CONGRESSWOMAN MARCIA FUDGE, MARCH 6, 2013 NEWSLETTER

U.S. CONGRESSWOMAN MARCIA FUDGE'S MARCH 6, 2013 NEWSLETTER FROM EMAIL:     DEAR FRIENDS,     I would like to take this opportunity to update you on two very important and timely issues confronting the 11th Congressional District and our nation. If you would like more information on these topics or any other federal issue or program, please call my district office at 216-522-4900, send me an email through the Contact Form on my website, http://www.fudge.house.gov/ or send a letter through the mail. The addresses for my district office in Warrensville Heights and in Washington are located at the bottom of this page.     Sincerely, Automatic Spending Cuts (Sequestration) At a recent meeting of SEIU Local 1199 in Cleveland, I answered questions about the impact of automatic budget cuts On Friday, March 1st, the federal government will begin to implement mandatory, across-the-board cuts to federal programs, known as sequestration. These cuts, totaling $85 billion, will harm Ohio families, our men and women in uniform and thwart efforts to grow our nation's economy. This is not the prescription to move our country forward. I fully support enacting a balanced approch of responsible cuts, increased revenues and growth with jobs. We must eliminate wasteful spending in the tax code that only serves the interests of Big Oil, big corporations and the wealthiest individuals. I have joined with my colleagues to call on the House Republican leadership to do what is right for our families, as well as the nation’s economy and security and take action this week on a balanced plan to avert these damaging and mindless spending cuts. Too much is at stake. With every passing day, the security of Ohio families, some of our most vulnerable citizens and the safety of our neighborhoods are in jeopardy.     I would like to emphasize that some programs are specifically exempt from sequestration. Benefits to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid recipients will not be reduced. Veterans benefits, Pell Grants, SNAP (food stamps) are also exempt. However thousands of other federal programs, including vital safety net programs and the Department of Defense will be mandated by law to make immediate and indiscriminate cuts. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office has projected that the spending cuts could reduce U.S. economic growth in half and result in the loss of more than 700,000 jobs in 2013. The Obama Administration has prepared a state-by-state summary of the impact of sequestration.    Please click here for a summary of the impact of automatic cuts in Ohio   Restore our Neighborhoods Act of 2013 Introduced   Last week, I was pleased to introduce the Restore Our Neighborhoods Act of 2013* with my Ohio colleagues, Representatives Marcy Kaptur and Dave Joyce. This bill would authorize up to $4 billion in new bond allocation for states to help fund demolition. The tax credit bonds, essentially interest-free loans to states, can then be issued directly by the states or states can allow land banks to issue them. Proceeds from the sale of the bonds would fund demolition. The legislation would also free up funds in the Hardest Hit Fund Program for demolition purposes. Of $570 million allocated to Ohio, $300 million currently remains unused.     Our communities are still reeling from the housing crisis and cannot fix this problem alone. Other homeowners continue to suffer the consequences of lower property values and blight in their neighborhoods. Cleveland alone has more than 9,000 vacant and abandoned homes in need of demolition. I will work hard for this legislation to pass. It will not increase the federal budget deficit and more importantly, we know enhanced resources for demolition can be a powerful tool to rebuild neighborhoods. In Flint, Michigan, the community invested $3.5 million in bonds and preserved $112 million in property value. It’s time to put that model to work for Ohio and the rest of the nation.   Constituent Mailbag     "I was fighting Social Security for 3 years to get back payments and you got it done in two weeks. Your staff was terrific. I was a victim of stolen identity and Social Security kept finding reasons to hold up benefits that were rightly mine. I was extremely delighted to get the $22,000 I was owed. Thank you!" Dan Cleveland

Contact Info Washington, DC Office 2344 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Phone: (202) 225-7032 Fax: (202) 225-1339 District Office 4834 Richmond Road, Suite 150 Warrensville Heights, OH 44128 Phone: (216) 522-4900 Fax: (216) 522-4908

RELATED:

*RESTORE OUR NEIGHBORHOODS ACT OF 2013
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BUDGET SEQUESTRATION + (FROM WHITE HOUSE)

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SEE ALSO: CBC LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA OVER LACK OF AFRICAN AMERICAN CABINET APPOINTMENTS

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PETITION: CONGRESSIONAL REFORM ACT OF 2012

FROM PETITIONS2CONGRESS

 

 

"Congressional Reform Act of 2012":

1. Term Limits.
12 years only, one of the possible options below:
A. Two Six-year Senate terms
B. Six Two-year House terms
C. One Six-year Senate term and three Two-Year House terms

2. No Tenure / No Pension.

A Congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office.

3. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security.

All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people.

4. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.

5. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.

6. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.

7. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.

8. All contracts with past and present Congressmen are void effective the day this is signed into law.

The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen. Congressmen made all these contracts for themselves.

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work.

 

 

SIGN THE PETITION IF YOU AGREE  (and then maybe Congress can come up with something the taxpayer and they can agree on)

 

 

 

 

All mayors should have term limits too, don't you think?

THE OWNERSHIP- MONEY CIRCULATION PRINCIPLE

For the last 20+ years, I've focused on ownership; and although there have been trials and tribulations along the way (and continue to be trials and tribulations), I still believe that ownership is key to a diverse/vibrant community/city where residents thrive.  With ownership comes/or should come pride and stability. 

As a New Progressive, I believe in the "Ownership-Money Circulation Principle" (OMCP). 

The principle holds true no matter where you live (with rare exceptions).  New Progressives, while embracing the OMCP, also believe in "Medicare for All" and "Social Security", and would never want to privatize either.  Even more awesome is residents having ownership in their own non-profit community hospital or non-profit clinic where every resident receives free services .

I'll be talking about the OMCP in the coming months.

Elaine Stone


Related:

5 Reasons Co-Ops Are So Awesome, by Jesse Donaldson


UPDATE MAY 2013:  BioCellars - Reviving Cleveland Neighborhoods: Mansfield Frazier at TEDxCLE 2013
 

MAPLE HEIGHTS LEADERSHIP NEEDS TO GO
 

Communities First Association Andy Batten (Plain Dealer article on Batten and Lighthouse Inc)


Pay special attention to question and answer segment:  Dr Joy De Gruy- Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome (19/19)  


Related articles regarding money circulation (something Maple Heights does not do and one reason why this city is in financial trouble):

Black buying power increases, but circulation of dollar within community remains low Nov 30, 2011

'Money is like blood – it needs to circulate for local economies to survive' Feb 20, 2013

Buying Local: How It Boosts the Economy June 11, 2009

Group Economics

Where you spend your money is important | Business Connections July 29, 2013

Black Wall Street

Durham's "Black Wall Street"

Taking Care of Business by Lee Jenkins

Why local money flows matter

New Study: Spending locally generates four times more economic benefit Sept 3, 2012

Know Your Worth: If We Don't Know, We Can't Grow Our Community Sept. 24, 2012