skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Would Stimulus Injection Offset NY Budget Cuts?

play audio
Play

Friday, October 31, 2008   

New York, NY — "You helped Wall Street - now, how about the states?" That's essentially the message Governor David Paterson has delivered to Congress this week. He he testified before the powerful U.S. House Ways and Means Committee, recommending a stimulus package to help states meet their budget shortfalls.

Gwen O'Shea, president and CEO of the Health and Welfare Council of Long Island, agrees with Paterson. She believes New York has made all the budget cuts it can, including limiting many of the social programs that provide a safety net for families. She sees potential for a plan that would target states' infrastructure and health care needs, and would expand programs like the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, more commonly known as Food Stamps.

"People don't save Food Stamps - they use them. About 90 percent of Food Stamp recipients use the money the same month they receive it. So, if we increase those allotments, we address the issue of hunger, and also stimulate the local economy."

O'Shea points out that, for every dollar invested, Food Stamp use returns $1.73 to the economy. Paterson testified that there are also plenty of infrastructure programs waiting to begin, all of which could help boost the state's lagging economy. What they lack, he says, is federal funding.

"We would have 40 shovel-ready programs for improving highways and bridges. We would have another 58 programs ready to go in the area of water projects."

Paterson has suggested that the stimulus plan include an increase of at least 5 percent in the Federal Medical Assistance Program; and that new federal block grants be issued, much like the ones Congress enacted to help the economy after the attacks of September 11. Not all governors agree with his proposals, however - some say an additional major expenditure would drive the nation deeper into debt.




get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021