Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Governor Culver Joins Colleagues Requesting Congress To Include State Components In Fiscal Stimulus
National Governors Association Proposal Calls for $12 Billion for States
Des Moines Today, Governor Chet Culver joined 38 other governors from across the country calling for state components to be included in the federal economic stimulus package currently under consideration by Congress. The proposal was put forward by the National Governors Association (NGA) and is supported by both Democratic and Republican governors. The NGA letter asks Congressional leadership to provide $12 billion to states, equally divided between the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) and a flexible block grant program. These same two components were utilized in 2003, the last time Congress passed a federal economic stimulus package.
I am proud to stand with Republican and Democratic governors from across the country in support of an economic stimulus package that has proven in the past to successfully boost the economy, said Governor Culver. I strongly urge Congress to adopt this bipartisan stimulus proposal as part of their overall legislative package.
The United States House of Representatives will take up economic stimulus legislation today, and then the bill goes to the Senate where the Senate Finance Committee is expected to consider it on Wednesday. The bill could pass the full Senate before the end of the week and congressional leadership has indicated they would like to have it to the President by the middle of February, if not sooner. I appreciate the expediency with which the Congress is moving to consider this stimulus package, continued Governor Culver. They have acted in a bi-partisan manner and in a timely way to help address national economic concerns. However, a state piece will provide an additional stabilizing component to the package and I hope they will give it their full consideration before final passage.
If the NGA proposal is to become part of the stimulus package, it must be added during Senate consideration of the bill. Last week, Governor Culver met with both Senator Charles Grassley and Senator Tom Harkin to discuss the proposal. Senator Grassley is the Ranking Member on the Senate Finance Committee.