Two SEIU local leaders have published letters to the editor in major papers in their communities, calling for the passage of a strong jobs bill and preserving FMAP funding.
First, Gary Smith, president of State Employees' Association of New Hampshire, SEIU Local 1984, has a letter published in the Concord Monitor:
A minority of the U.S. Senate - led by Sen. Judd Gregg - has again blocked critical legislation that would help thousands of New Hampshire families who have been impacted by job loss. The bill would extend critical unemployment benefits to the long-term unemployed and increase support of the Federal Medical Assistance Percentages program in New Hampshire by an additional $48 million - which state legislators are counting on.
If Congress doesn't act, New Hampshire will have to cut crucial state services, and the state's job loss will increase. There are approximately 50,000 workers in New Hampshire without jobs and tens of thousands more who are underemployed.
Gregg must step up and reverse this trend by voting to pass the jobs bill.
The only way to lower the federal deficit in the long run is to grow our economy. The smartest way to grow our economy is to create jobs - good jobs with good wages and benefits.
Gregg claims he is worried about the impact that the jobs bill will have on the federal deficit. But Gregg's concerns are hollow. The two rounds of tax cuts Gregg supported in 2001 and 2003 are the single largest contributing factor to the deficit, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Those tax cuts were supposed to have triggered economic growth; instead, they vastly increased the deficit. By 2019 more than half the federal deficit will be attributable to the 2001/2003 tax cuts.
New Hampshire citizens need the Senate to step up and pass the jobs bill. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen supports this important legislation. Gregg needs to support it, too.
GARY E. SMITH
Concord
In California, SEIU Local 521 Region 1 Vice President Muriel Frederick has a letter to the editor published in the San Jose Mercury News:
With our state and local governments still reeling from the depressed revenues caused by Wall Street, the last thing we need is for the federal government to stop making payments to the states.
Yet that may happen if the Federal Medical Assistance Program, which was wisely increased in the stimulus package last year, is not extended.
In California, FMAP means $2.5 billion. Without it, states will have to slash jobs to try to balance their budget. The jobs in danger include those who provide child welfare services; help the elderly and disabled; and treat victims of domestic abuse. Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer should keep fighting for this essential funding that will help California get back on its feet.
Muriel E. Frederick
Hollister
