Lawmaker angry over federal stimulus money decision
The controversy over the Obama administration’s decision to withhold $6.8 billion in federal stimulus money if California does not reverse a wage cut to unionized home healthcare workers heated up today as Rep. George Radanovich (R-Mariposa) weighed in with some angry words for the White House.
Officials in the governor’s office say the Service Employees International Union, the politically powerful labor organization that represents the workers -- and contributed more than $33 million to Obama’s campaign -- may have had undue influence in the matter.
The officials cite a state-federal conference call in which the wage cut and the terms of the stimulus money were deliberated. Obama's team invited SEIU representatives to participate in the government-to-government call, governor's officials say.
The union says it's nonsense to suggest that it exercised inappropriate influence. But Radanovich accused the Obama administration of pandering to the unions.
His statement:
Californians are facing difficult financial times, whether you belong to a union or not. And, the state of California needs to stop spending money it doesn’t have, which means spending cuts across the board.
For the Obama administration to take cues from unions and threaten to withhold federal stimulus money from California is inappropriate interference. Unfortunately, this is the situation we find ourselves in with the lure of bailout money.
The Administration needs to understand that California’s budget cuts are absolutely necessary in order for the State to reign in its out of control budget.
Over the past four months, the Obama administration has made it clear that fiscal responsibility is a low priority. It would be in the best interest of all Californians if the President stopped playing Monday morning quarterback with California’s budget.”
-- Evan Halper
I wonder if when Radanovich says "across the board" cuts, he is pushing hard to cut the salaries of state legislators as well...
Posted by: David Claiborne | May 12, 2009 at 03:28 PM