State leaders go to Washington, Day 2
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Today is the second and final day that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and California’s four state legislative leaders spend in Washington on their trip to secure more federal funding for the strapped state budget.
The schedule includes a meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and then a bipartisan session with the entire California congressional delegation, or however many show up.
On Wednesday, Schwarzenegger and the legislative leaders -- Assembly Speaker Karen Bass; her Republican counterpart, Sam Blakeslee; Senate leader Darrell Steinberg; and Senate GOP leader Dennis Hollingsworth -- saw Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. They also went to Republican and Democratic lunches with members of their own party from the delegation, and Schwarzenegger was scheduled to meet with Education Secretary Arne Duncan in the evening.
The climate for California to receive more money to plug a $20-billion budget gap is difficult, politically and economically, state and federal officials say. So far, the most promising ideas for the state that have been broached entail things that would not cost the federal government more than it is already spending, but require rule changes to give the state more room to maneuver with its money. Those include allowing remaining federal stimulus money to be used for purposes other than those for which it’s been designated, and relaxing some federal rules that have led to cuts in social programs the state made last year to be blocked in court.
-- Michael Rothfeld in Washington
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