Cuomo announces ”˜NY Works”™
Gov. Cuomo held a cabinet meeting July 19 to outline the second phase of his plan to “build a new New York,” which will include programs to redesign government and to generate job growth.
The first phase, which concentrated on restoring the public”™s trust in Albany, has given the state the momentum needed to pursue loftier goals, Cuomo said.
“We have made great progress, but there is still a long way to go,” Cuomo said in a release. “It is essential that we build on the momentum, fix state government and create jobs for New Yorkers across the state.”
The second phase is dubbed “NY Works.” The strategy behind the initiative will be based on regionally-driven economic plans and incentives to foster competition between municipalities, with specific initiatives including the launching of the governor”™s Regional Economic Development Councils, changes in the way businesses apply for development funding, an overhaul of the state”™s procurement practices and a “New York is Open for Business” campaign.
Storm gathering in Congress
As the Aug. 2 deadline to increase the national debt limit approaches, Congressional leaders have engaged in non-stop negotiations aimed at arriving at a deal that couples a debt-ceiling increase with budget savings.
No deal had been reached at press time, but the U.S. Senate”™s bipartisan “Gang of Six” made an ambitious proposal on Tuesday that would involve cutting the deficit by nearly $4 trillion over the next decade, bolstering attempts by President Obama for a long-term deficit-slicing deal. The proposal, favorably received in the Democrat-controlled Senate, combines deep spending cuts with new revenue sources through income-tax code reforms.
The Gang of Six proposal came as the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives passed a largely symbolic bill on Tuesday night that would cut spending across the board but that is not expected to be approved by the Senate.
Despite the recent breakthroughs, a spokesman for U.S. Rep. Nita Lowey, D-18th District, said that much work remains and an agreement needs to come soon.
“It takes time once you have an agreement in principle, it takes time to put pen to paper,” said Lowey spokesman Matt Dennis. “At that point it needs to be reviewed by members of Congress (and) it needs to be scored by the Congressional Budget Office to determine what the impact would be on the debt and the deficit.”
A spokesman for U.S. Rep. Nan Hayworth, R-19th District, said Hayworth fully expects an agreement to be reached on time.
“She has full expectation that a deal will be reached and is planning as such,” said spokesman Nat Sillin.
State reaches labor agreement
Last week, Gov. Cuomo announced the state had reached a five-year labor agreement with the New York State Public Employees Federation (PEF) after previously having reached an identical agreement with the Civil Service Employees Association, the two largest state-employee unions.
Both agreements include a freeze on base wages for three years and a 2 percent increase over each of the final two years of the agreement in addition to a redesign of the employee health care contribution and benefit.
If the agreements are adopted, they are projected to save the state as much as $1.5 billion over the contract term.
