Daniel Maffei

Mr. MAFFEI

Mr. MAFFEI. Madam Speaker, after 8 years of failed policies under the last administration, we have inherited a massive, unprecedented budget deficit projected to be well over $1 trillion before the current President took office. While growing our economy is a major component of the budget, reducing the deficit is a top priority for everyone. The budget before us today will cut the deficit by two-thirds by the end of 2013 with a combination of spending cuts. Now, I'd like to correct the excesses overnight, but like steering a sailboat, it takes some time to turn us around while still not capsizing. Some say we should chop everything except defense in the interest of leaving less debt to our children, but the fiscal deficit is not the only thing the policies of the last 8 years has left us with: We have a huge education deficit, Madam Speaker, where children in urban and rural areas in my district don't have decent schools available to them. We have a health care deficit where people even with insurance cannot get the preventative care they need to avoid bigger problems. We have an infrastructure deficit, as demonstrated by leaky sewers and crumbling roads and bridges in my district. If we reduce the deficit a little more, it will still be substantial thanks to the policies of the past, but it will leave our children with poor education, inadequate health care and crumbling infrastructure. Are we really serving their best interests by doing this? We must invest in the economy to get rid of the structural deficit that we inherited. Just as someone might take a second mortgage to fix the structural integrity of their family house, we must do this as well. We may have a somewhat bigger mortgage, but we will have a strong house to pass on to our kids. That's what this Obama budget does. Otherwise, we will leave our children with a somewhat smaller mortgage but with no house, with no education, with poor health, and with Third World infrastructure. That's not why the people of the 25th District of New York elected me. That's not why people elected the 44th President of the United States. The President's budget makes these tough decisions that the people sent us here to make. We must support it and we must support the rule.

Mr. MAFFEI

Mr. MAFFEI. Madam Speaker, I rise today to talk about some great achievements by student athletes in my district. This past weekend Jamesville-DeWitt boys' varsity basketball team, which is my hometown, defeated Peekskill 77-75 in Overtime to win the Class A Boys' High School basketball championship. The 25th congressional district winning ways continue at the New York Public schools championship with Bishop Kearney boys' varsity basketball team defeating Seton Catholic 65-48 to bring home the Class B Boy's High School basketball championship. And the women of the 25th district got into the act when Newark girls varsity basketball team defeated Albertus Magnus 75-68 to take the Girls' Class A basketball championship. Coach McKenney at Jamesville-Dewitt, Coach Boon at Bishop Kerney, Coach Kirnie at Newark and all of the student athletes are to be congratulated on these great achievements. I wish them all the best of luck as they move on to the New York State Federation Championships this weekend in Glens Falls. Last, but certainly not least, I am proud to say that the Syracuse Orange men's basketball team won both of their NCAA tournament games this past weekend and have advanced to the sweet 16 this weekend. To coach Boeheim, and all of the players, I can't tell you how many people come up to me in halls of Congress to talk about how great you are. I will be cheering for you as you compete for a berth in the Final Four. All of the student athletes that compete bring my district and the whole United States great pride and I applaud you on your efforts. Keep up the good work, and Go Orange!

Mr. MAFFEI

Mr. MAFFEI. I thank the gentlewoman for yielding and for her leadership on this bill. I, too, had some hesitation about broadening the bankruptcy judges' jurisdiction on this. But what I did was I listened to the other side and I worked with the gentlewoman from California and the distinguished chairman from Michigan, and we were able to get a lot of changes in this bill--and particularly in this manager's amendment--that would make sure that the lender and the borrower would get together, that there would be a safe haven to protect banks and make sure that they could, in fact, renegotiate these loans, and to keep anyone from using this for anything but an absolute last resort. However, as a last resort, it's a necessary, because if we don't have this, then whatever the borrower does, they may not have recourse. In my district, this is not the biggest problem, foreclosures are not the biggest thing. But yet, even if one family comes to me and says, we're desperate, we have to declare bankruptcy, and if we had a second home, it would be covered, if we had a yacht, it would be covered, but our first home would not be covered, that's a very difficult thing to explain. So I support the manager's amendment.

