Buses in Michigan get 'mini-hybrid' boost
Michigan will receive a $363,609 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to make transit buses across the state more fuel-efficient.
The grants were announced this week by Sens. Carl Levin, D-Detroit, and Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing.
The Michigan Department of Transportation will use the money from the federal stimulus act to equip buses with "mini-hybrid" components. The components will replace parts of a diesel-powered bus's powertrain with electric components that have been shown to improve fuel efficiency by more than 10 percent, according to a statement from Levin's office.
"This grant will help manufacturers by increasing demand for their goods, help transit agencies reduce their fuel costs, and help our environment by reducing harmful emissions," Levin said.
Added Stabenow: "We are protecting our future by making our public transportation fleet more environmentally friendly."
President names Metro Detroiter to arts committee
President Barack Obama has appointed a Metro Detroit arts supporter to the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities.
Madeleine Harris Berman, a member of the Boards of Directors of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Michigan Opera Theater and the Detroit Zoological Institute, was appointed Monday.
Harris Berman serves on the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of Americans for the Arts and previously served on the President's Committee of the Arts and Humanities in 1994.
Harris Berman will be one of 26 members from the private sector and 12 members from federal agencies with cultural programs who will serve on the committee. First Lady Michelle Obama is the panel's honorary chairwoman.
Senate could pass its jobless benefits bill tonight
The Senate could pass its extension of unemployment benefits as early as tonight.
The Senate is expected to take up the issue again at 4 this afternoon, and then vote on whether to end debate and proceed to a vote on the bill. That vote is expected to get at least the 60-vote margin necessary to end debate. If so, it's possible, senators may agree to immediately proceed to passing the measure.
But, because the Senate and House bills differ, conferees will have to be appointed to come up with a compromise bill. That bill would have to pass both chambers, then go to President Barack Obama, who has signaled he'll sign it.
As of Oct. 16, 44,484 Michiganians had cashed their last unemployment check. Between Oct. 16 and Jan. 8, another 54,305 will exhaust their benefits unless Congress expands the program.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm's Washington office says if all that were completed this week -- a high hurdle -- the Unemployment Insurance Agency would be able to begin payments to those who've exhausted their benefits by mid-December.
The Senate will consider extending jobless benefits by 14 weeks for all states, plus six additional weeks for Michigan and other hard-hit states. The House-passed bill extends 13 weeks of additional benefits to states with unemployment rates of 8.5 percent or more. Michigan's rate is 15.3 percent --the highest in the nation.
White House says 22,514 stimulus jobs created in Michigan
The Obama administration said today that 22,514 direct jobs have been created so far in Michigan out of the $787 billion stimulus package.
But Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Holland, criticized the announcement. "You have to looked at what's happened to the economy overall since the stimulus bill was enacted, and things have gotten steadily worse," Hoekstra said. "Michigan's economy has deteriorated. Sure you can throw some money around, but look at the big picture of the economy. We've saddled our kids with $800 billion in debt and all we have is an economy that has deteriorated."
Rep. Schauer comes out in favor of health care bill
Rep. Mark Schauer, D-Battle Creek, said today he'll support the newly unveiled Democratic health care bill.
"This is the plan we need to fix our broken health care system and get our economy back on track by reducing the federal deficit by $30 billion over the next decade," said Schauer, a freshman.
"After talking to small business owners, workers, doctors and seniors, it's clear to me that our current health care system is broken. Health costs for small businesses have skyrocketed 129 percent since 2000, and if we don't act now, health care costs for average Michigan families will continue to increase by $1,800 each year for the next 10 years."
The state's other freshman, Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Hills, hasn't said whether he'll back the bill.
House-Senate conferees agree to $475 million for Great Lakes
House-Senate conferees today approved an Interior appropriations bill that includes $475 million for Great Lakes restoration.
The conferees chose to go with the full $475 million passed by the House and favored by President Barack Obama over the $400 million that had been passed by the Senate.
The House could take up the final bill later this week, followed by the Senate next week.
Senate votes 87-13 to proceed on jobless benefits extension
The Senate voted overwhelmingly to move ahead on considering extending jobless benefits. Michigan Sens. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, and Carl Levin, D-Detroit, voted to move ahead on the legislation.
