Rockville/Aspen Hill, MD - This evening Senator Roger Manno gave presentations at both the Aspen Hill and Flower Valley Civic Associations. The Town Hall- style meetings allowed Roger to field questions after giving brief 10-15 minute overviews of the state budget, spending cuts, revenue options, and other efficiencies. Roger also brought regards from the 19th District Delegation (Dels. Kramer, Arora and Cullison).

As a member of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee, Roger helps to oversee and manage a $34 billion state budget, including a $7-8 billion Medicaid budget as one of four members of the Health and Human Services Subcommittee.

Roger's comments were stark, honest, and well-received.

"We've really got to get focused, as a community, on the challenges ahead." stated Roger, "because we're in for a very rough road ahead. On the good hand, we've got the best schools in America, the wealthiest state with the lowest poverty in the nation, one of only a few states with a coveted AAA bond rating, second in the nation in advanced degrees, fifth in the nation in technological innovation, and very, very low unemployment. On the bad hand we've got tens of billions of dollars in unfunded pension and health care liabilities that we must address -- and by 2014-1015, we will have reached out statutory debt capacity. And, while we are blessed to be in such close proximity to the federal government, giving Maryland the largest concentration of federal workers, we're also extremely vulnerable to a federal government cut to states -- because, of our $34 billion state budget, $ 9.3 billion of it comes directly from the federal government. Before any of that happens, we need to come to terms with our spending and revenue issues, in a very real way, and as a community. That means cuts, but it also means new revenues, greater effeciencies in government, and real shared sacrifice. Those changes will sting -- for sure -- but they are the only way that we can protect our critical assets, our futures, and prepare for the new economic realities that we face."

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