Governor Jim Gibbons characterized his meeting with President-elect Barrack Obama today (December 2,2008) in Philadelphia as productive and helpful. Gibbons and governors from numerous other states met with Obama to discuss the current economic crisis and possible solutions.

"The meeting underscored that the challenges our economy and people are facing in Nevada are part of a national problem that requires bipartisan cooperation to resolve," Governor Gibbons said.

"President-elect Obama noted that 41 states are likely to face budget shortfalls this year or next, forcing Governors and legislators to choose between reining in spending or raising taxes," Governor Gibbons stated. “Federal help in terms of paying for federally mandated programs and federal investment in infrastructure will be helpful to states hard-hit by revenue declines.”

Gibbons also noted a recent study that showed the nationwide deficit in state budgets is projected to be in excess of $100 billion dollars.

President-elect Obama has indicated that he will make an economic stimulus package his top priority. Governor Gibbons said he encouraged the President-elect to avoid obstacles to successful implementation of a stimulus package such as burdensome federal regulations that would obstruct and delay programs coming from Washington to the states.

Gibbons also emphasized the need to provide incentives to help keep people in distressed properties from going into foreclosure and also to bring buyers into vacant foreclosed homes. "No community is served well by having neighborhoods consisting of empty homes,” Gibbons said, adding that he also supports increasing the limits on mortgage-interest deductibility and providing incentives such as federal tax credits to give additional incentives to people to buy property.

"When people buy homes, they invest in Nevada,” the Governor stated. “The single most important thing we can do to encourage that investment is to ensure that our economic climate and employment improve so people have the resources and confidence needed to make that long-term commitment.” Gibbons also recently met with representatives of financial institutions doing business in Nevada to address the housing problem.

The Nevada Governor also said that he supports the creation of a National Homestead Act, similar to the one we currently have in Nevada, which would protect people’s residences from creditor claims.

The Governor commended President-elect Obama for stating that our nation’s economic problems are bipartisan and finding solutions requires the active participation of the nation’s governors. “He is trying to do nationally in a bipartisan manner what I am trying to do in our state with the legislature in resolving our budgetary issues. I commend him for that, as I do the Democratic leaders in our state as well.”

Gibbons called the meeting productive and informative. "This economic downturn is a national problem that significantly impacts Nevada and Nevada families. The fact is, the better our nation does economically, the better our state and our people will do.”

While in Philadelphia, Governor Gibbons also obtained California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s agreement to form a joint Nevada/California infrastructure project to work with their respective federal delegations to help facilitate the building of a high-speed mag-lev train between Las Vegas and Los Angeles.