Friday, February 13, 2009
Stephen Koff, Sabrina Eaton and Mark Naymik
Plain Dealer Reporters

Washington -- Details were scarce on how much relief this week's landmark economic stimulus package will give to Ohioans and state government, but the White House and congressional Democrats estimated Thursday it will save or create 133,000 Ohio jobs.

It still is unlikely to satisfy the state's fiscal needs, and officials in Columbus say cuts to state programs are likely.

Yet Ohio companies, hospitals and business groups are already positioning themselves to benefit, which they say will help their communities create jobs. A number of them -- from Van Wert Community Hospital in western Ohio to Toledo-based insulation maker Owens Corning to Cincinnati-based FirstGroup America, a major transit operator -- retained lobbyists recently.

"We have to still do research, but we would like to see some of the money go to Ohio companies," said Oliver Meissner, a lobbyist representing SRICO Inc., a Columbus technology firm.

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown said the stimulus package will give tax breaks to 4.35 million Ohio workers through a "Making Work Pay" tax credit. Individuals could get $400 and households $800.

And a $2,500 "American Opportunity Tax Credit" will help 128,000 Ohio families afford college, Brown said.

Democratic Rep. Marcia Fudge of Warrensville Heights said the bill will channel more money than an earlier Senate version to impoverished areas like Cleveland, thanks partly to formulas that give weight to low-income areas.

She also said the bill will provide money for school construction, despite the Senate's attempt to nix that provision.

"From a comprehensive point of view, the most needy will get some attention," Fudge said, noting that the bill provides money for broadband expansion, public housing repairs, home weatherization and food stamps.

Yet while the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act could create jobs in energy, health care and transportation, it leaves Gov. Ted Strickland's administration with a financial problem.

"There will be a shortfall based on what's in the stimulus package," said Strickland. "But because we do not have the numbers and because there were some last-minute changes in the formula for the FMAP [federal Medicaid money] and all that, it's impossible for me to tell you at this point exactly what the situation is."...