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05-09-09
Many attend
Federal Stimulus Town Hall Forum in Mount Vernon
President Obama's
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
has some very
important implications for the City of
Mount Vernon and its surrounding communities.
Realizing that, Mayor Clinton I. Young arranged for State Senate Majority Leader Malcolm
Smith's staff to make a special trip to Mount Vernon
for a Town Hall Forum regarding the federal
stimulus
package.
The important forum was held on Saturday, May
9, from 9am to 12 noon in the auditorium of Mount
Vernon High School. The turnout was impressive, with
scores of residents, elected officials, city officials and business owners
alike in attendance to find out just how the federal
stimulus package will affect them.
The important forum was sponsored by Senator Malcolm A.
Smith, Senator Ruth Hassell-Thompson and Senator Jeff Klein
and was hosted by Mayor Young and the City of Mount Vernon.
After opening remarks from the mayor and politicians, there
was a very informative slide presentation by a member of
Senator Malcolm Smith's staff.
A panel of representatives from state and federal agencies
took endless questions from the audience during a Q&A
session prior to the forum ending.
The
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of
2009 was signed by President Barack
Obama on February 17, 2009. This legislation provides a
nearly $800 billion boost to the American Economy.
Approximately $374 billion is for programs that directly
impact New York State and
New York is expected to receive $26.7 billion of that
funding. The programs include funding for Medicaid,
Education, Infrastructure and “shovel-ready” projects
throughout New York State.
National Overview
Overall,
the national cost of the provisions included in the
legislation is expected to total $789 billion. This
includes approximately $463 billion in spending and $326
billion in tax cuts. Of the $463 billion in spending,
$374 billion is for programs that directly impact New
York State.
New York is expected to receive $26.7 billion of that
funding.
State and Local Fiscal Relief
Several
portions of the federal stimulus legislation will
provide direct fiscal relief to State and local
governments, many of which are addressing significant
budget deficits. Some of these major provisions include
the following:
Federal Medical Assistance Percentages (FMAP)
The
stimulus bill provides a total of $87 billion in fiscal
relief through increased Medicaid reimbursements (FMAP).
New York’s share of that funding (which includes funding
for the State, counties, and the City of New York) is
nearly $11 billion over a 27-month period – $1.9 billion
in 2008-09, $5.0 billion in 2009-10, and $4.2 billion in
2010-11.
Based on
preliminary analysis, it is expected that approximately
70 percent of this relief will accrue to the State and
the remainder will be provided to local governments.
Education
The
legislation includes a State fiscal stabilization fund
that totals $53.6 billion over two years, which
primarily consists of funding for education.
There are
three main components of this fund.
Education Restorations.
New York is expected to receive $2.5 billion out of a
total of $39.5 billion that will be provided to restore
proposed reductions in funding for education. The
federal legislation requires that this money be used for
that purpose. It is expected that half of the $2.5
billion will be committed in 2009-10 and the remainder
in 2010-11.
Flexible Relief.
New York is expected to receive $556 million out of a
national total of $8.8 billion provided for other fiscal
relief to state governments over the next two years.
Like FMAP, this funding would be flexible and can be
dedicated to support any government service.
Incentive Grants.
An additional $5 billion in education grants will be
available for states meeting key performance measures as
determined by the United States Department of Education.
While the amount New York would receive is subject to
the grant awarding process, we expect that New York will
be in a strong competitive position to receive
substantial funding.
Other Education Funding
New York
is expected to receive $940 million out of a total of
$13 billion in Title I funding for high needs students
and $760 million out of a total of $12.2 billion in IDEA
funding for special education over the next two years.
Both of these funds would be split roughly evenly
between the next two fiscal years. This funding will be
provided directly to school districts through the State
Education Department subject to specific federal
formulas over which the State has no discretion.
Other
major education funding for New York includes increasing
the maximum award for Pell Grants by $500 (National
Share: $15.6 billion, State Share: $180 million), and
providing
substantial increased support for education technology
(National Share: $650 million, State Share: $61 million)
and the education of homeless children (National Share:
$70 million, State Share: $7 million).
