Perdue to Congress re: stimulus
Gov. Bev Perdue has written a letter from her undisclosed vacation spot to members of Congress asking them to speak up for certain items in the stimulus package.
Click here to read the letter.
Click here for the latest story on the stimulus from the Washington Post. It notes that negotiators have trimmed the price-tag of the bill about $50 billion from what the Senate approved earlier in the week.
Perdue outlined two groups of items she considered vital to North Carolina. They're grouped together here:
1. Funding for the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund at the level of $79 billion over two years, as included in the House version. This will deliver $1.1 billion to North Carolina for education and provide the flexibility to effectively direct $716 million for other urgent funding gaps we suddenly face.
2. Making the funds available immediately, as the Senate version directs, upon enactment rather than waiting for July 1, 2009. Waiting until the start of our state’s next fiscal year will be too late to help us with the revenue shortfall we face today.
3. Making the funds eligible to sustain current state commitments to education, as the National Governors Association recommends, so that states like North Carolina are not penalized for keeping up with our commitments to education by sacrificing much-needed services in other areas.
4. Maintain the House provision providing approximately $364 million to North Carolina school districts. These funds would put people to work immediately on the $1.1 billion in “shovel ready” school projects.
5. Provide maximum level of funding for the wastewater and drinking water projects. The estimated $1.25 billion in wastewater and $124 million in drinking water infrastructure “ready to go” projects in municipalities, and the $309 million “ready to go” in rural areas only cover a portion of these needs.
6. Support the House version of funding for various law enforcement assistance. That version will provide more near-term jobs and have a greater impact on public safety in our state.
7. Include Unemployment Insurance extension and modernization language and funding. This bill must address these issues, particularly if we face a lengthy and deep recession.
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