California Leads States In Stimulus Cash, New York Next In Line
In all, 18 states probably would land more than $10 billion each in spending and tax cuts, according to the Center for American Progress, a public-policy group in Washington that studied how the stimulus is likely to be distributed.
California tops the list with about $63 billion in new funding, or more than $1,700 per person. New York stands to come in second with roughly $41 billion, more than $2,000 per person.
Other big stimulus sweepstakes winners include Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan.
On a per capita basis, some states with smaller populations would fare best because of federal funding formulas that guide such items as transportation spending. Alaska, for example, would collect about $2,600 per person; Rhode Island almost $2,400.
Yesterdays 244-188 vote sends the measure to the Senate, where a fight is brewing among states over a provision that would increase state Medicaid funding by more than $80 billion.
The bill passed by the House would give half of that money to states with the highest projected unemployment, including California, New York, Rhode Island, Florida, Nevada, Michigan. The rest of the money would be distributed evenly.
Senate Formula
The Senate legislation would distribute the money more evenly, sending 80 percent of it to all 50 states and 20 percent to those hardest hit.
The House approach is “more efficient,” said Iris Lav, deputy director of the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington. “When you target the money, you need less money overall.”
Many states are struggling to balance their budgets. California is facing a $42 billion budget shortfall over the next 17 months. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said he and state lawmakers, seeking to resolve differences over whether to raise taxes or cut spending, arent looking at the stimulus bill as “the savior.”
“We look at it as icing on the cake,” Schwarzenegger told reporters in Sacramento yesterday.
Rounding out the bottom of likely stimulus recipients are Wyoming, North Dakota and Vermont, which are estimated to collect about $1 billion each, or about $2,000 per capita, to balance their budgets, make buildings more energy efficient, repair schools, aid college students and extend unemployment benefits.
About two-thirds of the package will be distributed to states and localities according to federal spending formulas, as in the case of highway funding, or according to need, as with Medicare. That approach so far has limited the political horse- trading that usually accompanies big spending bills.
As the U.S. House debated the legislation yesterday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sought to whip up support for the package with an e-mail touting how much each state stands to collect.
“We hope these state-by-state tables are helpful to members and staff in describing to your constituents the numerous benefits of this critical legislation,” Pelosi wrote lawmakers this afternoon.
Windfalls
House Republicans, none of whom voted for the measure, cautioned that projections of state windfalls are premature.
The House, Senate and administration each have different state and local funding formulas for road spending, for example, said Jennifer Hing, Republican spokeswoman for the House Appropriations Committee.
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