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WHERE DO WE GO NOW?
Jobs, Jobs, Jobs. Creating jobs and boosting our economy is of paramount importance if we are to keep building on the slow rebound our country is now seeing. This is not a Republican or a Democratic goal, but one we all share. And one the President focused on in his State of the Union address earlier this week. He spent some time discussing transportation and infrastructure -- critical areas for Missouri’s Fifth District.
Lawmakers must work together, and work together quickly, to pass a comprehensive transportation bill. Transportation funding creates the largest number of jobs while servicing a desperate need. Every dollar invested in Missouri transportation generates four dollars of new economic activity. And the Federal Highway Administration estimates for every billion dollars spent on transportation, 34,000 direct and indirect jobs are generated. That is why I take every opportunity to listen to my constituents, talk with other members of Congress, attend meetings, and fight for the improvement of roads, bridges and waterways in my district. Bridge after bridge after bridge is in danger. Highways are crumbling. And we cannot sit by and play partisan politics and argue while our infrastructure continues to deteriorate.
It often feels like there is a lot of movement on Capitol Hill – yet things seem to be going nowhere. The great tragedy here is to do nothing. The President discussed several good proposals for rebuilding and upgrading our nation’s infrastructure. This is critical to create jobs and help businesses with the tools they need to be successful.
Since the President took office:
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More than 300,000 miles of U.S. roads have been improved
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22,000 bridges have been repaired or replaced
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6,000 miles of rail have been built or improved
But there is much more that needs to be done. The President is calling for a “Fix it First” program that will invest dollars to focus on the most urgent infrastructure repairs. Across the country there are 70,000 structurally deficient bridges. This is unacceptable in the most powerful nation in the world. The President is also calling for a long-term increase in surface transportation and rail funding financed by reductions in spending. I believe this will create jobs, help businesses, and make travel more efficient and safe.
There are many challenges ahead. Working together in a civil and respectful way is imperative as we navigate these issues and find solutions that will best serve hardworking Americans. I know in Missouri’s Fifth District transportation and infrastructure are too important to let politics and partisan games get in the way.
COFFEE WITH CLEAVER
Please join me tomorrow morning for coffee in Odessa and Lexington. This is an opportunity for us to talk in person and for me to hear your thoughts, concerns and ideas.
ODESSA – 8:00 AM, Saturday, February 16th, Morgan’s Restaurant, U.S. 40 Hwy
LEXINGTON – 11:00 AM, Saturday February 16th, Victorian Peddler, Main Street
I hope to see you there!!
TAX TIPS FOR 2013
As the tax deadline of April 15 approaches, I would like to pass along some information on how to make filing your tax returns easier, faster, and more effective. The IRS website has a host of online tools to help you submit your tax information, track your refund, and more.
Check out the links below to take advantage of this year's time-saving options and end your tax season stress:
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Updated 2013 Tax Tips can be found on the IRS website here.
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As of January 30, the IRS made its free tax filing software "FreeFile" available online. Using FreeFile can help cut down on paper and mailing costs by filing your 2013 tax returns online. Guidelines for businesses and non-profits filing their taxes on FreeFile can be found on the IRS e-file homepage.
CUTTING TIME AND PAPERWORK FOR VETERANS
The Department of Veterans Affairs has launched a new initiative that could eliminate the requirement for an in-person medical examination for some Veterans and shorten the time it takes to process Veterans’ disability compensation claims.
The initiative is called Acceptable Clinical Evidence (ACE). This initiative was developed by both the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) in a joint effort to provide a Veteran-centric approach for disability examinations. Use of the ACE process opens the possibility of doing assessments without an in-person examination when there is sufficient information in the record.
Under ACE practices, a VA medical provider completes a Disability Benefits Questionnaire (DBQ) by reviewing existing medical evidence. This evidence can be supplemented with information obtained during a telephone interview with the Veteran – alleviating the need for some Veterans to report for an in-person examination.
“ACE is a process improvement that will help us meet our goal to eliminate the claims backlog and provide more timely benefits to our Veterans, their families and survivors,” said Undersecretary for Benefits Allison A. Hickey. “The initiative also saves Veterans the inconvenience and costs associated with attending a medical examination.”
When a VA medical provider determines VA records already contain sufficient medical information to provide the needed documentation for disability rating purposes, the requirement for Veterans to travel to a medical facility for an examination may be eliminated.
If VA can complete a DBQ by reviewing medical records already on file, it will use the ACE process. This would then expedite the determination of disability ratings – in turn eliminating the wait time to schedule and conduct an exam from the claims process.
