(D-Maine)
Although I ultimately voted for its final passage given the severity of our nation’s economic crisis, I repeatedly expressed my reservations about some of the provisions in the economic stimulus package passed by Congress last month. Now that it has become law however, I believe it’s important to let Mainers know what is in it and how it can benefit them.
I have received calls from Mainers wondering, for example, when the one-time $250 payment will be distributed to certain Social Security recipients and disabled veterans. Some people have wanted to know more about the refundable first time home buyer tax credit and the sales tax deduction for vehicle purchases.
Knowing that there are likely many other Mainers who have similar questions, I prepared two resource guides and made them available on my website (www.michaud.house.gov) to help Mainers make heads or tails of the investments made in the bill. They can be viewed online, downloaded, and printed as needed. My website also contains links to how the stimulus funding is being spent nationwide as well as what the State of Maine is doing with its share of the funding. The full legislative text of the stimulus package is also available for download.
One resource guide, titled “Help for Individuals, Families and Small Businesses,” was created in order to help provide information to Mainers and small businesses on tax provisions (cuts and credits) and benefits available to them. The report details a number of things, including information on health care available to those who lose their job, the extension and increase in unemployment benefits, tax credits for energy efficiency improvements to homes, tax cuts for small businesses, and the tax credits available to 95% of all American workers. These provisions, including answers to the questions posed to me by Mainers like the ones above, can be found in the report.
The other resource guide, titled “Information on Programs and Grants for States and Communities,” provides information on programs and funding that have been made available to help Maine communities. For example, the report contains links and more information on programs that provide funding for broadband infrastructure, transportation, school improvements, and health care projects. In some cases, the funding goes directly to states for distribution through a formula. In other cases, organizations and communities can apply directly with the federal agency for the funds through the standard federal grants process. For example, the Penobscot Community Health Center was recently awarded nearly $1.3 million to expand health care services to Maine residents, one of the first projects in Maine to receive notification of funding.
The road to recovery may be a long one. The stimulus package was not a silver bullet, but it should create jobs and help slow the slide our economy is currently experiencing. We must fight to preserve the jobs that we have, while we seek out new opportunities to put Mainers to work. The stimulus package is a first step, but so much more remains to be done as we work together in a bi-partisan way to move our nation forward.
I strongly encourage any Mainer who has questions or needs help with any of the information contained in these reports to call my office for assistance. My office will be working with federal agencies to update these resource guides as further information on each of the programs and how they can be accessed becomes available.
