PHILADELPHIA -- That loud ringing coming from Independence Hall is not the Liberty Bell, but an alarm sounding from the nation's governors seeking federal help from the next president for their budget-strapped states.
At least 41 states face a projected $143 billion in deficits over the next two years. So this morning, Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine was among 48 governors and governors-elect who met with President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. to push for an economic stimulus package to ease the pain of further cuts in state services and layoffs of government workers.
Virginia faces a projected budget deficit of between $2.5 billion and $3.5 billion in its 2009-2010 budget.
"Make no mistake: these are difficult times," Obama told the governors at a closed-door morning meeting in historic Congress Hall.
"And we're going to have to make hard choices in the months ahead about how to invest precious tax dollars and how to save them -- hard choices like the ones you're making right now."
Governors are pushing for a two-year package that includes:
- An upfront, $136 billion investment in transportation infrastructure and public works projects to create jobs.
- An increase in the federal contribution to Medicaid.
- Extension of unemployment and food-stamp benefits. National unemployment is running at 6.5 percent, the highest in 14 years.
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