Both the House of Representatives and the Senate are back in Session.  2010 in many ways looks much like 2009: health care reform and climate change legislation dominate the headlines. At MECEP, we believe these two issues should be top priorities. We need health care reform that meaningfully provides affordable coverage for everyone. We need effective climate change legislation (not just an energy bill) that contains provisions to protect low and moderate income consumers who otherwise would have difficulty meeting the higher energy costs that will result from a move away from oil and other fossil fuels.

However, there are two other top priorities that Congress must consider. First and foremost, Congress must pass a jobs bill that includes additional fiscal relief to states to help prevent further job loss. Unemployment rates in Maine and the country remain too high. Maine’s unemployment rate, for example, rose to 8.3% in December. As the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has demonstrated, federal funding can help mitigate job loss while creating new jobs. For a recent overview of this issue see Larry Mishel’s keynote address from our January Tax and Budget Conference.

Second, Congress needs to address the estate tax. Pursuant to the Bush tax cuts first enacted in 2001, there is no estate tax this year. (A cautionary note: the estate tax returns in 2011 absent congressional action). But there is a change in the way the IRS will treat inherited property, which could subject small businesses, family farms, and others to a tax burden they otherwise would not have.   So much for protecting the backbone of our economy! Congress must reinstate the estate tax at 2009 levels.   Don’t worry: very, very few Maine estates would be subject to any tax liability at those levels. MECEP produced a report on this issue last year which we encourage you to read.

Congress and the Administration have a lot on their plate, but the people of Maine and America deserve action on these four issues this year.