Today is the one year anniversary of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, legislation, that this morning President Obama remarked during comments about the bill:  “One year later, it is largely thanks to the recovery act that a second depression is no longer a possibility,” Obama said.

No one is saying that this was a perfect piece of legislation, there is no such thing.  However what if we had done nothing?  What if we let bank after bank fail in this country, what would our present circumstances be like?

Mr. Obama explained the backdrop when last year he signed the recovery act in Denver, the economy hemorrhaging jobs in the middle of a recession– which he said was not a politically easy decision to make, or for members of Congress to support.

“No larger expenditure is ever that popular, particularly at a time when we’re also facing a massive deficit.  But we acted because failure to do so would have led to catastrophe.  We acted because we had a larger responsibility than simply winning the next election.  We had a responsibility to do what was right for the U.S. economy and for the American people.” - President Obama

Would there have been a run on banks like during the great depression? Would there have been long lines at food pantries and soup kitchens? Oh wait, we have experienced all of that in the past year, but on a small scale. Economists agree with the President, “it may not feel like a recovery”, yet but we are well on our way.

And what has the GOP done?  They have railed time and again against this President, they have obfuscated bill after bill, issue after issue. All in the name of what?  Ideology? Because it is certainly not because of a desire to govern.

Our system of democracy works best when our members of government can sit down and negotiate, good government is about compromise, nuance and respect. Today’s GOP has lost all credibility.  Members of the Senate like Orin Hatch and Lindsay Graham, Republican Senators who have always understood the role of the Senate and the benefit of compromise and negotiation are few and far between. Today’s GOP has become about posturing and soundbites, their leadership as time and again refused all serious overtures of bipartisanship by this President and our country has suffered because of it. The Grand Obstructionist Party is interested in 2 major things: saying No in front of the cameras and rallys, and quietly inserting earmarks into bills that they vote against in the hallowed halls of Congress and take credit for back home.

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What has the ARRA done here in Missouri?  And what have the Missouri GOP said or done? Well they are taking their marching orders from Washington, and the one Senator we have in D.C. who has consistently railed against earmarks finally called them on it…

As Democrats we must continue to show what a positive things this Act has done…becuase “what might have been”, is too scary to think about.

As Chair of the Missouri Housing Development Commission, I am very excited to announce that moments ago we passed a $35 million economic development initiative. This initiative, first unveiled by Governor Jay Nixon and myself on November 24, will provide property tax relief to thousands of qualified middle- and low-income Missouri homebuyers, create and protect potentially thousands of good-paying jobs and help improve energy-efficiency in Missouri housing.

The $35 million package was approved at today’s MHDC meeting, which was webcast live for the first time ever in an effort to bring increased transparency to the housing agency. The package provides:

1. $15 million to pay the first year of property taxes for qualified homebuyers who purchase a new or existing home after January 1, 2010. This has the opportunity to help between 9,000 and 11,000 Missouri families making less than $100,000 a year.

2. $15 million to finance and begin construction on affordable multi-family housing. This will create and save thousands of jobs at a time when Missouri unemployment is over 9% and allow us to continue to make quality affordable housing available to all Missourians.

3.  $5 million in assistance to qualified homebuyers to help with down payments and closing costs. This helps potential homebuyers overcome the obstacle of coming up with enough cash for a down payment and closing costs. MHDC has been a national leader on this front

.

4. Additional assistance to homebuyers who purchase an energy-efficient home or purchase energy-saving appliances. This is an opportunity to raise energy-efficiency standards in Missouri, making a positive impact on both the economy and the environment. It’s a win-win.

This economic development package provides property tax relief to thousands of Missourians at a crucial time in our economy without spending Missouri tax dollars. This will be paid for entirely out of MHDC’s reserve fund and federal recovery funds already in our possession. This comes in addition to more than $100 million in recovery funds and more than $19 million in reserves already allocated to boost Missouri’s economy and put Missourians back to work.

My goal as Chair is to ensure MHDC is playing a pivotal role in Missouri’s economic recovery and I believe we are doing that. The agency already offers competitive interest rates on home loans for qualified borrowers and a cash assistance loan plan for first-time homebuyers to help with down payments and closing costs. MHDC has also been a national leader in allowing Missourians to use the $8,000 federal first-time homebuyer tax credit up front for a down payment or closing costs. This program has been a success and will continue until at least April of 2010.

At a time when economic resources are scarce, it is important for you to know that I am constantly looking for new and innovative ways to get our economy moving again as well as ways to better marshal the tools and resources that are available.

One of those tools is the Missouri Linked Deposit Program, which provides low-interest loans to qualified small businesses and family farms. On November 23, I announced the largest-ever small business loan issued through the program. A small agricultural company in Marshall qualified for a $3.4 million loan, which will save the business more than $300,000 over five years compared to the cost of a regular loan. In addition, the loan will allow the company to add jobs and expand its customer base.

Thanks to changes made earlier this year to the Missouri Linked Deposit Program through my Invest in Missouri legislation, I am able to issue these kinds of loans to more small businesses with less turnaround time, allowing them to receive much-needed capital quickly.

Again, this costs Missouri taxpayers nothing. The Missouri Linked Deposit Program allows us to invest right here in Missouri to help small businesses that need it the most and who are playing a pivotal role in our economic recovery.

