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Governors Back House on Stimulus

Senate version provides for half as much direct state aid

By Jason Farago, Newser Staff

Posted Feb 11, 2009 8:02 AM CST

(Newser) – With the House and Senate reconciling their competing stimulus bills, governors are pushing for the House version to prevail, the Washington Post reports. States would receive billions in aid if that version goes through—or next to nothing if the Senate's legislation passes. "If the Senate version holds, there will be very deep cuts," said Wisconsin governor Jim Doyle.

Ohio, for example, could save 300 youth services jobs, provide dozens of positions for Alzheimer's patients, and keep 8,000 children in child care if the House prevails. Under the Senate version, nada. Gov. Ted Strickland said he struggled to convince senators of the severity of state budget shortfalls. "To hear this referred to as a 'slush fund' causes me to think that there's a failure to understand what's going on in the states," he said.

[Images (6)]

[Quotes (2)]

In this Sept. 2008 file photo, Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland is shown in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, File)

Barack Obama and Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2008, after an economic summit in Lake Worth, Fla. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle speaks at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2008. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., talks to reporters after the final passage of the stimulus bill, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2009, at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, left, and Senate Budget Committee Chairman Sen. Kent Conrad, D-ND, walk off the Senate floor on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2009. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

State governors are hoping that the House and not the Senate prevails in negotiations over the details of the stimulus package. (©jurvetson)

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If the Senate version holds, there will be very deep cuts. We're going to see teachers and firefighters and police officers lose their jobs. - Jim Doyle, governor of Wisconsin

If the Senate will just move a little closer to the House version, that will provide some very significant tax relief, funding of Medicaid and an extension of unemployment insurance. - Tim Kaine, governor of Virginia

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Governors Back House on Stimulus