|
 Governor
Jim Gibbons issued the following statement regarding
Chancellor Jim Rogers’ request for federal assistance in
balancing the State of Nevada’s budget during the ongoing
economic recession:
“Nevada
is clearly in an unprecedented fiscal struggle, and we need
to look at all potential solutions for balancing our state
budget. To date, legislators and I have balanced a $1.2
billion budget shortfall through a combination of spending
cuts, freezing thousands of vacant positions, eliminating
one-time expenditures and spending our savings accounts.
Legislative leaders and I are continuing to work together to
balance another $300 million shortfall in our current year’s
budget, and we’ll be meeting again on Thursday to discuss
our options.
I have
also met with Chancellor Rogers to discuss the budget
shortfall as it relates to higher education. I believe our
meeting was very productive, and we discussed several
options for funding higher education, including tuition
increases. I look forward to continuing these discussions.
More than
two weeks ago I reached out to Nevada’s congressional
delegation to discuss the potential of an economic stimulus
directed to the states. If Congress decides to approve such
a stimulus, I believe it should include: an extension of
unemployment benefits to directly help unemployed workers,
an increase in the federal matching rate for Medicaid so the
state can continue to help its most needy citizens, and a
stimulus for job creation through infrastructure
improvements. Nevada has more than $200 million worth of
construction projects ready to be put to bid immediately if
congress allocates funding for capital improvements, and the
state is standing ready to put people back to work if
funding becomes available.
I’d like
to thank the leaders from across Nevada who are working
together to address our needs. It’s only through this spirit
of bipartisan cooperation that we’re going to develop
solutions, and I remain committed to working cohesively as a
state to do just that.”
October 30, 2008 - Letter from Governor Gibbons to The
Honorable Harry Reid (pdf) |
