***BREAKING NEWS*** Bredesen Might Reject Stimulus Money
Until this morning, Republican governors were the only people who hinted that they’d reject a portion of the money directed to the states from the Generational Theft Act. That’s now history because Gov. Phil Bredesen, (D-TN), might reject part of the money in the stimulus package:
At the National Governors Association meetings in Washington, D.C., Gov. Phil Bredesen said this week that he might turn down relief for unemployed workers worth an estimated $143 million because of conditions placed on the money by Congress.
The stimulus package would also raise unemployment benefits by $25 a week for all workers, but in addition, lawmakers want states to expand the pool of people who can apply for benefits. That would put more pressure on an unemployment trust fund that is already trying to stave off insolvency.
“We are evaluating this piece of money, whether it makes sense for us to take it,” Bredesen said in an interview Monday with the Chattanooga Times Free Press. “We’re in the position of going back to our legislature this year for changes in our tax structure just to keep our fund whole, and taking it to a new level may be too much of a lift for the legislature this spring.”
Prior to this, Gov. Jindal, Gov. Barbour, Gov. Sanford and Gov. Palin were the only governors who had rejected a portion of the money being sent to the states or who were thinking about rejecting a portion of the stimulus money.
That had gotten House Majority Whip James Clyburn and Sen. Chuck Schumer upset. Rep. Clyburn even said that rejecting part of the money was the equivalent of being a racist. (I wonder if he’s willing to call Gov. Bredesen a racist, too. It’s just a hunch but I’m betting that that won’t happen.)
One thing that hasn’t been talked about is that the Theft Act’s unemployment provision is another attempt by Speaker Pelosi and President Obama to tell these governors how to run their states. Once this one-time money runs out, this turns into an unfunded mandate.
Unfunded mandates are nothing more than the federal government telling a state government that they know better how to govern their state government. That’s insulting considering the irersponsible idiots (Sen. Reid and Speaker Pelosi) running things in DC.
It’s time that these outstanding governors told President Obama that they won’t accept hsi habit of signing off on unfunded mandates because they reject him telling them how to govern.
Technorati Tags: Stimulus, Unemployment, Unfunded Mandates, President Obama, Harry Reid, Speaker Pelosi, Phil Bredesen, Democrats, Bobby Jindal, Haley Barbour, Mark Sanford, Sarah Palin, Republicans
Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog