Federal Budget
Will Obama Jobs Plan Include Aid to States?
State and local governments may be winners under the jobs plan President Obama is set to announce before a joint session of Congress on Thursday (September 7), according to media reports. The plan, which is now reported to come with a price tag of billion , will focus significantly on tax cuts, an extension of […]
O’Malley Mulls Tax Hikes to Offset Federal Cuts
BRACING FOR CUTS: Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley has opened the door to tax increases, the Baltimore Sun reports , but probably not before Congress decides on how it will cut spending in response to this summer’s debt ceiling deal. O’Malley said that a tax increase is possible in next year’s legislative session, after the congressional “super committee” devises a plan […]
Pentagon Cuts Have Military States Worried
USJFCOMAlthough a ceremony was held on August 4 to mark the end of the U.S. Joint Forces Command, half of the command’s budget and personnel will be retained in southeastern Virginia. As the debt-ceiling deal passed by Congress forces cuts in defense spending, states with many military bases and defense contractors can be expected to […]
Transportation Deadlock Worries States
Next month, a deeply divided Congress will decide how much money to give states to build and maintain highways, bridges and public transit systems. The outcome is anybody’s guess. When federal lawmakers return to Capitol Hill next month, one of their first assignments will be the normally routine task of finding money for better roads […]
Amid Fiscal Uncertainty, States Prepare for Cuts
The stock market’s nosedive, the downgrade of the federal government’s credit rating and the recently approved congressional debt deal – with its deep cuts in domestic spending – all bode poorly for the states, which are preparing for the likelihood of more fiscal pain in the near future. Washington Governor Chris Gregoire has asked state […]
Balanced Budget Amendment Would Be Tall Order
The New York Times and Politico both report today (August 5) on growing calls by Republicans for a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution. GOP congressional leaders are energized after winning major concessions from Democrats in the recently approved debt-ceiling deal, and many state officials also are calling for a constitutional overhaul of federal […]
For States, Debt Deal is Short on Details
As state officials begin to decipher Washington’s spending reduction deal, it’s clear that federal aid to states for certain programs will take a hit over the next decade. But it will be a while before they know exactly which programs and how big a hit. That’s because the deal, which the U.S. House passed Monday […]
Citing Federal Debt, Moody’s Warns Five States
Five states could see their top credit ratings downgraded because of the political impasse over debt in Washington, D.C., Moody’s Investors Service announced on Tuesday (July 19). The credit ratings agency said Maryland, New Mexico, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia all could be downgraded from their prized AAA credit rating if the federal government does […]
Federal Shutdown Could Worsen States’ Budget Pain
Though it has been threatened and averted twice in the last six weeks, a federal government shutdown now appears likely this weekend, and states are beginning to fret about its effects on their already beleaguered budgets. Scott Pattison, head of the National Association of State Budget Officers, says he has been fielding calls from worried […]
States Don’t See Crisis in Federal Shutdown — Yet
For the second time in two weeks, a congressional budget impasse threatens to shut down much of the federal government this weekend. So far, the reaction in state capitols is muted, but that could change if a protracted showdown comes to pass and the feds close shop for a significant length of time. States rely […]
Federal Budget Cuts Likely for State Justice Programs
FEDERAL BUDGET: The wrangling over next year’s federal budget is only beginning, but it already appears likely that some state and local criminal justice programs will be hit by congressionally imposed cuts. President Obama’s budget blueprint, for instance, would slice million from a federal program that helps states and localities pay for the incarceration of […]
Congress Making States Nervous
States are anxiously watching Congress wrangle over a series of measures they are counting on to help pay for health care, education and unemployment benefits for millions of their residents. But the federal government’s well-documented financial problems — and the growing attention paid to them on the campaign trail — are threatening those measures. Critics […]