Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell said Tuesday he would support Congress extending the federal stimulus bill to help states cover rising health care costs, a potential infusion of funds that Virginia lawmakers hope will help close a more than $4 billion budget shortfall.
President Obama’s proposed six-month Medicaid extension could pump $350 million into the state’s coffers, helping the General Assembly avoid some major cuts to health care services and providers.
The money, however, embodies one of McDonnell’s greatest challenges: How to stabilize Virginia’s fiscal house without undercutting his rise as a national conservative figure and dissenting voice to a Democratic president and Congress. In his January State of the Union response, McDonnell — without directly naming the $787 billion stimulus bill — criticized Congress for “deficit spending, adding to the bureaucracy, and increasing the national debt on our children and grandchildren.”
In an interview with The Examiner during his visit to Capitol Hill Tuesday, McDonnell said a temporary extension of Medicaid funding would be prudent. Medicaid costs have “just grown so fast, until we have some federal health care reform that really addresses cost, if the federal government is willing to help us for a short period of time, that would be fine.”
The Virginia House of Delegates last year rejected $125 million for jobless benefits in the stimulus package because of strings attached that would have required the state to expand the number of people eligible for the benefits, a move McDonnell supported.
The Virginia Senate on Sunday proposed to cut $334 million in health and human services spending in the upcoming two-year budget, which runs through mid-2012. The House wants a larger cut of $200 million each year.
McDonnell, before meeting with the Virginia congressional delegation, participated in an interview on WTOP’s “Ask the Governor” program, during which he refused to promise serving out his entire four-year term. McDonnell, since his blowout victory in November made him a symbol of a national Republican comeback, has been the subject of speculation as a national candidate, including as a 2012 vice presidential pick.
