ProgressOhio

"To help build a new foundation for the 21st century, we need to reform our government so that it is more efficient, more transparent, and more creative. That will demand new thinking and a new sense of responsibility for every dollar that is spent."

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WASHINGTON – Today, President Barack Obama met with a family struggling to afford the cost of college and underscored his commitment to cutting wasteful spending on federal student loans by ending taxpayer subsidies to banks.  President Obama discussed the strain that rising tuition costs are placing on middle class families and his proposal to end the private Federal Family Education Loans program that lines the pockets of the banks who serve as middlemen while costing the American people $5 billion a year.  The President would use the savings from cutting out the middleman to help provide Ohio students with more than $4.4 billion more in Pell Grants over the next decade.

“The banks and lenders who have reaped a windfall from these subsidies have mobilized an army of lobbyists to try and keep things the way they are,” President Obama said.  “They are gearing up for a battle. And so am I. They will fight for their special interests. I will fight for America’s students, and their families.”

Below is information on President Obama’s proposal.

Reforming Student Loans to Make College Affordable

“We will provide the support necessary for you to complete college and meet a new goal:  by 2020, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.”  

-- President Barack Obama, February 24, 2009

America’s future economic strength depends on the quality of our education. Countries that out-teach us today will out-compete us tomorrow. America once had one of the most educated workforces in the world, but it has now slipped to the middle of the pack. Only 38 percent of young workers have a college degree, a lower percentage than nine other countries and no higher than a generation ago. At the same time, we do not provide enough financial aid, partly because the student loan program spends $5 billion more than necessary subsidizing banks and other lenders to make student loans.

Today, President Obama met with a family struggling to afford the cost of college and released a new analysis of the impact of his plans to increase student aid. He will take on the special interests to eliminate wasteful and unreliable guaranteed student loans and invest more in helping students succeed in college and complete their degree. And he will make a historic investment in college affordability: together, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and the President’s Budget provide about $200 billion in Pell Grant scholarships and tax credits over the next decade.

·         Reforming Student Loans: The guaranteed student loan program pays banks and other lenders a guaranteed rate of return and reimburses them for defaults, giving them large profits set by the political process rather than won in a competitive marketplace. The Obama-Biden Administration will expand the alternative Direct Loan program, which is administered by private sector companies selected through a competitive process and paid based upon performance. Direct loans have essentially the same terms for students and are more reliable and efficient. They will save $48 billion over the next decade according to the Office of Management and Budget, which will be reinvested in Pell Grant scholarships for students.

·         Restoring Pell Grants to a Strong Foundation for Student Aid: The value of Pell Grants have fallen from 77 percent of the cost of attending a public university to 33 percent over the past three decades. The ARRA invested $17 billion, making it possible to increase Pell by $619 for 7 million students. But these funding increases are only temporary, and without additional resources the value of the maximum Pell Grant will fall by $1,400 in 2011. President Obama is committed to a strong, reliable Pell Grant program. He will make Pell an entitlement, provide $116 billion over the next decade to prevent any drop in the size of Pell Grants, ensure that they continues to grow faster than inflation, and eliminate the frequent budget shortfalls that have plagued the program.

·         Cut Taxes on College Tuition: The ARRA created the American Opportunity Tax Credit, which will give millions of families up to $2,500 each to help pay for college. The credit was also expanded to help families too poor to owe income taxes. But the credit expires at the end of 2010. The President’s Budget would make it permanent.

Newspaper editors ought to be embarrassed. They’ve been had.

For all the rhetoric and angst of Mary Taylor, it’s phony.

For all the posturing of Bill Batchelder and his right-wing House gang, it’s phony.

Statehouse politics has degenerated into an elementary school playground fight where becoming “king of the hill” is all about bullying a kid to say “uncle” – or in this case the dreaded “T” word – shhhhh.

Last Friday, Mary Taylor, CPA and forensic auditor gumshoe, revealed to the world that the Ohio budget in 2011 and 2012 would be – ahem drum roll please – up to $8 billion in the red. Note that this has nothing to do with this budget – that’s because Congress and President Obama passed stimulus funds knowing how devastating the recession is to Ohio’s economy.

So how did we not know a deficit so large – ahh but wait – we did back in December. In fact, this whole process started with Pari Sabety the Governor’s OBM Director saying virtually the same thing?

