News

Pickering's Mississippi E-Memo
Congressman Chip Pickering
Tuesday - 02/14/2006 - #51

KATRINA COMMITTEE: Wednesday, the House Select Committee on Hurricane Katrina will release its final report and findings on the government's preparation and response to Hurricane Katrina. Friday, in Mississippi, Congressman Chip Pickering will discuss this report with the press and announce his proposals for sweeping natural disaster and FEMA reform. You can listen to Congressman Pickering discuss these issues on the Paul Gallo Show on Supertalk Mississippi Thursday morning at 7:05am central and again on Friday afternoon on Supertalk's Mississippi Talkin' between 4pm and 6pm central.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE: Significant measures to be voted on by the House this week include the National Flood Insurance Program Further Enhanced Borrowing Authority (S.2275) and two resolutions, one condemning the Government of Iran for violating its international nuclear nonproliferation obligations and expressing support for efforts to report Iran to the United Nations Security Counsel and another expressing the sense of Congress that no United States assistance should be provided directly to the Palestinian Authority if any representative political party holding a majority of parliamentary seats within the Palestinian Authority maintains a position calling for the destruction of Israel.

APPROPRIATIONS: Fiscal Year 2007 appropriations request forms for the Third Congressional District are now online at Congressman Pickering's web page: www.house.gov/pickering/appropriations - the forms can be e-mailed or faxed to the office. The deadline for completed forms is close-of-business on Wednesday, March 1, 2006.

GO-ZONE MEETINGS: The Mississippi Development Authority is hosting a series of five informational seminars focused on the new federal Gulf Opportunity Zone (Go Zone) incentives. All counties represented by Congressman Pickering are within the GO Zone designated area for incentives. Seminars will be held in Meridian, Hattiesburg, Gulfport, Jackson and Brookhaven. Staff from the Mississippi Business Finance Corporation and legal advisors will discuss how these federal incentives work. This event is not open to the public, but is for business owners, CPA's, economic development officials and other community leaders. There is no charge to attend a session, but everyone should register for the nearest location online at www.mississippi.org/gozone.htm by Friday, February 17, 2006.

SBA DISASTER LOANS: Mississippi residents affected by Hurricane Katrina are urged to complete and return their Small Business Administration (SBA) disaster loan applications to be eligible for all types of available federal and state disaster assistance. The deadline is March 11, 2006. Applicants in Mississippi have been approved for more than $1.4 billion in SBA disaster assistance loans. The SBA provides low-interest disaster loans to qualified homeowners, renters, landlords, certain private non-profit organizations and businesses of any size that sustained losses due to Hurricane Katrina. These loans are designed for people affected by the disaster who are either uninsured or not fully covered by insurance. Mississippians affected by Hurricane Katrina who have not already registered for FEMA assistance are encouraged to call 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or (TTY) 1-800-462-7585 for speech- or hearing-impaired. (For more information: www.fema.gov)

FIRE GRANT WORKSHOPS: --NOTE DATES CHANGED FROM LAST E-MEMO-- During 2005, Congressman Chip Pickering announced twenty-nine first responder federal grants to fire stations in the Third District for over $2.7 million. On March 3,4,17 & 18, four workshops will be held in Mississippi to assist first responders in this competitive grant program. Interested fire department representatives are invited to attend. Information will be presented on the program and on the application process. General assistance in the writing of a competitive narrative for a department's grant application will be discussed. Each workshop is approximately 2 hours in length and each will present the same material. Fire departments can also receive information and assistance from Pickering's Grant Coordinator Mary Martha Henson in the Meridian Office at 601-693-6681. (For more information see www.firegrantsupport.com):1) 3/3/2006 9am Batesville MS National Guard Armory: 705-A Keating Road; 2) 3/4/2006 9am Boonesville MS NE Mississippi Community College Holiday Hall; 3) 3/17/2006 9am Jackson MS Mississippi State Fire Academy; 4) 3/18/2006 9am Gautier MS Gautier Convention Center. For all seminars contact Larry Barr (601) 359-1062 Larry.Barr@mid.state.ms.us

BUSH BUDGET IN MISSISSIPPI: Last week President George W. Bush released his FY 2007 Budget. It includes $61.6 million in State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) funds to help Mississippi provide health coverage to low-income, uninsured children who do not qualify for Medicaid, $18.2 million for the HOME Investment Partnership Program to help Mississippi fund a wide range of activities that build, buy, or rehabilitate affordable housing for rent or homeownership, or provide direct rental assistance to low-income people and $5 million to replace the air traffic control tower at Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport. Also of interest to Mississippi is $66 million for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Coastal Zone Management Program, $65 million for the Appalachian Regional Commission which provides funding for many counties in Mississippi, and $21.4 million for NOAA to implement the President's plan to provide the United States with nearly 100 percent detection capability for a U.S. coastal tsunami. (For more information: www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/budget/2007/states/ms.html)

NATIONAL ECONOMIC NEWS: The national economy continues its steady growth. The Associated Press reported last week, "The federal government ran a $21 billion budget surplus last month, the best January showing in four years, as both spending and tax receipts set records for the month....Government tax receipts, however, also set a record for the month of $230 billion, up 13.7 percent from January 2005. The faster growth in receipts than in spending pushed the surplus for the month to $21 billion, more than double the $8.6 billion surplus the government recorded in January 2005. It was the biggest January surplus since $43.7 billion in 2002." America continues vibrant economic growth and treasury receipts from tax dollars remain at record levels, continuing proof that we do not face a federal income problem but a federal spending problem. The answer continues to be fiscal and spending restraint and not increasing taxes. Reuters reported additional good economic news this week, "U.S. retail sales surged 2.3 percent in January, nearly triple the expected increase and the largest gain since May 2004, as post-holiday spending on cars, clothing, gasoline and furniture galloped ahead, a government report showed on Tuesday. Excluding demand for cars and parts, retail sales were up 2.2 percent last month - the largest monthly gain in more than six years, the U.S. Commerce Department said. Both overall sales and sales outside the auto sector were far stronger than Wall Street had expected."

SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE: Feel free to forward this e-mail to friends and colleagues. They can subscribe at www.house.gov/pickering/Email.htm - or - to unsubscribe, reply to this e-mail with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject line.

PICKERING STAFF: Visit www.house.gov/pickering/policy to get office contact information.