Infrastructure and Energy
The
stimulus legislation delivers substantial support for
infrastructure projects. At the national level, this
includes $48 billion in funding for transportation
capital projects ($8.4 billion for mass transit, $27.5
billion for highways and bridges, $9.3 billion for rail,
$1.3 billion for airport improvement projects; $1.5
billion for discretionary surface transportation
projects). Of this total, New York is expected to
receive at least $1.25 billion for the mass transit and
$1.1 billion for highways and bridges. The Economic
Recovery and Reinvestment Cabinet will be working with
State agencies and local governments to aggressively
seek funding from other sources of transportation
funding.
The
legislation also includes $16.8 billion for energy
efficiency and renewable energy projects and
technologies, including research and development. New
York will receive $126 million through the State Energy
Program and $31 million in alternative energy block
grants. It provides $4.5 billion for energy research and
development projects nationwide, including $2.0 billion
for energy storage technologies, which could provide
funding for the Governor’s proposed battery storage
consortium.
New York
State is also projected to receive $435 million from the
Clean Water State Revolving Fund; $85 million from the
Drinking Water State Revolving Fund; and $404 million to
help weatherize the homes of low-income individual.
Other Major Spending Provisions
The
federal legislation will also provide funding for a
number of other critical initiatives over the next two
years. New York is expected to receive $1.3 billion in
enhanced food stamp benefits; $1.3 billion to fund
33-week expansion of unemployment benefits (to a total
of 59 weeks), as well as provide additional weekly
benefits through December 31, 2009 instead of March 31,
2009; and $100 million for child care services for
low-income individuals.
In
addition the federal legislation provides funding for
several programs that will be administered at the
federal level. The Economic Recovery and Reinvestment
Cabinet is analyzing the legislation to identify
programs that the State and local governments can take
apply for funding.
|
Below
is New York's Share |
|
|
|
Major Spending
Provisions That Impact New York
|
|
(preliminary state/local
two year estimates, $ in thousands)
|
|
|
|
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|
State Fiscal
Relief |
National Total
|
New York
|
|
Medicaid - FMAP Increase
|
$87,000,000 |
$11,100,000 |
|
State Fiscal
Stabilization - Education Restoration
|
$39,524,000 |
$2,469,000 |
|
State Fiscal
Stabilization - Other Government
Services |
$8,793,000 |
$549,000 |
|
State Fiscal
Stabilization - Education Incentive
Grants |
$5,000,000 |
TBD |
|
Sub-total
|
$140,317,000
|
$14,118,000
|
|
Infrastructure and Energy
|
|
|
|
Transportation: Mass
Transit |
$8,400,000 |
$1,222,000 |
|
Transportation: Highways
& Bridges |
$27,500,000 |
$1,121,000 |
|
Transportation: Rail
|
$9,300,000 |
TBD |
|
Transportation: Air
|
$1,300,000 |
TBD |
|
Transportation:
Discretionary Surface Transportation
|
$1,500,000 |
TBD |
|
Clean Water State
Revolving Fund |
$4,000,000 |
$437,000 |
|
Drinking Water State
Revolving Fund |
$2,000,000 |
$87,000 |
|
Weatherization |
$5,000,000 |
$395,000 |
|
Energy Efficiency and
Conservation Block Grant
|
$3,200,000 |
$175,000 |
|
State Energy Program
|
$3,100,000 |
$123,000 |
|
Broadband Access &
Expansion |
$7,200,000 |
TBD |
|
Science Facilities,
Research, Instrumentation
|
$7,000,000 |
$265,700 |
|
Science - Brookhaven
Laboratory |
$2,000,000 |
$184,300 |
|
Environmental/Nuclear
Waste Cleanup |
$9,000,000 |
$148,000 |
