“I’d like to thank Senate President Miller, House Speaker Busch and the members of the General Assembly for completing work on the State’s FY2013 budget.

“With their leadership and willingness to come together, we have placed our State back on the path to fiscal stewardship, and avoided cuts to our shared priorities of job creation, education, affordable college, care for our most vulnerable Marylanders, and public safety.

“We cannot afford to go back. There is too much at stake. Because of the choices we’ve made together, Maryland is one of only eight states to maintain its Triple A bond rating, certified by all three rating agencies. Our investments have built the best public schools in the nation four years in a row; expanded health care to over 300,000 Marylanders (nearly half of them children); protected job creation and innovation; made college more affordable for more families; and driven violent crime down to a 35-year low.  

“In times of adversity, the people of our State do not make excuses, we make progress. Together, we have chosen to move forward.”

As we observe National Military Appreciation Month, it is more important than ever that we maintain our commitment to addressing unemployment among our Veterans. These brave men and women have served this nation with courage and honor, and it is our collective responsibility to help connect them with the jobs they need to support their families when they return.

This month, Patch.com in Maryland kicked off a series of articles focused on Veterans and employment featuring efforts around the state to help Veterans find work, including MDOT’s recent Veterans Resource Expo, and some compelling personal stories from Maryland Veterans. I want to thank Patch.com for highlighting this important issue. Check out the first two articles in the series below and stay tuned to your local Patch.com website.

Vets Back From War Face Shocking Reality

“If it weren’t for my daughter … I’d be one of those guys on the corner with a sign”—Maryland veteran.

By Lisa Rossi, Brian Hooks, and Marc Shapiro Full text

When Andrew Smith III talked with his U.S. Marine Corps platoon mates in Iraq before he returned to Maryland in 2009, he recalled they agreed finding a job in a recession would be tough.

But he said he never imagined it would be like this.

Smith said he sleeps four hours a night to make time for his part-time job loading baggage for Delta Airlines, training classes in the afternoons and searching for a full-time job with benefits to support his wife and two kids without relying on food stamps and other assistance.

But last week, during a job fair organized by the Maryland Department of Transportation for veterans in Baltimore, he was almost optimistic.

Returning from War to Fight for Jobs

Maryland veterans talk about getting passed over for jobs—and how to change that.

By Lisa Rossi Full text

Stephanie Gilbert of Pasadena served six years as an Arabic linguist and was an Army intelligence officer in Afghanistan before being honorably discharged last year. The former staff sergeant is now pursuing a degree in financial economics at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

But when it came time for the 27-year-old veteran to seek financial services internships this summer, Gilbert was shocked when she was passed over. Twice.

“I’m 27 years old and I’m applying for internships,” she said. “It’s disconcerting when a 19-year-old gets the internship instead of me. It’s like, ‘What?’”

To protect Maryland’s Triple A bond rating, avoid devastating cuts to programs and services, and continue to place our State on a fiscally-responsible path, last week, Governor O’Malley called a Special Session of the Maryland General Assembly to complete work on the budget plan for FY2013.

Earlier today, I joined Department of Budget and Management Secretary Eloise Foster and Senior Policy and Legislative Advisor Joe Bryce to testify before the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee. This afternoon, we will also testify before the House Appropriations and the House Ways and Means Committees.

As you’ll see from our testimony today, there’s too much at stake not to move forward.

To Secretary Hitchcock; to Reverend Douglas Sands, to Reverend Dell Hinton, and to the Sharp Street community; to Judge Bell; to Mayor Rawlings-Blake; to everyone with the Abell Foundation, without whose generosity and civic spirit we would not be here today; to Bishop Schol; to President Wilson; and to Gary Maynard, the staff of the Maryland Department of Corrections, and the inmates who have worked very hard to restore this cemetery:

I thank you.  It’s an honor to be with you, my fellow citizens.

In big ways and in small ways, the story of Mt. Auburn Cemetery is a metaphor for the recovery of the truest and most noble story of our own City of Baltimore.

Maya Angelou writes that “there is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” 

That’s what we had behind us; untold stories behind the thorns of all those countless acres of sticker bushes.

I remember like yesterday, riding with Joan Carter Conway by 35 acres of overgrown and unmaintained weeds and brush.  “What is this?”  I asked her.   “That’s the oldest black cemetery in Baltimore, believe it or not, there are thousands of tombstones underneath all those acres of sticker bushes” she told me.

There are also buried here black soldiers and black citizens who fought in the Defense of Baltimore; whose hands stitched together the colors of the Star Spangled Banner.

