Gov. Gregoire joins bipartisan group of Governors to urge Congress to approve FMAP extension

For Immediate Release: June 30, 2010

WASHINGTON, D.C. � Gov. Chris Gregoire today joined a bipartisan group of governors in Washington, D.C., to continue to urge Congress to pass an extension of the Federal Medicaid Assistance Percentages funding.

�The consequences of losing FMAP funding for our state and to all states are serious,� Gregoire said. �For us, closing the resulting gap could mean a 7.4 percent cut across the board to all programs not protected by our state constitution or federal requirements.�

Washington�s Office of Financial Management warns across the board cuts would mean cutting an additional $52 million from the Department of Corrections � which could result the elimination of community supervision of offenders. It would cut funding to the Department of Social and Health Services by $274 million, threatening end-of-life care for low-income people who deserve dignity in their final days. It would reduce funding to higher education by $83 million and could eliminate state supported financial aid programs and deny up to 5,800 full time students an opportunity to go to our colleges and universities next year.

Over the past two years, Washington state has already made more than $5 billion in cuts to help close a $12 billion budget gap. Eliminations and reductions included closing state institutions, reforming programs and eliminating thousands of public employee positions.

�Our other option is laying off more state employees,� Gregoire said. �To make up for the loss of FMAP money through layoffs alone, we would need to put 6,400 state employees out of work. That would risk a double-dip recession � reducing consumer spending while increasing demand for unemployment benefits, subsidized health care and food stamps.�

The budget passed during the last legislative session included $480 million in additional FMAP dollars after President Obama included it in his budget, the U.S. Senate passed the extension once, and the U.S. House of Representatives passed the extension twice. If the state fails to receive the funding, it would result in a $200 million deficit for the remainder of the 2009-2011 biennium.

At least 30 states, under both Democratic and Republican leadership, assumed additional FMAP money in their state budgets.

Joining Gregoire today at a press conference was Gov. Jennifer Granholm (MI), Gov. Edward Rendell (PA), Gov. Martin O�Malley (MD), Gov. Mark Parkinson (KS), Gov. David Paterson (NY). Participating via video conference was Gov. Pat Quinn (IL), Gov. Jodi Rell (CT), Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (CA), and Gov. Bill Ritter (CO).

�Our message to Congress today is simple: the most important part of being �fiscally responsible� is acting responsibly,� Gregoire said. �Increased FMAP funding is not a long-standing expectation of states. But it is a short-term necessity. Abruptly ending this funding will hamper our ability to act responsibly. States across the nation will be forced to pass down immediate and damaging cuts to the most vulnerable people in America.