|
Diesel Emission Reduction
|
$300,000 |
$4,000 |
|
Environmental Programs
|
$900,000 |
TBD |
|
Sub-total
|
$91,700,000
|
$4,162,000
|
|
Health and
Human Services
|
|
|
|
Health Information
Technology |
$19,000,000 |
TBD |
|
Public Health Programs
|
$1,000,000 |
$60,000 |
|
IDEA for Infants &
Families |
$500,000 |
$23,400 |
|
Food Stamp Benefit
Increase |
$19,900,000 |
$1,289,000 |
|
Food Stamp Administration
|
$291,000 |
$25,000 |
|
WIC Program
Administration |
$500,000 |
$28,600 |
|
Senior Nutrition Program
|
$100,000 |
$6,000 |
|
Homeless Assistance
|
$1,500,000 |
$142,000 |
|
Child Care Block Grant
|
$2,000,000 |
$97,000 |
|
Child Support
Administration |
$1,000,000 |
$34,000 |
|
Title IV-E Programs
(Foster Care/Adoption Assistance)
|
N/A |
$107,000 |
|
Community Service Block
Grant (CSBG) |
$1,000,000 |
$87,000 |
|
SSI - One-time Payment
|
N/A |
$166,000 |
|
Workforce Investment Act
(WIA) |
$3,950,000 |
$169,000 |
|
UI Benefit Extension &
Administration |
$27,150,000 |
$1,609,000 |
|
UI Modernization
|
$7,500,000 |
$442,000 |
|
UI Weekly Benefit
Increase |
$9,000,000 |
$510,000 |
|
Employment Services
|
$400,000 |
$23,000 |
|
Trade Adjustment
Assistance |
$679,800 |
$8,000 |
|
Vocational Rehabilitation
(Title I) |
$540,000 |
$26,000 |
|
Rehabilitation Services &
Disability Research |
$140,000 |
$7,600 |
|
Neighborhood
Stabilization Program
|
$2,000,000 |
TBD |
|
HOME Investment
Partnerships-Tax Credit Assistance
|
$2,250,000 |
$253,000 |
|
Community Development
Block Grant (CDBG) |
$1,000,000 |
$92,400 |
|
Public Housing Capital
Fund |
$3,000,000 |
$502,000 |
|
Public Housing Retrofits
|
$1,000,000 |
TBD |
|
Project Based Rental
Assistance (Section 8)
|
$2,250,000 |
$235,000 |
|
Lead Hazard Reduction
|
$100,000 |
$2,000 |
|
Native American Housing
Grants |
$265,200 |
$2,672 |
|
Community Health Centers
|
$500,000 |
$19,000 |
|
Commodity Assistance
Program |
$150,000 |
$9,000 |
|
TANF Block Grant -
Emergency Fund |
$5,000,000 |
$7,000 |
|
Sub-total
|
$113,666,000
|
$5,981,672
|
|
Education
|
|
|
|
Title I
|
$13,000,000 |
$1,168,000 |
|
IDEA/Special Education
|
$11,700,000 |
$794,000 |
|
Head Start & Early Head
Start |
$2,100,000 |
$130,000 |
|
Pell Grant Increase
|
$15,600,000 |
$180,000 |
|
Federal Work Study
|
$200,000 |
$20,000 |
|
Enhancing Education
Technology |
$650,000 |
$55,500 |
|
Education for Homeless
Children & Youth |
$70,000 |
$6,000 |
|
Teacher Incentive Fund
|
$200,000 |
TBD |
|
Impact
Aid Construction |
$100,000 |
$621 |
|
National Endowment for
the Arts |
$50,000 |
$400 |
|
National School Lunch
Program Equipment Assistance
|
$100,000 |
$6,000 |
|
Sub-total
|
$43,770,000
|
$2,360,521
|
|
Public Safety
|
|
|
|
Byrne/JAG |
$2,000,000 |
$110,600 |
|
Community Oriented
Policing Services (COPS)
|
$1,000,000 |
TBD |
|
Homeland Security - Fire
Station Construction |
$210,000 |
TBD |
|
Violence Against Women
Prevention |
$225,000 |
$7,400 |
|
Crime Victims
Compensation and Assistance
|
$100,000 |
$4,600 |
|
Internet Crimes Against
Children |
$50,000 |
$1,600 |
|
Other Public Safety
Programs |
$615,000 |
TBD |
|
Sub-total
|
$4,200,000
|
$124,200
|
|
Grand Total*
|
$393,653,000
|
$26,746,393
|
|
|
|
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Mayor Clinton I. Young
A panel consisting of state
and federal representatives
Pelham Town
Supervisor, Joe Solimine, spoke about stimulus money for
Mount Vernon's Memorial Stadium.
Senator Ruth Hasell-Thompson
|
Copyright © 2004 - 09
The Mount
Vernon Inquirer.
All Rights Reserved
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copying, redistribution or retransmission of any of the contents of
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