Hello,

Below is a message I received from Congressman Michaud. The information may be helpful to you.

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During this economic downturn, I wanted to inform you of some resources that may be of use to you and your constituents. I have recently added to my website two documents outlining resources for Mainers included in H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The final economic stimulus package was not a perfect piece of legislation, but now that it has become law I believe it’s important to let Mainers know what is in it and how it can benefit them.

The first, which you can find at http://www.michaud.house.gov/images/helpforindividualsfamiliesandsmallbusinesses.hr1.resourceguide.pdf is a resource guide for individuals, families, and small businesses explaining the benefits and funding provided by the economic recovery package. In order to jumpstart our economy, the package extends unemployment benefits and increases food stamps, as well as provides a number of opportunities for tax credits and loans to individuals and small businesses.

The second document, which you can find at http://www.michaud.house.gov/images/grantsandprogramsforcommunities.hr1.resourceguide.pdf is guide to programs and grants for states and communities. A number of grants were authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act through at least 15 federal agencies. These grants provide great funding opportunities for organizations and municipalities in Maine.

I hope that you find these resources useful. In addition, I also provide occasional email updates on a range of issues affecting people in Maine. If you would like to receive this information, please visit my website at http://michaud.house.gov/email_newsletter.asp and sign up for my email newsletter. I appreciate the opportunity to represent you.

With warmest regards,
Michael H. Michaud
Member of Congress

Hello Everyone! It has been a while since I have posted an update. I have had a virus for most of the month. It has been one of those viruses where you think you are getting better then it starts all over again. I have asthma and it makes it particularly challenging… you have to find the just the right mix of inhaled steroid and other meds to get you through… some may make the problem worse… some may not be enough. (Any of you with asthma will know just what I am talking about.) So, needless to say, I haven’t spent a whole lot of time in Augusta this month.

I do have some bill updates though.

My transportation bill to install a stoplight at the intersection of Route’s 132 and 126 is going to public hearing. The hearing date is Friday, March 6, at 9 AM in Transportation (Room 126, State House). This is a very important issue. It seems everywhere I go in Sabattus, someone mentions the need of this stoplight. If this issue is important to you, please e-mail me your comments ASAP (info@stacydostie.info) and I will present them to the committee.

I will be passing in my sponsor sheet for another bill this week. This bill is an act to restrict the size of political signs on vehicles. Many of you who watched my campaign will know that my opponent found a loophole in the political sign laws. He had large banners on his RV and plywood signs on a minivan. I am hoping to change the political sign laws to make them consistent and fair for every candidate. I will keep you updated on the public hearing date on this one.

Another bill that I put in for a constituent to allow the parent/guardian of a child to sign a waiver to remove the school from all liability if a child stays in school during a chicken pox outbreak, has been retracted and I have signed on with Senator Lisa Marrache who put in the same bill. I will update you when as to when this bill goes to public hearing.

I have one more of my bills that has been combined with another bill. I had put in to have the food stamp guidelines changed to the WIC guidelines or something similar. Because food stamps are a Federal program, I could not do this. Representative Bruce Bickford has put in a resolve to require the Department of Health and Human Services to request a waiver to prohibit the use of food stamps for the purchase of taxable food items. I have signed on with Bruce to sponsor this bill. When this goes to public hearing, I will post the date here.

The Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee will be meeting again this week to discuss the milk subsidy program. From what I understand, the Governor has allotted $2.1 million to the program. Now the deficit is $1.9 million. This is the deficit only until June 2009. Come June, the program has some bigger problems as they will be looking at a $13 million deficit. This is a hard and complicated issue for dairy farmers. Most of them want to stay loyal to each other and have no cuts to the program or equal cuts across the board. This presents a huge problem for small farmers who may not have the capacity to survive the cuts like the big guys do. It is being proposed that the small dairy farms be cut by 25% and the large dairy farms be cut by 35%. Looking at this from a business perspective, and putting loyalty aside, I see this as a smart solution.

That is all for now! I hope everyone stays healthy!