Posted on 01/11/2010 9:07:18 AM PST by NormsRevenge
In a national television interview that aired Sunday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said California's congressional members "are not representing us really well" as he pushed for higher federal reimbursements to help reduce the state's structural budget deficit.
The Republican governor said on NBC's "Meet the Press" that the U.S. Senate's proposed federal health care overhaul would saddle the state with an extra $3 billion to $4 billion in annual costs due largely to an expansion of Medicaid, known as Medi-Cal in California. Schwarzenegger believes the health care plan would enshrine existing cost-share formulas that he says are unfair to the state.
The governor has attacked changes won by Sen. Ben Nelson, a Nebraska Democrat, particularly one that would exempt Nebraska from additional Medicaid costs. Schwarzenegger said California's congressional members "are not representing us really well in this case."
He added, "I cannot imagine why … our senators and congressional people, how they would vote for something like that where they are representing Nebraska and not us. And, by the way, as I said in my State of the State, that's the biggest rip-off. I mean, that is against the law to buy a vote."
Schwarzenegger's comments in recent days have sparked a rebuttal from California's Democratic U.S. senators, Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein.
The governor said California receives only 78 cents back for every dollar its taxpayers send to Washington, based on a study released by the Tax Foundation. The figure is from 2005.
Boxer, running for re-election this year, on Friday released a study she commissioned estimating that California received $1.02 per federal tax dollar in 2008 and $1.45 in 2009, with the latter number including federal stimulus dollars. Feinstein last week said, "California's budget crisis was created in Sacramento, not Washington."
(Excerpt) Read more at sacbee.com ...
Who's aRnie going to support in the CA GoP primary race to run against Boxer?
All depends on whose ox is being gored, eh Arnie?
Mr. GREEN jeans?
Why do I have the sudden urge to eat popcorn?
If Schwarzenegger really wants to help the GOP challenge Boxer, he’ll keep out of that race, publicly anyway. He’s damaged goods with, well, pretty much everyone at this point.
LOL.. we all know Maria has his set locked away anyway. I’d be very suspect of anyone he endorsed.
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