Governors comment on federal stimulus spending

Some governors are and some are not stimulated by the stimulus plan, according to Stateline.org.

Stateline.org asked governors attending the Feb. 21-23 National Governors Association winter meeting about the federal stimulus bill, including this pointed question: “What are you doing to make sure that when the stimulus runs out your state won’t face big deficits?”

Twenty-one governors responded. Following are six of those responses.

Delaware Gov. Jack Markell (D)
“That’s actually one of the most important things we can do, which is we’ve got to be very disciplined in the meantime. We’ve got a $600 million shortfall, 20 percent of our budget. We have to be determined over the next two years … to make government smaller. I don’t think we can count on the economy turning around that quickly. The stimulus money is going to run out. We have to make sure we’re in a position in a couple years where we’re not on the cliff.”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R)
“One of the risks of the whole stimulus package is that it wallpapers over structural problems that are underneath. If you just bring in one-time cash and don’t fix the underlying problems and don’t reform the underlying problems, the problems just re-emerge down the road. That’s one of the financial seductions of this stimulus bill. `Take the money. Don’t fundamentally fix things,’ is kind of the message of the federal government. Just do business as usual and all will be well down the road. I think that’s going to be potentially very disappointing if states do it that way.”

Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine (D)
“I gave the Legislature a budget with no stimulus money in it. So when I gave them a budget in December, we did dramatic cuts to assume no stimulus money. And now that the stimulus is here, it gives us a little breathing room. I’m telling everybody, use it for its advertised purpose, and if there’s any extra, use it for one-time things, not growing the base budget.”
 
Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle (R)
“The important point is that when the state gets funding, it be for things that they can afford long-term. So if they’re taking money for certain projects, it should be things they could afford to finish that don’t count on follow-on funding … I can tell you in my state, we’re not going to be beginning any new programs. This is going to be used to close our budget gap that we face right now. Because your point is the key one: You can’t create new programs with money that’s for a finite period of time. I think anyone who does that is not being responsible … I think the legislatures and governors in every state have to exercise some important common sense judgment. It’s not rocket science.”
 
Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn (D)
“I think economic activity generated by the stimulus will help us create new opportunities to get revenues from the income tax and the sales tax. Right now those two sources of tax revenue are declining because people aren’t working and they’re very worried about their economic future, so if you can restore public confidence in the fact that we’re going to have a growing economy and you aren’t going to lose your job, and you have the opportunity to buy goods and services that people need, I think that’s a very healthy way to grow the economy and keep the state from insolvency.”
 
Rhode Island Gov. Don Carcieri (R)
“I’m setting up a task force within my office whose sole job will be to monitor these funds. My deputy chief of staff will chair that. There’ll be representatives from different departments of state government, because I fully expect that we’re going to need to report on this regularly, how much has flowed out and for what purposes, how many jobs are being created. And so we’re setting up a mechanism … so that it’ll flow right through my office. Because at the end of the day, the governors are responsible for making sure this money is being spent wisely, and I intend to do that.”