Palin's Masterful Stimulus Letter to Obama
Governor Palin was given a deadline of April 3rd to certify acceptance of the economic stimulus funds. She beat the deadline, submitting this letter to President Obama on Tuesday:
Mr. President
The White House
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear Mr. President,
The purpose of this letter is to provide notice that I am accepting those funds available to Alaska under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) that create new, private-sector jobs and grow the economy.
I have invited public discussion through the legislative hearing process currently underway on ARRA funds that appear designed to grow government programs or that will impose federal mandates on our state. Federal stimulus spending must not add to strained state budgets nor diminish state sovereignty by imposing mandates, now or in the future.
The law requires that I certify that every dollar of these economic stimulus funds will create jobs and grow the economy. I take that charge seriously. I have forwarded requests to Alaska's legislators to appropriate hundreds of millions of dollars for infrastructure projects that truly create new private sector jobs and stimulate the economy. Through our budget process, I have also accepted additional Medicaid funds available through ARRA.
We will continue to review the assurances and requirements in the ARRA under each title for receipt of federal economic stimulus funds. The state legislature is fully engaged in the budget process and taking public testimony on the economic stimulus funding to determine the impacts on Alaska's budget now and in the future when the federal funds are no longer available. It is possible that there will be areas where the state will not choose to apply for funds. These instances will be addressed on a case by case basis.
Pursuant to Title XVI, section 1607 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Pub. L. 111-5 (Feb. 17, 2009)) ("ARRA"), entitled "Additional funding Distribution and Assistance of Appropriate Use of Funds", I Sarah Palin, the Governor of the State of Alaska, hereby certify that:
1) The State of Alaska will request and use certain funds provided by ARRA with some decisions subject to final determinations based on the legislative appropriations process described in this letter; and
2) Funds will be used to create jobs and promote economic growth.
By making this certification, the State of Alaska is not committed now or in the future, to accept all of the federal funds.
The federal economic stimulus package will have profound, long-term implications. Our citizens and future generations must have the hope of meaningful work and economic opportunity, rather than be burdened by higher taxes and increased national debt.
Sincerely,
Sarah Palin
Governor
She also attached a copy of her February 2nd letter regarding her concerns about the stimulus.
UPDATE: Audio report from Alaska Public Radio.
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26 comments:
"The federal economic stimulus package will have profound, long-term implications. Our citizens and future generations must have the hope of meaningful work and economic opportunity, rather than be burdened by higher taxes and increased national debt."
well said...
honestly, could he make it easier for a fiscal conservative to run in 2012
http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/ED-AJ259A_ryan_NS_20090331212427.gif
Why is this a good letter? Um, well because Sarah believes in actually making SENSE. It all boils down to short term relief vs. long term debt. I believe prudence (as Sarah rightly puts it) is the best direction.
And she won't get a response on this from Washington. They'll simply ignore it. State's rights, or Federalism really don't mean anything to them.
V.O.,
A deadline does loom this Friday for Palin and Sanford with respect to the stimulus funds alloted for "state fiscal stabilization funds." The deadline is this Friday because the Department of Education has issued a guideline that only allows governors, rather than the legislature, to request the funds. The legislature cannot go around either Palin or Sanford with respect to these funds.
Dermot Cole provides a pretty good explanation and includes what's going down in South Carolina with Sanford.
http://newsminer.com/weblogs/dermot-cole/2009/apr/01/stimulus-funds-and-alaska/
To expand on my post, what makes these Friday-deadline funds that require her acceptance is that the state fiscal stabilization funds are divided into two pars. Part A is restricted to education funding while Part B is discretionary. The state was allotted $93 million in Part A funds and $20.7 million for Part B funds.
At her press conference, 'Cuda accepted Part B funds but did not accept Part A funds. The problem though is that the Department of Education guidelines don't allow a governor to accept Part B funds without accepting Part A funds as well.
Since Sanford never drew a distinction between the Part A and B funding from the state fiscal stabilization funds that he decided not to request at the moment, we can infer that this guideline was directed at the only governor who had drawn such a distinction, Sarah Palin.
It makes no sense to me why the Department of Education would require governors to accept Part A funds if they accepted Part B funds but it seems this move was an attempt to jam Palin since she was the only person to differentiate between the two parts in the state fiscal stabilization funds.
If only Reagan were able to rid us of the department of education
Tommy,
Can she accept portions of Part A in order to recieve Part B, or is it mandated that she must accept all of Part A to be able to recieve Part B?
What are the most telling words or phrases in the letter?
1)'Federal stimulus spending must not add to strained state budgets nor diminish state sovereignty by imposing mandates, now or in the future
2)'not committed now or in the future, to accept all of the federal funds'
3)'the federal economic stimulus package will have profound, long-term implications'
4)'rather than be burdened by higher taxes and increased national debt'
5)'the law requires that I certify that every dollar of these economic stimulus funds will create jobs and grow the economy'
my answer: #1-asserting the 10th Anmendment
Techno,
#1, hands down.
#1 hands down!
When I first read that I was like she hit in on the head right there. It's true that the stimulus should be given freely to the governor to "create" jobs, but not have to make them change their laws or anything.
