Don’t show me the money, some in Missouri say
TEXT OF STORY
Jeremy Hobson: Missouri may become the latest state to turn down Federal money because of concerns about the deficit. Some Republican state lawmakers want to send more than a quarter billion dollars in federal stimulus money back to Washington.
Marketplace’s Nancy Marshall Genzer has the story.
Nancy Marshall Genzer: Missouri’s governor wants to use the stimulus money to extend unemployment benefits, and stave off cuts in education funding. But Republican state senators like Will Kraus say Missouri should set an example: Send the money back, demand that it go toward reducing the federal deficit and stop using federal money to put off tough budget cuts.
Will Kraus: We need to make those tough decisions this year versus putting it down the road.
Other state Republicans say the money would just be rerouted to other states. It wouldn’t reduce the deficit. That’s what happened when the governor of Florida turned down federal money for a high speed rail project. Nonetheless, more and more states are refusing some federal funding. Cash-strapped governors are balking at federal grants that require them to chip in, or be responsible for cost overruns. Still, most states are not turning away federal money that doesn’t come with strings attached.
In Washington, I’m Nancy Marshall Genzer for Marketplace.
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