sharks on a fish feed.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/02/19/politics/main4812194.shtml<snip>
A handful of Republican governors are considering turning down some money from the federal stimulus package, a move opponents say puts conservative ideology ahead of the needs of constituents struggling with record foreclosures and soaring unemployment.
Though none has outright rejected the money available for education, health care and infrastructure, the governors of Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alaska, South Carolina and Idaho have all questioned whether the $787 billion bill signed into law this week will even help the economy.
CBS News correspondent Bill Whitaker reported that the stimulus funds may be looking incredibly attractive to the 46 states facing serious budget shortfalls. California, where Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is struggling to get a budget passed amid strong opposition from fellow Republican lawmakers to tax hikes, is by far the worst case. Schwarzenegger and almost all state lawmakers have quickly agreed that the money from Washington is needed.
Whitaker reported that all 28 Democratic governors and four Republican governors, including Charlie Crist of Florida, welcomed the stimulus money. "This is not about partisan politics," Crist said. "This is about rising above that." (See Whitaker's Evening News report.)
But, Jindal said he, like Perry and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, is concerned about strings
attached to the money even though his state faces a $1.6 billion budget shortfall next year.
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