Thursday, March 7, 2013
Westford's member of Congress voted against H.R. 933, a continuing resolution championed by House Republicans to fund the government through Sept. 30.
Westford's member of the U.S. House of Representatives released strong words for against a bill appproved by the House recently that says will do damage to key government services. Congresswoman Niki Tsongas (D-Lowell) stated her disagreement with the Republican backed six month government funding bill known as H.R. 933, calling it "an explicit endorsement of the recent sequester," also stating that it would put lives at risk by not properly funding needed food safety inspection and air travel infrastructure. "I strongly urge my colleagues in the Senate to fix today's partisan bill and send us a resolution to fund the government that makes targeted cuts while protecting the programs that Americans depend on," said Tsongas. "And I urge my …
Monday, February 25, 2013
Do you wonder what the 'sequester' will mean for Massachusetts? A White House report gives examples of where federal aid would be cut.
Massachusetts would see more than $91 million in federal funds cut from a myriad of programs if Congress fails to act this week to avoid the sequester, the Obama Administration said Sunday. In a move designed to pressure Republicans into accepting new taxes on the wealthy as part of a deal to prevent the sequester from taking effect on Friday, the White House released reports that outlined how those cuts would impact individual states, The Huffington Post reported. Here are some examples of what's on the chopping block for us here in Massachusetts, according to the report: After the reports were released, congressional Republicans criticized the Obama administration for the PR move, The Huffington Post reported. “Rather than issuing last…
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Massachusetts is chock full of defense contractors, federal employees and federal program beneficiaries. Are you worried the U.S. budget sequester will hurt your family's finances?
The U.S. government has a week before its self-imposed sequestration deadline. If enacted, the across-the-board cuts to the federal budget could mean layoffs, decreased aid and lower government spending. That could mean trouble for some popular government programs, such as Social Security and Medicare. Defense contractors are also preparing for lost and reduced contracts with the government. Locally, it could also doom smaller programs that have a big impact. The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) helps families in need pay for home heating oil and other energy costs. Massachusetts stands to lose over $11 million in assistance under this one program alone. Representatives Ed Markey and Jim McGovern are trying to shield …
Charlie Kadlec
11:20 am on Friday, March 8, 2013
Ms. Tsongas is right about the "absurd way to govern" but somehow she neglected to fault the President who is more focused on campaigning against the Republicans than on doing anything constructive to solve the budget deficit. According to the Washington Post Ms. Tsongas votes the Democrat party line 99% of the time so her use of "partisan" as a pejorative is rather odd. Charlie Kadlec Acton more ›