Senate Republicans To Offer Amendments To Provide Funding Authority For Construction Industry, All Other Capital Projects Important To Job Creation
April 21, 2010
(New York, N.Y.)-Senate Republicans will offer amendments today to provide funding authority for all capital construction projects important to job creation, including monies for road and bridge contractors who haven’t been paid since last month, in an effort to reverse the Governor’s decision to suspend payments until a new state budget is in place.
The amendments, which Republicans will attempt to pass when Democrats take up their third late budget extender, do not include any new spending but would allow existing construction-related projects to be funded from April 1-25.
Senate Democrats voted unanimously to block a similar amendment last week, but since then contractors have announced layoffs and even shut down important transportation-related projects around the State.
Meanwhile, important economic development ventures at the State University at New York (SUNY) campuses have now been put on hold, as well as a host of environmental conservation, water and sewer projects across the State.
“The Governor and legislative Democrats are holding the people of New York hostage for the late State budget crisis they have created. Let’s be clear - - Democrats should open up the budget process, do their jobs and get a budget in place. But, in the absence of an enacted budget, rather than continuing to withhold payments necessary to allow these important projects to move forward, we should all work together to protect these job and revenue creating sectors of the economy. We would hope that the Democrats would choose progress over politics, and join us in supporting this critical amendment,” Senate Republican Leader Dean G. Skelos said.
Despite the Governor’s actions, the funding for these projects has already been appropriated and the amendment would allow for these projects to be funded through September 15, 2010. April 1, the deadline for approval of a new state budget, is also the beginning of the construction industry’s peak work season.
“With no new budget in place, any extender that we pass should include funding for the contractors and others so they can continue to do business in New York, and complete the construction projects that are critical to our efforts to create jobs and stimulate the economy. This is a pressing issue facing Upstate New York and the entire State, and Senate Republicans are attempting to provide the leadership necessary to get a positive result. With this amendment, we’ve given Senate Democrats yet another opportunity to do the right thing,” Senator John DeFrancisco, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, said.
Since April 2008, the state has lost nearly 382,700 jobs. In February 2010, the state’s unemployment rate held steady at 8.8 percent. The construction industry has been one of the hardest hit areas, as New York lost 33,400 construction jobs between February 2009 and February 2010, according to the state’s labor department.
Senate Republicans first sounded the alarm about the Governor’s shortsighted decision to omit this funding from their initial budget extender, which was approved on March 29. In addition, Senator Skelos wrote a letter to the Governor on April 5, calling for the road and bridge investments to be included in any subsequent extender legislation.
Posted by News LI Editor · Filed Under Business
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