But the final vote may not take place until late this week or next week because of the complicated "cloture" proceedure Senate Democrats needed to use to get debate started.
The Senate will consider extending jobless benefits by 14 weeks for all states, plus six additional weeks for Michigan and other hard-hit states.
The Senate is expected to pass the bill. Then a House-Senate conference will be needed to reconcile the differences with the House bill. President Barack Obama supports the additional benefits.
As of Oct. 16, 44,484 Michiganians had cashed their last unemployment check. Between Oct. 16 and Jan. 8, another 54,305 will exhaust their benefits unless Congress lengthens the program.
Michigan's jobless rate is 15.3 percent -- the highest in the country.
Reps. Peters, McCotter moving up ....
Reps. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Hills, and Thad McCotter, R-Livonia, are moving up ... in the ratings of CQ Politics.
Peters, a freshman who knocked off veteran Republican Joe Knollenberg for Michigan's 9th Congressional District, moved up in the publication's ratings, with the district going from "lean" to "likely" Democrat.
The same ratings boost went to Thad McCotter, who won his fourth term last November with an unimpressive 51 percent to 45 percent victory against a little-known Democratic challenger. The rating for his 11th Congressional District seat went from "leans" to "likely" Republican.
Here's what CQ Politics said about why it moved Peters up:
"The GOP is hoping to return the mainly affluent suburban district to its traditional Republican tilt in 2010, but have gotten a slow start: Peters has raised nearly 10 times the amount reported by Republican challenger Paul Welday, a former Knollenberg aide.
"And the Democratic freshman's cash on hand advantage is equally impressive. As of Sept. 30, he was sitting on $1.1 million, compared with $137,000 for Welday and $17,000 for Andrew Raczkowski, a former state representative and military veteran who is also considering running in the GOP primary after he was drubbed as the sacrificial challenger to entrenched Democratic Sen. Carl Levin in 2002."
As for McCotter, CQ Politics notes: "McCotter, the current chairmen of the House Republican Policy Committee, was not a top-tier target of the Democrats in his 2006 and 2008 elections. But his victory margins over vastly underfunded opponents in those contests were underwhelming, grabbing the attentions of Democratic campaign strategists.
"Democrats, however, have not been able to recruit a top-flight challenger for 2010, as state House Speaker Andy Dillon and state Sen. Glenn Anderson have ruled out runs. The only declared Democratic candidate is Natalie Mosher, a former art teacher and civic leader from Canton, who raised just $93,000 to McCotter's $632,000 through the third quarter of 2009."
Senate may start on extra jobless benefits Tuesday
Senate Democrats and Republicans are still wrestling over bringing up a bill to extend jobless benefits by 14 weeks for all states, plus six additional weeks for Michigan and other hard-hit states.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid failed today to get Republicans to agree to a quick vote. It's looking increasingly likely Senate Democrats will start the complicated, tedious and long process Tuesday afternoon of invoking cloture to get to a vote on additional benefits.
While there's never any easy way to predict what will happen in the Senate, it's possible that if Reid gets 60 votes tomorrow the Republicans will agree to a quick vote. Without a deal, the cloture process could delay a final vote until next week.
But even if the Senate passes its bill, a House-Senate conference will be needed to reconcile the differences with the House bill. President Barack Obama supports the additional benefits, which political experts expect will pass in some form. But Michiganians who've exhausted their benefits should expect the political process to take another several weeks.
As of Oct. 16, 44,484 Michiganians had cashed their last unemployment check. Between Oct. 16 and Jan. 8, another 54,305 will exhaust their benefits unless Congress lengthens the program.
Michigan has the highest unemployment rate in the country at 15.3 percent.
Former Mich. teacher nominated for federal position
A former Michigan public schools teacher has been nominated by President Barack Obama for an administration position.
Lynnae M. Ruttledge will go before the Senate for confirmation as commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration in the Department of Education.
The agency oversees grant programs that helps those with physical or mental disabilities get jobs and live more independently through counseling, medical and psychological services, job training and other individualized services, according the agency's Web site.
Ruttledge began her public service career in Michigan as a teacher in the public school system. She also worked in the non-profit sector.
Ruttledge, who was born with a disability, graduated from the Northern Michigan University with a B.A. in education.
