Spending Bill May Affect State Aid Funding

Many believe the sparse, Federal emergency spending bill which passed last week is a sign that Congress will be cutting back on spending in the coming months. As WNPR's Ray Hardman reports, that could include aid to cash strapped states like Connecticut:

 

According to Deirdre Shesgreen, the Connecticut Mirror's Washington correspondent, with Connecticut Congressmen Jim Himes and Chris Murphy joining other House Democrats who want a 1% cut in spending, and House Republicans pledging to trim $100 billion from the federal budget, Congress is in a mood to cut back:

 

"There's a lot of public angst and anger over the federal deficit, and lawmakers are responding to that, they passed the stimulus bill, it's turned out to be unpopular. In addition, there's this bipartisan commission on fiscal responsibility that's set to release its report on December 1st that will additionally ramp up the pressure on lawmakers."

 

Shesgreen says state aid programs such as flexible block grants, grants for community policing and heating assistance to the poor are particularly vulnerable. State representative John Geragosian is chair of the legislature's Appropriations committee. He says with a looming $3.2 billion deficit, any cuts from the federal government would impact Connecticut:

 

"President Obama and the congress helped us balance our budget in a time of need, and preserve thousands of jobs as well as help stabilize our economy, so a cut to federal funding in these areas would be devastating to the state."

 

Geragosian says the state has experienced a few months of budget surplus which may help mitigate any deep cuts from the federal government. Congress still has to work through a dozen appropriation bills before the new Congress convenes early next year.

 

For WNPR, I'm Ray Hardman.