This cemetery is the resting place of Dr. Carl Murphy, one of the leading voices of the civil rights movement;

It is the resting place of Lilli Mae Carroll Jackson, “Fearless Lil,” who led the Baltimore NAACP for thirty five years, and whose great grandson Keiffer Mitchell is here with us today.

It is the resting place of “Baby” Joe Gans, America’s first African-American light, heavyweight boxing champion;

It is the resting place of William Ashbie Hawkins, the first African-American to run for United States Senate in the State of Maryland;

It is the resting place of John Henry Murphy, the founder of the Afro American Newspaper;

It is the resting place of James Dougherty and Mary Minis, grandparents of our own Jeanne Hitchcock.

Mt. Auburn cemetery is the resting place of generations of Baltimore’s African-American history – but until now, many of its stories have been covered and hidden by debris and weeds and trash.   Surely, a people united by our belief in the dignity of every individual can do better than what we had been able to do here – before now.

Mt. Auburn’s Re-Birth

Elijah Cummings has talked about the idea of being “blinded by what we see.”  For too many years, we’d look at these 35 acres – and all we’d see were the overgrown sticker bushes and the weeds.  We were in deed, blinded by what we’d seen.

So often in those days, we’d come together as a community – I remember those spring cleanups and those fall cleanups – and we did a little bit to try to clear away the debris, an acre at a time – and the rains would come and wash away our progress; the weeds would grow back up.  God loves even the partial victories, but God loves it when we’re actually able to recover the entire thing.

Today we can celebrate real and potentially lasting progress that together we’ve been able to make.

Gary Maynard dispatched inmates to work on this cleanup.  When the Abbell Foundation stepped up with the resources, we began to make seven-days-a-week progress for eight months.

Recently, I was in Baltimore and Jeanne Hitchock told me, “make sure, when you’re on your way back from Baltimore today, you take a few minutes to see what’s been recovered.”  When I came here, my eyes filled with tears of joy.  It felt like thousands of ancestors were applauding at what you’ve been able to do in recovering this place.

Conclusion

The Sharp Street Church, for your part – you have embraced the inmates, taking them into the fold, and helping them assimilate into the community after their reentry.

This Church and its congregation are a national treasure – and have been since your founding in 1787 as the first African American Methodist congregation in Baltimore City,… a great church, founded on the belief in human dignity and the fact that we’re all in this together.

In 1868 the congregation established this burial ground, which for years would be the only cemetery in Baltimore City where African Americans could be buried in dignity.

I’ll leave you with the words of a great American poet:[1]

“There’s a graveyard hid down below
Where at night the dead come to life,..
Well above the stars they crackle and fire,…
And this is the song they sing:

So, “Let your mind rest easy, sleep well my friends,
It’s only our bodies that betray us in the end.”

May we always take actions that inspire our children and grandchildren and keep faith with our ancestors.

“Today, President Obama affirmed that for a people of many different faiths — a people who are committed to the principle of religious freedom — the way forward is always to be found through greater respect for the equal rights and human dignity of all.

“In Maryland, we agree. 

“Ultimately, we all want the same thing for our children: to live in a loving, stable committed home protected equally under the law.”

ANNAPOLIS, MD – Governor Martin O’Malley, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller and House Speaker Michael Busch today held a joint press conference to discuss details on the special session set to begin next week.

The special session will be held to complete work on Maryland’s budget to ensure that Maryland’s Triple A bond rating is protected, and critical investments in public education, public safety, the State’s workforce, and critical social services are restored.

“There’s too much at stake not to move forward,” said Governor O’Malley. “Progress is a choice that we must make now to protect our priorities of job creation, education, public safety, and our Bay and environment. All of this progress is threatened if we don’t act. That’s why we’ve called this session and that’s why together we are making the choice to move forward with a balanced approach of cuts, revenues and investment.”

“We made significant progress in many areas of importance to our citizens this session. The lack of consensus on how to move forward on the budget was unfortunate and these measures will ensure our current year budget is balanced. The Senate hoped to resolve more of the significant and ongoing deficit but the members of the Senate are committed to coming back to Annapolis to avoid these cuts to education, healthcare and public safety,” said Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr. “We are hopeful that we can come to consensus in the future to resolve the remaining $500 million deficit and maintain our shared priorities in the future.”

“Each year our citizens expect us to make the tough decisions necessary to balance the state’s budget, preserve our shared priorities and maintain our reputation as a financially well managed state,” said Speaker Michael E. Busch. “We do not and should not ever abdicate this responsibility and govern by default.”

