By FITSNews || The South Carolina budget is facing a $213 million shortfall due to the federal government’s failure to extend a provision of last year’s so-called “stimulus” – a sizable funding imbalance that has caught lawmakers completely flat-footed.
What’s creating the shortfall?
Well, federal lawmakers in Washington, D.C. are balking on approving a six-month extension of the Federal Medicaid Assistance Percentage (or FMAP), a key provision of last year’s bureaucratic bailout that permitted states to draw down additional federal dollars to spend on various health care expenses. Needless to say, South Carolina lawmakers were counting on this money to fund a variety of government programs – including several of the non-essential variety.
Now, it’s looking like the FMAP extension – which is worth $25 billion nationally (and $213 million to South Carolina lawmakers) – isn’t going to happen.
Down in Florida, where $880 million is on the line, an email from one of Gov. Charlie Crist’s top aides provides a glimpse into the maneuvering that is taking place behind the scenes on Capitol Hill.
“FMAP is not included any legislation being considered this week,” the aide wrote to Crist’s budget director. “What I am hearing is that appetite maybe be waning on the Hill.”
Later in the email, he voices concern that the funding will pass at all.
“Right now we don’t see a vehicle for it. Sorry, not good news I know.”
Both the S.C. House and State Senate have already appropriated the money as part of the state’s $21.1 billion budget. In fact, in the Senate version of the spending plan, there is no contingency in the event the money is not available.
That’s in contrast to Virginia, which already has a plan in place to deal with its $417 million cut.
“Everyone assumed back at the beginning of April that this would be no problem, that this would breeze through Congress,” S.C. Department of Health and Human Services spokesman Jeff Stensland told FITS. “Now everybody’s scrambling to find out why it’s stalled.”
WEB EXTRA
S.C. Senate Budget (Part IV)
By Carol Bishop May 6, 2010 at 8:15 pm
How is that stimulus working for you? Well it is a “change we can count on”.
They would not let us refuse it.
By Admiral_Komack May 6, 2010 at 8:27 pm
Considering the governor of this state didn’t even want the stimulus, quit your bitchin’!
By Kendra May 6, 2010 at 9:15 pm
“What’s the shortfall?”
The 400-500,000 illegal aliens we had living in this state at the peak before the building boom stopped are causing the deficit.
WHERE IS THE DAMN DEBATE On HIS FACT!?? NO ONE TALKS ABOUT IT!
By Cancerman May 6, 2010 at 9:17 pm
If these assholes would stop funding their pet projects to get re-elected and fund core government services their would not be a budget shortfall. The state is pretty much fucked because these idiots are between a rock and their re-election.
By Jay May 6, 2010 at 9:33 pm
Sanford didn’t mind taking the $ – he just didn’t want to be told how to use it.
By cloudtipper May 7, 2010 at 12:44 am
What the hell! Most of our wonderful lawmakers bitched because they didn’t want to take the stimulas & now they are bitching because they may not get any more.
We are rated in the bottom of almost everything. When will our lawmakers DO something besides taking care of their friends? Education in this state is past embarrasing. The infant mortality rate is a sin considering most of our lawmakers claim to be religious. Our lawmakers really jumped on making sure gays could not get married because it would destroy “the family”. What kind of family values lets a baby die?? Oh I forgot, that is mostly the poor & indigent citizens that seem to have that problem & our family values don’t include them. Do something to help the average citizens of this state, dammit!! Don’t just line your pockets & those of your friends. You people don’t have any shame & act proud of it.
By patricia May 7, 2010 at 10:19 am
Illegal immigrants are not the problem. The problem is the companies who HIRE illegal immigrants, American business owners are the problem. Stop hiring illegals and they will stop coming to our state and our country.
By Nathan Earle May 7, 2010 at 10:59 am
Virginia has a recovery plan, we do not. Which is why Virginia’s economy is comparatively healthy and why Virginia is rated as one of the top states in the nation in which to do business while South Carolina continues to languish in the grip of high unemployment and lackluster growth. Sometimes it feels like we’re living in a holdover Soviet satellite state the way incompetence permeates our state government.
By Huhhh??? May 7, 2010 at 11:04 am
Yeah, Patricia, The Chamber of Commerce needs to lay down the law to its members.
Oh, wait, isn’t the Massey Mining guy a big shot in the COC? we know how he feels about American workers; use ‘em, lose ‘em, bring in the cheap stuff.
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By Soft Sigh from Hell May 8, 2010 at 9:20 am
“Sometimes it feels like we’re living in a holdover Soviet satellite state the way incompetence permeates our state government.”
A person I know who works at a state agency, DHEC’s environmental side, describes a lot of the management there as exactly that, a bunch of two-bit party apparatchiks befitting Romania in 1960. Perhaps indeed the legislature postures and blunders as some backwater-republic’s all-peoples congress or politburo.
By Michael May 10, 2010 at 11:52 am
I am beginning to lose count, buy here goes…
Yet another reason to clean House and Senate. No incumbent should be left behind!