During a 15-month pilot test at one VA regional claims processing office, 38 percent of claims submitted were eligible for ACE.
The ACE initiative is a part of the VBA’s agency-wide Transformation Plan – a five-year, multifaceted organizational change that is based on more than 40 personnel, process and technology initiatives designed to improve claims processing. The goal of the Transformation Plan is to eliminate the claims backlog and process all claims within 125 days with 98 percent accuracy in 2015.
To learn more about VBA Transformation Initiatives, visit: http://benefits.va.gov/transformation/.
ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS
Many constituents have contacted my office asking about changes impacting those who receive paper federal benefit checks. All check recipients must switch to an electronic payment method by March 1st of this year. The Department of Treasury says check payments will not stop arriving if someone hasn’t switched by the deadline -- but is strongly encouraging all recipients to come into compliance with the law as quickly as possible. Please see the below information which I hope will help with any questions you might have. And, as always, please feel free to contact my office if I can help.
U.S. Department of the Treasury Electronic Payment Rule (31 C.F.R. § 208) Fact Sheet
March 1st deadline, federal benefit recipients must switch to a direct electronic payment. Sign up today by calling the U.S. Treasury Electronic Payment Solution Center at 1-800-333-1795. To learn more visit www.GoDirect.org
The Electronic Payment Rule: Electronic payments are safer, easier, and more convenient than paper checks. In addition, the Treasury Department’s move to all-electronic federal benefit and nontax payments is expected to save taxpayers more than $100 million each year. Currently, 93 percent of all federal benefit recipients receive their payments electronically.
The new requirement applies to people receiving or applying for Social Security, Veterans Affairs, Supplemental Security Income, Railroad Retirement Board, Department of Labor, and Office of Personnel Management benefit payments.
Important Deadlines: Anyone currently receiving paper federal benefit checks will need to switch to an electronic payment option by March 1, 2013. People already receiving benefit payments electronically do not need to take any action.
A benefit recipient may have payments directly deposited to an account at a financial institution of their choice. If the recipient prefers a prepaid card, or does not have a bank account, payments will be deposited to a Direct Express® Debit MasterCard® account.
They can sign up for an electronic payment option by calling (800) 333-1795 or by notifying their paying agency. People who do not choose an electronic payment option by March 1, 2013, will be out of compliance with the law.
The Go Direct® Campaign - A Commitment to Public Education: Over the past seven years, the Go Direct® campaign has worked with hundreds of national, regional and local organizations to encourage federal benefit recipients to switch to a direct payment option.
Current check recipients have received information with their payments, and have been notified through the national campaign’s public service announcements about the deadline. The Treasury Department’s Go Direct® public education campaign continues to help federal benefit recipients sign up for an electronic payment option before the March deadline.
The Direct Express® Card: The Direct Express® card is a Treasury-approved prepaid debit card. There are no monthly fees and most services are free, so it is possible for an individual to use the Direct Express® card for free. There are no fees for cardholders to sign-up for or activate the card, receive deposits, make purchases at retail locations, online or by telephone, get cash at retail locations and financial institutions, or check the card’s balance at an automated teller machine (ATM), online or by telephone.
CIVILITY CORNER
In 1983, I proudly purchased a pink 1964 Rambler for $300. My exceedingly lofty but reachable goal was to restore that “Baby” to its original impressive look. While my wife, Dianne, did not share my extraordinary spiritually powerful vehicular vision, she silently tolerated the presence in our driveway of the pink pain. Not surprisingly, our children respectfully declined to ride in the Rambler.
Hunting down needed parts for my project was not only time consuming, but was unexpectedly costly. In fact, after a year or so I came to the conclusion that the only way I could afford the parts and accessories would be to sell the car for $4500 which I had been offered. I turned down the deal as I deduced that it would be better to have the car without the desired parts, than to have the desired parts without the car.
Sometimes, in Congress, we seem to place far more value on the accessories, such as partisan positioning, fundraising, caucus meetings, talking points, poison pill amendments, and “gotcha” bills. To be sure, these parts and accessories are always present in the political process, but what about the vehicle itself: the legislative process. If we are unable to ferry improved socioeconomic and national security fruit to the American public, we are concentrating way too much on the accessories. Just as an XM radio in the car cannot itself transport us one inch, an expletive tongue bomb tossed at the other side will not create a single job or cause the markets to rise one point.
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Emanuel Cleaver, II
Member of Congress
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