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Wednesday, 01 October 2008 |
· CONGRESSIONAL EMERGENCY ACTIONS
· NYSACRA MEETS WITH GOVERNOR'S OFFICE
· SELF-ADVOCACY ASSOCIATION OF NEW YORK STATE
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NYSACRA News & Views
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Issue No. 44-08
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September 29, 2008
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Open Your Eyes! Watch it Now!
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NYSACRA Calendar
Executive Positions
Action Center
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Greetings NYSACRA Members!
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· CONGRESSIONAL EMERGENCY ACTIONS
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Roaring through the U.S. House and Senate are various all-encompassing and far reaching bill proposals that are often confusing and difficult to sort out. As of noon today, this is where we stand. Currently:
- The US House has passed a bill, H.R. 7110, which is a Stimulus Package with an increased FMAP and extended unemployment benefits; but this bill has stalled in the US Senate. The Senate voted 52 to 42 for a motion to consider its version of the stimulus bill, S.3604, which would cost $56 billion; however, they needed 60 votes. To add to this, President Bush has threatened to veto this bill, as it contains many spending proposals that "would simply increase government spending, including self-perpetuating entitlement spending, by tens of billions of dollars."
- The US House has rejected, in a 205-228 vote, a bi-partisan bill (H.R. 3997), to provide $700 billion to bailout the financial services industry and provide other economic incentives; the US Senate has not yet voted on this bill. The bill received strong support from the New York delegation, which voted 25 to 4 in favor.
- The House also passed a separate bill, by a vote of 257 to 166, providing tax breaks to encourage the development and use of renewable energy sources like wind and solar power. The Senate had included similar incentives in a different omnibus bill that would also make other changes in the tax code; these changes were not passed by the House.
The Senate Leadership announced they will be reconvening Wednesday after the Rosh Hashanah holiday, after working through the weekend. The House has not announced its plans. NYSACRA will keep you advised as these bills progress over the next week. It is not expected that either the House or Senate will be in Washington beyond this Friday, October 3rd, as this is an Election year for all House members and one-third of the Senate.
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· NYSACRA MEETS WITH GOVERNOR'S OFFICE
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NYSACRA joined its sister associations in a meeting with Governor Paterson's staff to talk about the upcoming NYS Budget. We are all concerned about the prospect of diminished budget allocations negatively affecting individuals with disabilities, either directly, or through reductions to the DSP workforce which serves them. NYSACRA sent a letter to the Governor outlining our concerns and suggesting some alternatives, such as revenue enhancements. OMR has successfully implemented a Health Care Enhancement, which assisted our DSPs in their struggle to afford health care. This is coupled with the fact that the House just passed and Senate has committed to a bi-partisan effort to increase the FMAP, and should mean that disability services will not suffer. Please Click Here for a PDF copy or the NYSACRA website, www.nysacra.org for a copy of the letter. |
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· SELF-ADVOCACY ASSOCIATION OF NEW YORK STATE
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The Self-Advocacy Association of NYS is holding their 2008 Statewide Conference, "No Tricks, Just Treats: Our Lives, Our Decisions," from October 30 to November 1. It is once again being held at the Albany Marriott Hotel. The Association is offering advertising space in its 2008 Souvenir Brochure as means of supporting both their conference and their efforts. Information on page size and rates can be found by accessing their website at www.sanys.org. |
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