From: Whipple, Deb (GOV)
Sent: Friday, December 04, 2009 4:27 PM
Subject: What the Governor is talking about today
What the Governor’s Talking about Today
Friday, December 4, 2009
 
    Governor Attending Revenue Sharing Meetings Next Week in Flint, Southgate
    Governor Goes to D.C. to Advocate for Job-Creation Strategies
    Governor, Lt. Governor Urge Attorney General to Pursue Every Legal Means to Keep Asian Carp Out of Great Lakes
 
 
Governor Attending Revenue Sharing Meetings Next Week in Flint, Southgate
 
Next week the governor will attend regional meetings with local government and public safety officials in Flint and Southgate to talk about the impact that revenue sharing cuts have had on their communities, and the need to restore funding.  The governor attended a similar regional meeting today in Grand Rapids where she heard from West Michigan leaders.
 
Key messages:
 
•  Revenue sharing cuts have contributed to now having 2,000 fewer police officers and 2,400 fewer professional fire fighters protecting our communities than we had in 2001.  We need to restore funding for revenue sharing to prevent further erosion in the numbers of police officers and fire fighters in Michigan.
•  When revenue sharing cuts force local governments to lay off personnel or not fill open positions, it harms our communities and is a drag on our state and national recovery efforts.
•  This is also an economic development issue.  We are working to diversify Michigan’s economy and create jobs.  To attract and retain businesses, communities must be able to provide police and fire protection, good roads, water and sewer systems and other essential services.
 
Governor Goes to D.C. to Advocate for Job-Creation Strategies
 
The governor was in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday and Thursday along with other Democratic governors to advocate for policy changes and job-creation strategies that can be particularly beneficial for states like Michigan that have been hardest hit by the nation’s economic crisis.
 
“As Washington explores more ways to create jobs, it’s imperative that it hears from governors about what we’re seeing on the ground,” the governor said.  “We need to be even more aggressive about stimulating new job creation in states across the country and that we’re really doing all we can to ensure that the new, green products and technologies this nation needs are made in America by American workers.”
 
The governor discussed job-creation strategies under consideration in Washington, including tax policy changes that could create new jobs, additional investments in infrastructure, and extending credit to small businesses and manufacturers to diversify their operations.  She also requested federal funds to help keep the jobs of Michigan police officers, fire fighters and teachers, jobs that could be lost because of reduced revenue sharing payments and cuts in the state’s K-12 budget.
 
Governor, Lt. Governor Urge Attorney General to Pursue Every Legal Means to Keep Asian Carp Out of Great Lakes
 
On Wednesday the governor and Lt. Governor Cherry urged Attorney General Mike Cox to vigorously pursue every legal means to prevent Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes.
 
“The Great Lakes’ ecosystem is at risk and because of the importance of the Great Lakes to Michigan’s economy, we urge you to vigorously pursue every legal tool at your disposal as Michigan’s attorney general to prevent the ecological disaster that will occur if Asian carp are allowed into the Great Lakes,” said the governor and lieutenant governor in a letter to Cox.  “Michigan’s $4.5 billion sport and commercial fishery is in jeopardy.”
 
Asian carp can grow to more than four feet long and weigh up to 100 pounds.  They are voracious feeders and overwhelm native species.  The carp may have breached the electric fish barrier on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal which connects the Mississippi River system with the Great Lakes.
 
The Granholm administration has moved aggressively to block Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes.  The administration’s actions include:
 
•  Prohibiting possession of live Asian carp in Michigan
•  Providing direct financial support for the electrical barrier in 2004
•  Providing staffing, materials and equipment for the upcoming emergency response along with other states and Canadian provinces.
 
Recently, Lt. Governor Cherry wrote the Undersecretary of the Army to urge additional actions to protect the Great Lakes, including the completion of the second portion of the new barrier, full utilization of the existing barrier now operating at minimal levels, creating a physical barrier to block carp from entering via other waterways during flooding, and using all existing congressional authorities to block the carp’s entry.
 
Key messages:
 
•  The governor has taken aggressive steps to protect the Great Lakes from the Asian carp threat.
•  The introduction of Asian carp into the Great Lakes would have a devastating impact on both the Great Lakes sport and commercial fishery and the lakes’ ecosystem.  Allowing the Asian carp into the Great Lakes system could potentially cause a collapse of the Great Lakes food web.
• Half measures to stop the introduction of Asian carp into the Great Lakes are unacceptable, and we do not accept that the spread of the carp into the Great Lakes is inevitable.
•  The federal government and the state of Illinois must stop Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes, and Michigan stands ready to help.
 
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