We have about $200 million in loans already out to small business throughout Missouri and we still have another $520 million available. To find out more about the Missouri Linked Deposit Program, click here.

As always, thank you for your interest and feel free to contact me with any ideas, feedback, or questions at clint@clintformissouri.com or 314-645-0555.

Regards,

Clint Zweifel

Missouri State Treasurer

PS. Please click here to check out my new ad for MOST, Missouri’s 529 College Savings Plan.

For more information please visit Senator McCaskill’s website

News from

Senator Claire McCaskill

For Immediate Release

May 12, 2009

McCaskill Urges Stimulus Money for Transit Programs to Include Operational Needs

Stimulus change would help public transportation systems in Saint Louis and Kansas City address layoffs and cuts to services

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill put pressure on key members of Congress to change stimulus rules to help Missouri public transportation survive the recession:

*    The Problem: Stimulus funding designated for transit programs
can only be used for construction and capital improvements. As a result, in cases like Metro St. Louis and the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority, layoffs and cuts to services based on operational budget shortfalls are working against the intent of the economic recovery effort.

*    The Solution: McCaskill sent a letter today to Senate leaders
calling for a change that would allow American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding to support operations, in addition to paying for transit construction projects.  If this change was made, Kansas City and Saint Louis transit systems could use stimulus dollars to retain or rehire workers recently laid off or restore routes that have been cut.

In Kansas City and St. Louis, the transit agencies have faced declining tax revenues, forcing officials to make deep cuts in services.
Eliminating bus routes and services is a double hit on the local economies by forcing layoffs of transit employees and impacting the ability of citizens to travel to and from work.

Senator  McCaskill’s letter:

The Honorable Daniel K. Inouye
The Honorable Thad Cochran

Chairman
Vice Chairman

Committee on Appropriations
Committee on Appropriations

United States Senate
United States Senate

Dear Chairman Inouye and Vice Chairman Cochran:

I am writing to request that the Committee on Appropriations include a provision in the fiscal year 2009 wartime supplemental to help transit agencies prevent layoffs and service cuts and weather this recession.

Across the country, transit agencies are struggling to fund their transit needs as tax revenues decline. In my state of Missouri, transit agencies in Kansas City and St. Louis are having serious problems because of dwindling sales tax revenues.  The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority [KCATA] recently approved a service reduction on 25 of 66 routes.  Things are even worse in St. Louis, where Metro St.
Louis had to cut transit service drastically beginning March 30th.
Metro St. Louis eliminated 2,300 bus stops and laid-off over 550 employees who made a good wage and contribute to the community.

In addition to the immediate affect these cuts have to transit employees, local employers have expressed strong concerns about the impact service cuts have on their employees being able to get to work.
Cuts to transit service reverberate throughout the economy and will slow our recovery.

Therefore, I urge you to include language in the supplemental to allow transit agencies to use funding they are provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) for operations.  As you know, the ARRA included $8.4 billion in formula grants for public transit projects.  Given the layoffs and system cuts that are occurring throughout the country, Congress should allow these ARRA funds to also be used for operations, just as Congress has helped states meet their operations needs with stabilization funds.

I look forward to continuing to work with you on this issue and others to help our communities recover and grow.

Sincerely,

CLAIRE MCCASKILL

United States Senator

Representative Paul Levota, (D-52) The Missouri House Democratic Leader is in D.C. this week to Meet with President Obama and Treasury Secretary Geithner, as well as Transportation Secretary LaHood, and the Presidents  advisor on Health.  “As Missouri’s sole representative, I will express to the president the needs and challenges facing Missourians and the willingness of Democratic members of the General Assembly to assist the Obama Administration in ending the crisis,” LeVota said in a statement.

You can follow Representative LeVota’s adventures in D.C. here.

Like the rest of the Nation the people of Missouri are hurting.  Our neighbors are increasingly worried about the state of their own budgets, not too mention what is happening with the economy on a national and global level.  Alarming increases are happening in the state of Missouri.  Currently 1 in 6 are seeking federal food aid.  The number of our neighbors turning to the state for various forms of welfare grew again in January for the 7th straight month.  ( DSS)

Now is the time when members of the General Assembly should be working with Governor Nixon on turning around the economy of this state, instead they are grandstanding and debating whether or not to take the stimulus money set aside for Missouri  (about $4 billion). The current actions of the GOP remind me more recently of our retiring Senator Bond.  A man who has friends from both political parties who has spent almost his entire senate career securing federal dollars for special projects in Missouri.  That’s right, I am talking about that awful four letter word….p-o-r-k.  While the Republican administrations of both this state and our nation were running up our deficits with hidden budgetary items, Democrats from Jackson County, to Jefferson City and Washington all campaigned on the transparency of government.  The problem with the GOP on a national level is a lack of identity, and short memory loss.  Locally, we have a general assembly that does not seem to recognize the value of extending unemployment benefits to a mother whose just lost her job and having a hard time finding one. While the GA continues to debate the merit of the stimulus money may i remind you that regardless of whether all of those dollars are spent here or not, we will still have to pay for it. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, we have posted the highest unemployment in a decade.

We need to do whatever it takes to get out of this economic downturn.  Will you join with us in contacting your State Senator and your Representative and encourage them to work together to fix the economy in Missouri.  Times are tough, but by working together we can overcome any obstacle.  Yes we can.