John Rowland on Budget & Economy Former Republican CT Governor

Regional transportation network to foster trade & economy.

• WHEREAS the Conference of New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers encourages initiatives furthering economic cooperation and trade development within the region; and
• WHEREAS the Conference recognizes the vital importance of effective and efficient transportation links in furthering economic cooperation and trade development; and
• WHEREAS improvement in the road, rail, marine, and air transportation links between the Eastern provinces and the New England states would contribute to a better and more integrated transportation system, and that transportation services would benefit from better harmonized, simplified and efficient standards and regulations supporting a competitive economy and trade development;
• NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Conference of New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers fully recognize multimodal transportation systems, transportation corridors and links, as strategic issues to be addressed in the mandate and work plan of the Trade and Globalization Committee and encourage road, rail, marine and air operators to assist the Committee towards strengthening transportation services and infrastructure.

More federal funding for FAA and air traffic control.

The nation’s Governors urge the Conference Committee on the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization to quickly complete action on a multiyear reauthorization of the FAA and Airport Improvement Program (AIP) that invests dedicated airport and airways trust fund revenues for their intended purposes.

Governors support efforts to ensure that dedicated revenues are immediately made available to address key safety and congestion issues. The current lapse in the program has already jeopardized numerous airport improvement projects, and we urge conferees to quickly resolve their differences. The airport and airway trust fund can support significantly higher funding for both AIP and the Air Traffic Control Modernization program. We ask you to increase funding levels for these programs by applying the airport and airways trust fund receipts for their intended purpose.

Governors, along with our partners in the Coalition for TRUST (Transportation Revenues Used Solely for Transportation) - a broad coalition of business, labor, farm, and state and local officials - recognize that insufficient investment in transportation jeopardizes economic growth. Furthermore, the Governors recognize the safety, security, and other broad public benefits provided by the FAA and support a guarantee of continued general funding for FAA operations.

On behalf of the nation’s governors and the TRUST Coalition, we ask for your help in completing a conference on this critical legislation to end the current lapse in funding for this crucial program.

Bankruptcy reform: limit Chapter 7; protect states' role.

The Governors are particularly concerned that bankruptcy reform legislation address the following issues:
1. Prevent Chapter 7 Use by Those with the Ability to Pay: Present bankruptcy law does not prevent use of Chapter 7 by those with ability to repay, nor does it require that debtors use Chapter 13, which would require them to repay creditors what the debtor can afford. The Governors strongly support federal efforts to prevent debtors from using Chapter 7 when they are financially able to pay some or all of their unsecured debts.
2. Encourage Payment of Domestic Support Obligations: Bankruptcy interferes significantly with states’ ability to assist citizens owed domestic support and to collect unpaid domestic support owed them. The Governors strongly encourage Congress to ensure that any federal bankruptcy reform requires that domestic support obligations have the highest possible repayment priority, that all domestic support obligations be nondischargeable, and that commencement of bankruptcy not prevent the continued collection of child and other support obligations.
3. Give State Claims Parity with Federal Claims in Bankruptcy: Today, bankruptcy rightly gives certain preferences in payment to federal claims against the bankruptcy estate, but similar treatment is not always accorded state claims. The Governors strongly support congressional efforts to reform the treatment of state claims in bankruptcy to provide parity of treatment with federal claims.
4. Protect the State Role: The Governors oppose efforts to preempt state authority to determine exemptions under state bankruptcy law. Currently, debtors have a right to choose between federal and state exemptions. The Governors support efforts to shape bankruptcy reform policy that protects the rights of states to determine their own standards instead of having uniform federal regulations imposed without regard for individual state needs.

Uphold commitments to states before other spending.

The Issue

NGA’s Position

Maintain & enforce existing spending caps in the future.

What we offer today are not the precise spending decisions of a given year's budget; rather, we call upon the Congress and the nation to adopt the following guidelines for our fiscal policy over the next decade. This long-term blueprint is essential for maintaining both the immediate public-sector goal of balancing the budget and the private-sector goal of a healthy economy. This can be achieved through the following steps:

• A commitment to maintaining and enforcing existing spending caps in the future, when such discipline becomes more difficult to achieve;
• A careful and considerate re-definition of the federal role in society (what should be the legitimate and proper role of the federal government in the twenty-first century, and how do we prioritize competing demands?); and
• An evaluation of implementing tax cuts based on their social fairness.