Pawlenty didn't sign NGA letter because it praised stimulus

Posted at 5:26 PM on February 23, 2010 by Tom Scheck
Filed under: MN Legislature, Pawlenty travel, Tim Pawlenty

Gov. Pawlenty responsed today to his decision not sign a letter urging Congress to pass legislation that extends the federal stimulus for Medicaid. Pawlenty was one of eight governors who did not sign a letter from the National Governors Association urging Congress to pass the bill. When asked why he didn't sign it, Pawlenty said he didn't agree with the language praising the stimulus:

"I worked with the NGA staff in Washington D.C. over the weekend over that. With the Medicaid program, it is a federal program, we act as a pass through agent. The enrollment in the MEdicaid program is growing. I do believe that the federal government should pay more for that program. But the way the letter was worded, in the first paragraph in particular, it had kind of glowing or positive comments about the stimulus bill more generally and its jobs impact and because we're trying to get fifty people to agree on the same language, getting that out of there was not agreed upon so I didn't sign the letter." Listen

The first paragraph of the NGA letter said "On behalf of the nation's governor's we write to request your assistance in protecting jobs and speeding economic recovery by extending the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act's (ARRA) enhanced federal match for Medicaid (FMAP) for two additional quarters."

Several Democrats in the Legislature have criticized Pawlenty for ripping the stimulus bill but relying on it to balance the state's budget.

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