Federal funds to the tune of $1 billion could extend unemployment benefits to Florida's jobless -- but Republicans say there are too many strings attached.
I hope the people of Florida are furious indeed when they find out about this. From the Miami Herald...site is a little slow loading right now.
Florida might reject stimulus money for jobless Florida is on the verge of forfeiting more than $1 billion in federal stimulus funds that could help 250,000 Floridians whose unemployment benefits are running out.
The problem: The federal offer for aid comes at a price that many in the state Legislature are unwilling to pay. To receive the money, the state would have to pass a new law widening the pool of people receiving extended unemployment benefits. So far, no legislation has been introduced. The federal government would pick up most of the estimated $776 million cost of providing the extended benefits through December 2009.
But since state agencies and local governments account for about 6 percent of benefit costs, they would be on the hook to pay about $71 million between now and June 30, 2010. Moreover, the federal stimulus only runs through the end of the year. After that, the burden would shift to Florida to pay for the program. That tab could be about $200 million for the second half of the 2009-2010 fiscal year, according to an estimate from the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation, which oversees unemployment benefits.
...."On Monday, the House leadership sent an e-mail to members telling them how to respond if constituents are upset that the state would turn down more than $1 billion in aid. The e-mail said taking the money now would mean a hardship later for Florida companies that pay into the state's unemployment insurance fund.
''These higher costs on businesses that will directly pay the increased taxes, will force companies to layoff workers, potentially causing more Floridians to lose their jobs,'' the e-mail read. ``As you can see, utilizing the federal money for unemployment compensation is not a silver bullet.''
Sending out letters to tell them how to respond to the outrage from the public. Sounds like they know their ideological purity will carry a price.
Teachers and parents are already up in arms about the fact that Florida may not qualify for the stimulus education money. There's a requirement in the stimulus that education be funded at 2006 levels. Florida's support has dropped to pre-2004 levels.
They must have a waiver from the federal government.
Decision on stimulus money for Florida schools expected soonWASHINGTON — Florida will learn within the next couple of weeks whether the federal government will release billions of stimulus dollars for the state’s public schools, Education Secretary Arne Duncan said Thursday.
Florida is ineligible for the money because its education funding has declined since 2006. The state and others in its position plan to ask the Education Department to waive that eligibility requirement so it can tap into the stimulus account. Florida stands to receive about $2.7 billion if it gets the waiver. Of that amount, 82 percent, or $2.2 billion, must go toward public education, and the state would have flexibility on how to use the remainder.
“I’ve spent a lot of time with the governor of Florida and the state school chief” on the issue, Duncan said during a newsmaker session in the Washington Bureau of Gannett and USA Today. “The state is working very hard at submitting stuff to us, and we look forward to giving them a response soon.”
Duncan said he understands that the economy and revenue drops have forced many states to slash education budgets.
“What we’re looking for them to show is, if they’re not at 2006 levels, this idea of proportionality, that education isn’t being cut more than other things. That stimulus money is being used as a shell game for something else,” he said.
Dear Mr. Duncan, have you heard about those 42,000 students attending
private schools with public tax money?Many of them attend private religious schools, and so far no accountability testing is required. A bill has been put forth to require testing, but has not passed yet last I heard.
More than two years ago, the state stopped giving tuition vouchers to students who wanted to leave failing public schools for private school. Since then, Florida's other two programs that pay private-school tuition for disabled kids or poor children have grown by 21 percent and 65 percent respectively. Today, 42,000 Florida students attend private school on the public's dime. And a new study touting voucher benefits could trigger more expansion.
Today I read the figure was 43,000.
Charlie Crist and the Republicans in the legislature
have known for a while that Florida would not qualifyFrom February...like that SC governor who wants to use the stimulus to fix the state deficits...that was the thinking here then.
Florida officials want to use some of the federal money to help fill holes punched in the state budget by a sagging economy, but legislative leaders say they still expect more spending cuts no matter how many stimulus dollars the state gets.
Details of Wednesday's deal remained unclear Thursday, including whether Florida might lose education stimulus funds under a provision that requires states to spend at least as much of their own money on public schools this year as they did in 2006. State officials hope U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan will be able to waive that requirement on a case-by-case basis.
I hope the people of Florida hold their feet to the fire on these issues involving the stimulus.
Our Democrats are apparently adopting the policy of letting them fix the mess they got us in, and they have no power here anyway.
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