Yep. There it is – December 1, 2008 in the Columbus Dispatch: “Ohio facing $7 Billion shortfall next budget.” The story goes on to say that Sabety and Governor Ted Strickland are concerned that without stimulus from the federal government there will be at least a $7.3 billion deficit and if the economy did not improve another $600 million this year was at risk. Hmm, $7.3b plus $600m is… $7.9b. Pretty darn close to Taylor.

So let’s get this straight, Sabety, under fire for her forecasting, said there was a possibility of a $7.9 billion deficit in December. The Obama Administration delivers $8 billion of help. And Taylor suddenly discovers that the next budget there will be an $8 billion hole, about 1% more than Sabety’s forecast.

And this is news?

Only if you’re engaged in playground politics and your one goal is one thing and one thing only: to make Ted Strickland say the horror of all horrors, the dreaded “T” word. Public policy be damned.

Not to be outdone are Bill Batchelder and his Ohio House caucus. Purveyors of right-wing rhetoric like: "It has been apparent from the start that the use of one-time funds would take this state down a fearsome path. You cannot spend more than you take in and expect to have a balanced budget in two years when the federal funds are gone."

Using Batchelder’s logic, Ohio must be miles down that fearsome path since in 2002, 2003 and 2005, when Republicans were in sole control, they used one-time funds (like a temporary sales tax) and/or stimulus funds. Batch never mentioned that this budget, the one he is in loyal opposition to, is balanced thanks to the stimulus plan. It’s the next budget Batch is obfuscating about.

So just how dedicated are Batchelder and his caucus to balanced budgets? Shadows asked for a record request of Ohio House GOP earmark requests in this year’s budget. We found – drum roll, please – $1.8 billion dollars in spending additions. Apparently, the only thing the House GOP has to fear is themselves!

Mayor Michael B. Coleman, Columbus City Council, City Auditor Hugh J. Dorrian and City Attorney Richard C. Pfeiffer today announced a comprehensive plan of government reforms and efficiencies that is expected to save the City of Columbus between $100 million and $150 million over the next decade. The plan includes new approaches to employee benefits, public safety reforms and strategic partnerships.
 
“These proposals demonstrate we committed to renewing our city government and making it work more efficiently,” Mayor Coleman said. “Many of these reforms will take time, but we will accomplish them.”
 
The reform proposals unveiled today are part of a three-part plan that includes creating jobs and raising new revenue, to shore up the city’s long-term economic future. They are the result of the recommendations of the Economic Advisory Committee, an independent panel appointed last year by Coleman, City Council and Dorrian to study the city’s long-term finances.
 
“Having already taken measures to significantly reduce expenditures, we are forced to re-examine how City government is run as revenues continue to decline,” said President Mentel.  “We are committed to a realistic plan that will be phased in over time, and the City will be in a better long-term financial position due to the decisions we are making today.”
 
Mayor Coleman said the public can hold the city accountable each year when Columbus produces a report of its progress on these efforts.

Read The Reform Plan Here

See The Powerpoint Presentation

The Ohio House has heard your voice.

Prompted by last month's Shadows on High and the hundreds of you that signed our petition, the new proposed state budget will restore $750,000 a year in funding to the cash-strapped Ohio Historical Society. Charged with keeping Ohio's archives and overseeing dozens of historical sites around the state, the Historical Society has lost over half of its employees in the past decade. 

Additionally, the budget proposed by House Democrats would add a check-off box on state income tax returns, allowing people to donate part of their return to preservation of Ohio's history.

This is a big win for everyone who showed their support, so thanks!

 Photo of the Ohio Historical Society courtesy of TimPerdue.

COLUMBUS – Speaker Armond Budish (D-Beachwood) and Ohio House leaders today presented Substitute House Bill 1, the State Operating Budget.

“This plan will help move Ohio’s economy forward without leaving struggling Ohioans further behind,” said Speaker Budish. “It will create jobs and position Ohio for economic success. It will invest in education and keep college tuition affordable. And it will protect those who have been hardest hit by the economic storm that has been building for the last decade.”

House leaders acknowledged that the current unprecedented economic situation makes this a strained budget.  Declining revenues and rising costs make key public investments difficult. However, they also believe that the challenges of getting Ohio back on track are too great to avoid making tough decisions.

“Substitute House Bill 1 will realign Ohio’s investments with our priorities,” said Rep. Vernon Sykes (D-Akron, Chairman of the House Finance and Appropriations Committee. “It will also leverage federal resources to deliver a balanced and responsible budget during a time of economic crisis. It will do so by cutting government waste, while preventing deep service cuts at a dangerous time for many Ohioans.”

