Stimulus Deadline Friday….
dum dum dum DUM……
…governors facing a Friday deadline to seek their states’ shares of $48.6 billion in the recovery package’s State Fiscal Stabilization Fund, Orszag’s opinion puts more pressure on a handful of Republican governors who oppose the stimulus plan Obama signed into law Feb. 17….
“For a state to access its allocation of the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund, the governor must submit an application to the secretary of education, and there currently is no provision in the Recovery Act for the state legislature to make such an application in lieu of the governor for a state’s allocation,” Orszag wrote to Graham.
Last month, the Congressional Research Service, the research arm of Congress, concluded that it likely would be unconstitutional for a legislature to supplant a governor in accepting and using economic stimulus money.
So the Governors have to ASK but the state legislators can override them? or maybe not…
… The Republican-controlled South Carolina General Assembly has crafted legislation to request the money, but Orszag’s letter suggests the Obama administration wouldn’t recognize or act on such a law were the legislature to pass it….
South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford has until Friday to choose between the philosophical and the fiscal as the deadline to accept $700 million in federal stimulus money approaches, the Wall Street Journal reports. Sanford wants authority over the funds, earmarked for education and public safety, and has pledged to refuse them unless the legislature agrees to pay down debt—an action it says it can’t afford.
Sanford spokesman Joel Sawyer said the governor has already compromised from his original position and said lawmakers still could prioritize education while paying off debt.
“They’re writing an intentionally irresponsible budget in an attempt to raise public pressure,” Sawyer said.
Wednesday, the White House resolved the debate about who could request the money, agreeing with an earlier opinion by S.C. Attorney General Henry McMaster that only Sanford had the authority.
Sanford cheered White House budget director Peter Orszag’s opinion supporting his authority.
“We’re glad the White House concurred with the state attorney general in validating what the governor has long believed — that he should be the one directing this money,” Sawyer said.
Yeah maybe someone briefed the Constitutional Law Professor on the pesky Amendement giving states you know rights and such lol….
The Republican-controlled South Carolina Legislature has crafted legislation requesting the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund money, but Orszag’s letter suggests the Obama administration wouldn’t recognize or act on such resolution were the Legislature to pass it.
Working with the Republican leaders of the South Carolina General Assembly, U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, the third-ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives, had crafted a provision in the stimulus bill authorizing state legislatures to seek stimulus money that governors reject.
But the Congressional Research Service, the nonpartisan research arm of Congress, concluded last month that it likely would be unconstitutional for a legislature to supplant a governor in accepting and using economic stimulus money.
Sanford has said consistently that the debt created by the stimulus would harm future generations, and paying down debt is the best option for offsetting what he deems to be irresponsible borrowing.
Moderate in the Middle 