Ohio unlikely to get $176M for jobless benefits, By Andy Brownfield (AP), August 21, 2011, Dayton Daily News: “As Ohio faced Monday’s deadline to expand unemployment benefits and receive $176 million in federal stimulus money, state officials had not applied for the money and the General Assembly had not scheduled any sessions to take any action. The federal government set aside $7 billion for unemployment compensation for states that broaden their unemployment programs. The provision is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. ‘The idea was to reward states who update laws to increase access to benefits,’ said Wayne Vroman, an unemployment compensation expert under contract with the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services. But Gov. John Kasich says it makes no sense for the state to make long-term changes to a fiscally-damaged system for a one-time payment, spokesman Rob Nichols said. And the jobs department, which administers the state’s unemployment compensation system, is not seeking any changes, department spokesman Ben Johnson said…”
Tag: Economic stimulus
Weatherization Program – California
State’s slow start puts federal stimulus funds at risk, audit finds, By Kate Linthicum, July 12, 2011, Los Angeles Times: “California could lose tens of millions of dollars in job-creating federal stimulus money for home weatherization projects because the state and several local agencies – including the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power – have failed to perform as promised, according to an audit released Monday. Two years ago, California was awarded nearly $186 million to help low-income homeowners make their houses more energy-efficient. But as of April 30, the state had spent $68 million, the audit found. California State Auditor Elaine Howle, whose office conducted the review, warned that California could be forced to forfeit more than $37 million early next year if it doesn’t quickly pick up the pace of distributing grants. Howle blamed a host of factors for California’s sluggish spending of the federal money, part of a $5-billion economic recovery allocation approved in 2009 to put people to work insulating attics, weather-sealing windows and making other energy-saving improvements on nearly 590,000 homes nationwide…”
Medicaid Cuts – California
Medi-Cal cuts sought as stimulus funds run out, By Victoria Colliver, June 30, 2011, San Francisco Chronicle: “Billions of federal stimulus dollars that boosted Medicaid programs for the past two years will run out Friday, while at the same time California is trying to get approval for a series of cuts to the health program for the poor. It could be a one-two punch for more than 7 million Californians enrolled in Medicaid, known here as Medi-Cal. California received about $12.4 billion of the $90 billion the Obama administration injected into Medicaid programs nationwide as a way to help ease the strain of unemployment and other impacts of the recession. The extra help meant the federal government matched California at 62 cents on the dollar instead of 50 cents. That ends Friday. As a result, Medi-Cal patients will pay more and receive fewer benefits…”