[Tn-talk] Fw: STIMULUS UPDATE

[Joe Shaw]

Great job everyone!
Off to C.C.
JS
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Catriona Macdonald" <Cmacdonald at linchpinstrategies.com>
To: "Catriona Macdonald" <Cmacdonald at linchpinstrategies.com>
Sent: Sunday, February 08, 2009 6:20 AM
Subject: STIMULUS UPDATE


> There's great news... and worrying news.
> 
> Let's start with the great news - thanks to the hard work of the VR  
> community and its allies, the cuts to the VR state grants that were  
> proposed to be included in the Nelson-Collins Amendment were dropped.   
> That means that on Monday, when the Nelson-Collins amendment is  
> introduced, debated and voted on, and most likely passed, the $500  
> million increase to VR will remain intact.  Absent something very  
> unexpected, that $500 million increase will then be in the House and  
> Senate-passed legislation.  That is fabulous news!  Thank you to all  
> of you who made phone calls, emailed your Senators, forwarded alert  
> emails, sent out alerts to your own organization's membership, and  
> encouraged your friends to call and email.
> 
> So what comes next?
> 
> When the Senate passes its economic recovery legislation, it will  
> probably be in the neighborhood of $800 billion.  The House's bill is  
> about $800 billion, too.  But within those totals, there are hundreds  
> of billions of dollars of differences between the two pieces of  
> legislation that will have to be reconciled.  One bill fixes the  
> Alternative Minimum Tax problem for this year. The other doesn't.  One  
> bill gives a $15,000 tax credit to new home buyers.  The other  
> doesn't.  One bill gives a tax credit to people who buy American-built  
> cars.  The other doesn't.  The tax policy differences, combined, add  
> up to close to $100 billion.  (There are many other funding  
> differences, too - those are just examples!)  There will be a lot of  
> pressure to maintain all the tax cuts in both bills.  There will also  
> be a lot of pressure to keep the overall package around $800 billion.   
> The only way to do both is - you guessed it - reduce funding for other  
> programs funded in the stimulus legislation.
> 
> Technically, under the rules, any item that is the same in both the  
> Senate and House-passed legislation (like the $500 million for VR)  
> isn't supposed to be able to be changed in conference.  In reality,  
> the rules often go out the window when you're conferencing high  
> profile, critical legislation like this.  There's still a possibility  
> of an across-the-board cut that would reduce all non-tax related  
> programs by 5 or 10% in order to fund the tax cuts.  Or individual  
> programs could be put back on the chopping block.
> 
> So if you haven't contacted your Senators and Representatives, it's  
> not too late.  Decisions will be made this week about how to put the  
> final stimulus legislation together.  Since the phone lines are tied  
> up, it may be easier to email your Senators and Representatives from  
> their websites than to call.  Or phone the district office; the phone  
> number will be on the website.  You can find their websites at:
> www.Senate.gov
> www.House.gov
> 
> The message we want to send, via phone or email, is:  "Please make  
> sure the $500 million for state VR grants is preserved in the final  
> economic recovery legislation."
> 
> Thank you again for all you do to advocate for people with disabilities.
> 
> 
> 
> Catriona Macdonald
> President
> Linchpin Strategies, LLC
> 
> 700 12th St. NW, Suite 700
> Washington, DC 20005
> 866-443-0998 MAIN
> 202-345-3334 MOBILE
> 202-478-2086 FAX
> CMacdonald at LinchpinStrategies.com
> 
> 
>