Senate Republican Caucus Seeks Responsible Spending Measures to FY’14 State Budget

On the eve of the Massachusetts State Senate’s debate of a Senate Committee on Ways and Means budget proposal to Fiscal Year 2014 that had garnered over 700 amendments, the Senate Republican Caucus have filed several amendments that would put controls and cuts on taxes, raise revenue without raising taxes, and promote responsible spending measures and fiscal discipline.

Despite the laudable efforts of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means to level fund or reduce the funding for more than 300 line items, the overall cost of the budget now before us represents a 4.4% increase for Fiscal Year 2014 over the current year.  Given the uncertainty of the continuing economic recovery and the proposed $350 million withdrawal from the stabilization fund, we need to exhaust every option to save money, capture efficiencies, boost economic growth and generate revenue that doesn’t come from tax increases.

Unfortunately the committee’s budget proposal does not offer meaningful reforms to public subsidy and government welfare programs that are wracked with fraud and government waste.  Seeking to provide safeguards on such precious and needed programs, the Senate Republican Caucus offered several amendments aimed to achieve that goal.  Those amendments include:

•           Amendment #76 would allow the Attorney General to seek recovery of any previously issued public assistance benefits from a recipient convicted under state or federal law for the use of a weapon of mass destruction, with the recovered money going to benefit the victims of the acts of terror.

•           Amendment #549 would require all future EBT cards issued by the Department of Transitional Assistance to include the fraud detection phone number and web address.

•           Amendment #573 would authorize the Department of Transitional Assistance to terminate the benefits of recipients of welfare benefits if their mailing address becomes unknown.  The amendment would also prohibit the Department of Transitional Assistance to continue using numerical placeholders instead of valid social security numbers for a prolonged period of time.

•           Amendment #583 requires the nearly operational Integrated Eligibility System (IES) maintained by the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) to cross-check social security numbers of applicants from state and federal data sources and to track eligibility of public subsidies.

Our system of public assistance provides needed help to those in difficult economic circumstances, and we need to ensure that every dollar we allocate to that purpose gets to them, rather than being consumed by any waste, fraud or abuse.

Other amendments filed by the Senate Republican Caucus include cuts to the budget, jobs creation incentives, meaningful reforms to higher education funding, and revenue gains provided by online gaming.  Some of those proposals include:

•           Amendment #157 creates a job incentive tax credit eligible to companies that increase their net employment figures in the Commonwealth.

•           Amendment #143 would require certain government agencies, departments, and offices to reduce its spending by 1% for Fiscal Year 2014.

•           Amendment #330 would provide tuition and fee waivers for Massachusetts veterans and active duty service members who are permanent and legal residents of the Commonwealth.

•           Amendment #346 level funds several public university and state schools line items and places the FY14 budget proposal increases to be placed in a special fund to be distributed on merit based measures such as graduation rates, improved operation efficiencies, and increased academic successes.

•           Amendment #123 would create 4 online gaming licenses to be made available to the 3 fully licensed casinos and the single slot parlor, and tax online gaming revenue at a rate of 20%, placing Massachusetts in the forefront of an evolving industry.

The amendments filed by the Senate Republican Caucus are part of an initiative to make government more efficient.

If you would like to read the actual text of these amendments and the amendments filed by all the members of the Senate, please click here.

Senate GOP Caucus Calls for Audit of Patrick Administration’s Job-Counting Methodology

The Massachusetts Senate Republican Caucus is calling on State Auditor Suzanne Bump to conduct an audit of the Patrick Administration’s methodology for counting the number of jobs created in Massachusetts, following reports that the Administration has been inflating the official jobs figures for 2011 by nearly fourfold.

I joined with my Senate Republican colleagues in requesting the review in a letter that was hand-delivered to the Auditor’s office early yesterday. The request follows the disclosure by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics that Massachusetts employers added only 12,200 jobs in 2011, not the 40,700 jobs repeatedly claimed by the Patrick Administration.

“With the Commonwealth struggling to emerge from one of the most difficult recessions in our nation’s history, the need to focus on jobs creation has taken on added significance,” the Caucus wrote. “Being able to accurately gauge the number of jobs being created on a monthly and yearly basis is crucial to determining how effective the state’s regulatory and tax policies are, and for guiding the Legislature and the Administration in adjusting those policies in a way that will be most conducive to creating a more favorable business climate that will encourage job growth and put Massachusetts residents back to work.”

The Caucus letter goes on to note that, “unfortunately, the true picture of the state’s economic recovery has been clouded by what appears to be the Patrick Administration’s reliance on a faulty means of counting the number of jobs being added,” and asks Bump to look into “the accuracy and efficacy of the state’s current job-counting methodology.”

While the Patrick Administration has repeatedly claimed that Massachusetts is “leading the nation” in job growth, the Caucus notes in its letter that a new report recently issued by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce shows that isn’t the case. According to the Chamber, the state has been trailing the nation in job creation, posting a job growth rate of 0.4% between January of 2011 and January of 2012, well below the national rate of 1.5 % during that same time period.

The Caucus considers the latest job creation figures to be particularly relevant, coming on the heels of the Senate and House Republicans’ filing of a comprehensive and innovative legislative package designed to help create and maintain jobs. The jobs package focuses on five key areas identified as crucial to the state’s economic growth, including business regulations, education, energy, healthcare and taxes.

“We are committed to removing the many obstacles that have and continue to impede job creation in the Commonwealth, but to ensure that these efforts are successful, an accurate understanding of how many jobs are actually being created and maintained is essential,” the Caucus wrote to Bump. “An audit by your office will help us to achieve this worthy goal.”

A copy of the Caucus letter to Auditor Bump is attached below.


Senate GOP Job Figures Audit Request 2012.03.13

Statement on MA Jobs Creation

Posted below is a statement I released today concerning the state’s job growth rate, following the release of revised job figures for 2011 by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics and a report by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce that shows the state posted 0.4 % job growth from January of 2011-January of 2012, well below the national rate of 1.5 % during that same time period.

“The revised job figures released by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics are both a reality check and a call to arms that we can’t be complacent about the need to improve the business climate in Massachusetts. According to the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, and contrary to repeated statements from the Patrick Administration, Massachusetts has been trailing, rather than leading, the nation in job growth. Instead of creating 40,700 jobs in 2011, Massachusetts added just 12,200 jobs. Clearly, the numbers that have been touted by the Patrick Administration are wildly inaccurate, and this report is further proof that we need to get our feet back on the ground and start marching forward to improve the state’s business climate and create new jobs.

We need to act swiftly and decisively to remove the obstacles to creating and maintaining jobs in Massachusetts, and the information coming forward in the last 24 hours provides clear evidence of that need. The forthcoming jobs creation package from Senate and House Republicans should be a priority for the Legislature to consider and enact.”

The Chamber’s report can be viewed at www.bostonchamber.com.