Uga,
The way it reads to me is that she has to accept all of Part A to get Part B. Here's Dermot:
"One of the key findings here is that the state can not ask for a $20.7 million slice of the education money in the stimulus package, without accepting the other $93 million. The Palin administration has so far said it has only decided to accept the $20.7 million...The essential parts of today's news are: A state may NOT take Part B of the Stabilization Funds without taking Part A. If Alaska wants the $20.7 million in Part B discretionary funding, it must take the $93 million in Part A to flow through to school districts."
I don't see any other reading if Dermot accurately described the Department of Education guideline.
She's in a pickle now. In order to pass on the Part A funds, she'd be passing on Part B funds that she's already conceded will help "create new, private-sector jobs and grow the economy" by putting the Part B funds in her initial request. I guess she could argue that the downside from the growth in government that the state will need to pick up in two years from the Part A funds (e.g. people will expect that such programs continue) outweigh the benefits created by the Part B funds.
Perhaps this deadline is being overdramatized. I'm unclear about whether the state will automatically appropriate funds if the governor requests funds. For example, if she does submit a request for Part A and Part B funding on Friday, is the legislature still required to put that specific funding in an appropriations bill and could Palin still veto such funds even if she was the one who requested it?
"And when the governors saw that the stimulus was good for the economy, and that it was pleasing to their constituency, they took the money thereof, and thus did partake, and gave also unto their own constituents to partake."
"The taste of the stimulus was sweet to the governors and their people; sweeter than the ripened fruit of the vine or honey from the comb, the stimulus was. And the people celebrated their new found bounty and in their gratitude proclaimed their obeisance to those that delivered the stimuli. Verily, the people erected statues of their leaders in honor and celebrations lasted a fortnight with much feasting and mirth."
"As the snow melts in the spring, so to was their bounty fleeting, and they knew not what they had done."
"And lo their pockets were opened and emptied, and their sheep were fleeced, and their houses were repossessed, and the ground become hard and barren, and they knew that they had been rendered poor; and their children and their children's children. Their governors had become cruel masters and they taxed them and beat them mercilessly."
"Verily though, they did not possess insight into whence their misery came, they gnashed their teeth in fury and hurled anathemas at their former leader whom they had replaced. In their ignorance their minds clouded with anger and they struck blindly at those around them."
"In their foolishness they had lost all. And they stapled together cardboard boxes to cover themselves cause they were naked and ashamed. Yet they did not comprehend their own actions."
Lovin the new header. Looks great!
Its funny because I was gonna suggest maybe putting up something more Alaska-Centric(since the 08 Presidential campaign is over now)
The new header is very nice.
Now onto the letter...
I am still worried that they're ultimately gonna find a way/loophole to force Conservative governors take all of the money...they(dem congress) did not vote on the stimulus package only to watch things go down in flames as a bunch of Republican governors ruin it by not taking the money. IDK...
Tremendous letter. I hope it gets wide circulation.
An interesting column that references SarahPAC which I hope is true:
http://www.poligazette.com/2009/04/02/because-palin-sells/comment-page-1/#comment-89005
Not only do they defend her, etc., they also donate millions of dollars to her PAC and to whatever cause she decides to support. This while the Republican Party as a whole has fundraising troubles and was destroyed during last year’s presidential election campaign (without Palin, it would have been even worse).
Fantastic letter by Sarah and they made fun of her journalism degree? She has a million times the common sense of the hacks in Washington D.C.. I agree with the comments about the new header.. Beautiful !!
Keep up the fantastic work and GO SARAH GO !!
Greg, thanks for the heads up on that poligazette column. I posted in the comments section too.
Amazing letter! Every time I hear something from her, I see how forward focused and visionary she is! She not only looks at the present of her state; she looks towards the future! A few examples:
1) Rejecting stimulus money that will burden the state in the future
2)Forward funding education
3)AGIA
4) Plans to create a large percentage of energy from renewable sources by 2025
If only our president, other governors, and lawmakers would follow her example. Amazing!
Speaking of Reagan's education department, is anyone else tiring of Bill Bennett? Nice guy, but terminally corrupted by the inside the beltway crowd...
I never really liked Bennett
I happily confess that i do not understand the import pf this letter and I defer to the judgment of my betters here that it was indeed masterful.
Joseph Russo:
What did Bill Bennett recently say or do regarding Sarah?
What a beautiful and masterful statement to the FEDS that she is adhering to the letter of their Stimulus package in accepting only the moneys that do in fact create jobs and not those that only build Government social structure.
She used their own mandate for JOBS to rightfully turn down moneys that do not, and their requiring all Governors to certify otherwise would be against the letter of the Stimulus Package.
An HONORABLE public servant at work is what she demonstrates by these actions, there is no FREE LUNCH and she uses public moneys with a TRUSTWORTHINESS not seen by many other politicians, God bless you Gov. Palin
techno,
I don't know ... I don't listen to him
I listened to Bennett's show for about 20 minutes last fall in the dentist's office. BORING.
"to determine the impacts on Alaska's budget now and in the future when the federal funds are no longer available."
EXACTLY. What good does it do to hire thousands of government employees so we must fire them next year? (We know what the answer is and OVER OUR DEAD BODIES is this country going socialist!)
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