House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said he is not sure how much — or when — federal money will come to Maryland next year.
“The states need the money, they are really strapped,” said Hoyer, who represents Prince George’s County. “There will be some sort of [federal] help, but I’m not sure what it will be … it’s hard to tell.”
Gov. Martin O’Malley’s fiscal 2011 budget relies on $389 million in federal Medicaid funding tied up in the Senate’s version of a health care overhaul bill.
Even if the funding does come through, Hoyer said the state won’t see any cash for a long time.
“Our budget and appropriation process takes too long,” he said, noting that the federal fiscal year begins three months later than the state’s fiscal year.
Hoyer said he was more optimistic about the Senate’s version of a federal jobs bill he expects the House to approve before the end of the month.
He said lawmakers will work to pass the bill before Feb. 28, when a number of unemployment insurance programs expire. The Senate’s bill would extend those programs for another year, as well as offer tax breaks and other incentives to businesses hiring the unemployed.
“We’re looking at anything the federal government can do as an incentive to hiring,” Hoyer said.
O’Malley also has a jobs bill in the works that would give a $3,000 tax credit to Maryland businesses for every unemployed resident they hire.