The budget addresses several key priorities:

Creating Jobs and Moving Ohio Forward

• Invests $5 million per year for job training in emerging fields such as biotechnology and biosciences

• Creates jobs and supports small business, making credit accessible to start up companies, by a $100 million expansion of the Ohio Venture Capital Authority

• Supports targeted grants and tax credits that will attract new business to Ohio, including the New Markets Tax Credit, Sporting Event Tax Credit (to lure major events to Ohio) and the Film Tax Credit

• Creates the largest business plan competition for college students in the country, to foster creative new business startups in Ohio

• Expedites the process of new business filings

Strengthen Ohio’s Comprehensive Education Reform Plan

• Replaces Ohio’s broken school funding system with one based on key elements of a quality education such as smaller classes, better teachers and more learning time for students

• Reduces reliance on local property taxes

• Directs resources to students with the greatest educational challenges

Maintaining Ohio’s Commitment to Excellence in Higher Education

• Increases access and affordability for higher education by freezing public college tuition at current levels for FY10 and community college and branch campus tuitions at current levels in FY11. Caps tuition increases for four-year institutions at 3.5% in FY11

• Fosters economic development and job training by supporting programs to help retain graduates and fostering greater partnerships between education centers and the business community    

Protecting Vital Services in a Tough Economy

• Leverages federal resources to avoid severe disruptions to patient care at hospitals and nursing homes. Reduces the impact of a new assessment on hospitals by leveraging Medicaid dollars to save them $290 million over the introduced budget, and increases funding to nursing facilities by realigning current state funding in order to draw down additional federal funds

• Avoids greater cuts to children’s services and community programs such as food banks, workforce development and health care centers

Sub HB 1 will undergo hearings this week before the House Finance and Appropriations.

A vote by the full Ohio House is tentatively scheduled for next week.  

You can find a detailed look at the bill by clicking on this link:

http://www.ohr.state.oh.us/pressrelease/OhioOperatingBudgetHighlights.pdf

The bill can be seen here:

http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/BillText128/128_HB_1_PHC_N.html

With the process of going through the budget line by line in full swing, the President uses his Weekly Address to give some examples, big and small, of how the Administration is working to cut costs and eliminate waste. The President also announces two new key appointments, Jeffrey Zients as Chief Performance Officer and Aneesh Chopra as Chief Technology Officer, who will be invaluable in streamlining the way government functions through efficiency and innovation.

Jeffrey D. Zients - Chief Performance Officer
Zients has twenty years of business experience as a CEO, management consultant and entrepreneur with a deep understanding of business strategy, process reengineering and financial management. He served as CEO and Chairman of the Advisory Board Company and Chairman of the Corporate Executive Board. These firms are leading providers of performance benchmarks and best practices across a wide range of industries.  Currently, he is the Founder and Managing Partner of Portfolio Logic, an investment firm focused primarily on business and healthcare service companies.

Full Transcript Below:

The US Senate and House of Representatives passed separate versions of a massive budget signalling broad support for President Barack Obama's climate change and healthcare overhaul ambitions.

On a long day and night, the House was first to vote, and approved its version of the budget on a 233-196 roll call that fell largely along party lines. It calls for spending of $3.6 trillion for the budget year that begins Oct. 1, and includes a deficit of $1.2 trillion.

The Senate acted a few hours later, with Vice President Joe Biden presiding. The vote was 55-43 for a slightly different blueprint that calls for spending $3.5 trillion and forecasts a deficit of $1.2 trillion.

Both deficit forecasts are exceedingly high by historical standards. But they would represent an improvement over this year's projected total of $1.8 trillion, swollen by spending and tax cuts designed to rejuvenate the economy as well as steps to bail out the financial industry.

To reduce the red ink, Democrats pared Obama's proposed spending, ignored his call for another $250 billion in bailout money for the financial industry and assumed that his signature tax cuts of $400 for individuals and $800 for couples would expire in 2011.

The House budget drew opposition from 20 Democrats as well as all 176 Republicans who voted.

In the Senate, only two Democrats voted against the plan, along with all 41 Republicans.

The budget plans do not require Obama's signature, but the House and Senate will have to reconcile the two versions before they can move onto the next phase of the presidential agenda.