Mr. MAFFEI

Mr. MAFFEI. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong support of Congressman Nadler's amendment for increased transit funding. Just today in my hometown paper, the Syracuse Post-Standard, it was reported that the Central New York Regional Transportation Authority, also known as Centro, is facing a $5 million shortfall. To close their deficit, they are considering raising fares, cutting service and eliminating routes. This cannot be an option, not now when the economy is facing a recession. So I ask Members to vote in favor of this amendment. It will help ensure citizens in my district, such as Ann Parquette, who is mentioned in the article, can get to their jobs. I include my full statement in strong support of this amendment and the related article from the Syracuse Post-Standard for the Record. I rise today in strong support of Congressman Nadler's amendment for increased Transit Funding in the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act. Just today, in my hometown paper the Syracuse Post Standard, it was reported that Central New York Regional Transportation Authority, also known as Centro, is facing a $5 million shortfall. To close their deficit, they are considering raising fares, cutting service and eliminating routes. This cannot be an option--not now when ridership is at an all time high and more working families are absolutely dependent on public transportation. Across the county, from the suburbs to the city of Syracuse, more people need Centro to get them to work and the grocery store. Centro rider Ann Parquette, who rides the bus to work, thinks she will have to quit her job and find a new one closer to home if they eliminate her route. Other riders who can currently afford the $1 fare are not sure if they can make ends meet if that is increased by the 25 or 50% Centro is considering. When we're facing a recession, we cannot allow cuts that will hit our lowest income workers the hardest. I urge my fellow Members to join me in voting for the Nadler amendment for increased Transit Funding. [From the Post-Standard, Jan. 28, 2009] Centro Plans Fare Hike, Service Cuts (By S.J. Velasquez) Centro is proposing to raise bus fares and cut some services in an effort to make up a projected $5 million shortfall in the coming budget year, Centro officials said Tuesday. Centro wants to increase the Syracuse base fare from $1 to at least $1.25 and possibly to $1.50, officials said. Almost all other fares would also be increased under the proposal, they said. Frank Kobliski, executive director of Centro, said the changes are needed to make up for a loss in state aid and mortgage tax revenues and rising costs that create the projected deficit. ``The economy is such that we simply cannot put operators in seats and be able to come remotely close to keeping fares at a dollar,'' he said. ``Some cuts are necessary and inevitable.'' This would be the first fare increase in 14 years, he said. Centro also is proposing to cut three routes and reduce service on three others. The biggest savings would come from eliminating its Suburban East No. 723 route that takes riders from Minoa, Manlius and DeWitt to ShoppingTown Mall where many catch other buses. Centro officials said that would save $435,000. "I don't know what I would do,'' said Ann Parquette, 51, of Minoa, who rides that bus twice a day to get to and from her job in the cafeteria at Jamesville-DeWitt Middle School. ``I'd probably quit my job and work at the school out in Minoa,'' she said. 'That'd be my best bet.'' Parquette said she could get a ride to work from friends, but would have no means of getting home. Another person who could be stuck is Joseph Honor, 41, of Syracuse, a cook at Red Robin restaurant in Fayetteville. For the past three months since his car broke down, Honor has relied on the bus line to get to and from work. ``People work out there and they need a bus,'' he said. In downtown Syracuse, Centro rider Stephanie LaDue said the increase in fares would be hard for her to afford. ``I pay $20 a week easily right now,'' LaDue said. ``That will be almost $30 dollars for a . . . bus. This is going to be a pain.'' LaDue, a single mother with a 5-month-old daughter, said she uses the bus to get to and from computer classes and support group meetings. Centro, which has a $58 million budget this year, is losing about $1.6 million in mortgage tax revenue and expects to lose about $1.33 million in state aid, officials said. The rest of the deficit--about $2.07 million--is caused by increases in the cost of supplies and other operating costs. Kobliski said a 25-cent fare increase would bring in an additional $1 million, but that increasing the base fare by 50 cents wouldn't necessarily bring in another $1 million because Centro would lose riders. The final decision on whether to increase fares by a quarter or 50 cents will depend on how much state aid and federal economic stimulus money Centro gets, officials said. Service reductions could save another $1 million, Kobliski said. Centro officials said they would tap reserve funds and defer some capital expenditures to make up the shortfall. In addition to the fare increases, Centro is proposing closing the bus system an hour earlier on weekdays in Syracuse and Onondaga County, which would mean no service after 12:30 a.m. The weekend service already ends at 12:30 a.m. Ridership is at an all-time high, so some may wonder why Centro is facing a shortfall. Ridership pays about 21 percent of the operational costs; the state pays 47 percent; the remaining 32 percent comes from federal, local and other sources. Centro will hold public hearings in February and then will present the proposals to the Centro board of directors. If approved, the fare increase would go into effect May 4. Centro plans to advertise the fare increase and service reductions on its Web site www.centro.org, in buses and in the public forums.