Maryland remains one of only eight states to maintain a Triple A bond rating, certified by all three rating agencies. The proposed budget will include almost $600 million in further spending reductions across FY12 and FY13 than were originally proposed in the Administration’s January budget.  For the sixth year in a row, it will meet Spending Affordability Committee guidelines, exceeding the targeted 50 percent reduction in the recession/revenue-driven structural deficit. The proposed budget also grows by only 2.6 percent over FY12 – the third lowest growth rate in two decades. Additionally, State General Fund spending decreases by $380 million in FY13, excluding appropriations to the Rainy Day Fund. The proposal will increase the projected fund balance to $204 million. Taken together with the five percent Rainy Day Fund, the State will have nearly $1 billion in reserves to protect Maryland’s Triple A bond rating.

The ‘doomsday’ budget is out of balance by $71 million. By comparison, the Administration’s proposed January budget preserved a $164 million fund balance and the Sine Die conference committee’s compromise plan preserved a $155 million fund balance.

Citizens from across the state are coming together to share with officials the progress and priorities that are at stake if no action is taken on the budget. To see what is at stake, visit click here.

As Prepared for Delivery

Thanks for joining us…

I’ve called a Special Session to begin May 14^th, because there’s too much at stake not to move forward.

Progress is a choice.  Job creation is a choice.  Building America’s #1 schools,… making college more affordable,… continuing to drive down decades low violent crime,… saving the Blue Crab and restoring the Bay,… investing in green-tech,… unleashing the healing powers of the biosciences,… eradicating childhood hunger,… defending our Triple A Bond rating,… these too are all choices.  And none of them are free.  All of these things hang in the balance.

That’s why we need a balanced approach to move forward.  Because a cuts only approach helps no one, and harms all.  A cuts only approach harms every family.  A cuts only approach harms every library, and every local police department.  A cuts only approach raises tuition for every student.  A cuts only approach slashes the investments we make in life-saving, innovative research and development.

The better approach, is a balanced approach of cuts, investment, and – yes – revenues,…A balanced approach in the state where we pay the 3^rd lowest state and local taxes (as a share of income) in America,… the state where we pay the 9^th lowest sales tax,… have the 8^th lowest tax burden on mature firms,… and the 12th lowest burden on new investment.

Fiscal Overview

Four quick notes about fiscal plan to be considered in the special session:

It will include almost $600 million in further spending reductions across FY12 and FY13 than were originally proposed in our January budget proposal.

It will come in under Spending Affordability Committee guidelines for the 6^th year in row.  This exceeds the targeted 50 percent reduction in the recession/revenue-driven structural deficit.

The proposed budget grows by only 2.6% over FY12 – the third lowest growth rate in two decades.

But the bigger story is that, excluding appropriations to the Rainy Day Fund, State General Fund spending will actually decrease by $380 million in FY13.

This proposal will increase the projected fund balance to $204 million.  This fund balance, coupled with the 5% Rainy Day Fund, means that we have almost $1 billion in reserves ($928 million) to protect Maryland’s standing as one of just eight states to earn a Triple A Bond Rating, certified by all three agencies.

By way of comparison, our proposed January budget preserved a $164 million fund balance and the Sine Die conference committee’s compromise plan preserved a $155 million fund balance.  The so-called “doomsday” budget was actually out of balance by $71 million.

Conclusion

To create jobs, a modern economy requires modern investments; investments by all of us for all of us.  This economic and historic truth was true for our parents, true for our grandparents, … and over these past five years it has proven itself true for us too.  But to continue moving forward, we have to choose.  And that’s why we’re convening next week.  Thank you.

Please take a moment to watch this video from Governor O’Malley to learn more about the need to protect our shared priorities.

“There is too much at stake not to move forward,” said Governor O’Malley. “I’m confident that we can come together with the Senate President and House Speaker to complete this most important work for the people of our State.”

Next week, the Governor, Senate President and House Speaker will hold a joint press conference to discuss the upcoming session.

Details on next week’s press conference will be announced at a later date.

In case you missed it, we wanted to share Governor O’Malley’s oped in the Baltimore Sun today on how health care reform has helped Marylanders and why we can’t afford to lose the benefits of the Affordable Care Act.

Key Points: “Maryland’s progress under the ACA exemplifies how much is at stake in the Supreme Court. If the court strips us of these critical tools, the impact will be felt most deeply in homes and communities far from the corridors of power. Critically ill children will lose coverage, families facing illness will be forced into bankruptcy, businesses large and small will suffer from a less healthy workforce, and costs will keep rising as we all pay the price for uncompensated care.

At stake is a lot more than an abstract legal analysis. At risk are protections and resources critical to healthy families, healthy communities and a healthy workforce. It’s a toolbox that is saving lives and one that we should keep.”

Read the rest of the oped here: http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2012-05-03/news/bs-ed-omalley-aca-20120503_1_health-reform-businesses-that-offer-coverage-health-care