leaders stood strong in support of putting these vital federal resources to work building Michigan’s economy, we’re now experiencing the positive impact in Michigan communities from Monroe to Mackinaw City,” the governor said.
 
The members of Michigan’s congressional delegation who voted in support of the Recovery Act are Senator Carl Levin and Senator Debbie Stabenow, and Representatives John Conyers (D-Detroit), John Dingell (D-Dearborn), Dale Kildee (D-Flint), Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D-Detroit), Sander Levin (D-Royal Oak), Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield Twp.), Mark Schauer (D-Battle Creek) and Bart Stupak (D-Menominee).
 
Key messages:
 
•  We’re building on Michigan’s long history of manufacturing know-how to position our state as a leader in renewable and clean energy.  Our Clean Energy Advanced Manufacturing program will help move Michigan businesses into the clean energy industry, creating hundreds of jobs while helping the nation reduce its dependence on fossil fuels.
 
•  In December 2009, five Michigan companies received $15.5 million in the first round of CEAM awards, allowing them to expand and create a projected 713 jobs by 2011 and 1,400 by 2014.  The five companies are Astraeus Wind Energy, Eaton Rapids; Energetx Composites, Holland; Loc Performance Products, Plymouth; LUMA Resources, Rochester Hills; and Merrill Technologies Group, Saginaw.
 
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