Governors press Congress for state fiscal relief
With revenues sagging, governors press for state fiscal relief in upcoming stimulus bill
ANDREW TAYLOR
AP News
Dec 11, 2008 13:10 EST
A trio of governors came to Capitol Hill on Thursday to plead with lawmakers for relief from crushing state fiscal woes caused by a huge slump in revenues as the recession deepens.
Governors across the country have already pared payrolls, delayed infrastructure and cut aid to municipal government. In testimony before the House Appropriations Committee, Wisconsin Democrat Jim Doyle, New Jersey Democrat Jon Corzine and Vermont Republican Jim Douglas say they're looking at cratering tax revenues. That means even bigger — and far more painful — cuts are coming.
Doyle told lawmakers that he's facing a $5.4 billion, 17 percent budget gap in his upcoming fiscal plan. That's on top of a 10 percent cut already made to Wisconsin's state workforce.
Corzine says governors could use up to $100 billion to help with day-to-day operating costs, in addition to a recent $40 billion request over two years to help fund the Medicaid program for the poor and disabled and up to $136 billion for infrastructure projects like road and bridge repair.
Without help, the governors said, the cuts to state services and infrastructure projects would take money out of the economy, deepening recession.
"We will be forced to cut the very tools and services that people depend on to pull them out of recession," Doyle said
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