Speaker Núñez, Rep. Lofgren Urge Governor to Meet with Congress

Speaker Núñez, Rep. Lofgren Urge Governor to Meet with Congress

Call on Schwarzenegger to Meet with California Delegation While in Washington, D.C.

February 24, 2006

Washington, DC - Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose), Chair of the California Democratic Congressional Delegation, and California Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez today called on Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to meet with the California Congressional Delegation while in the nation's capital to lobby for funds for infrastructure projects and health care programs threatened by cuts in the federal budget.

In a letter to the governor, the two lawmakers wrote: "We must ensure that our federal representatives work to increase the federal funds available for California and that our state legislative leaders know how to craft state laws so as to maximize available federal matches. We should take advantage of the fact that six Congressional committees are chaired by Californians. If we don't have a unified game plan, we will lose out to other states that do. Why should California be the piggy-bank for the nation?"

The Governor is scheduled to be in Washington beginning this weekend for the National Governors Association meeting and to appear on NBC's "Meet the Press."

The full text of letter is below:

February 24, 2006

The Honorable Arnold Schwarzenegger
Governor, State of California
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814

Dear Governor Schwarzenegger:

We are pleased to learn that you plan to attend at least part of the National Governors' Association winter meeting in Washington, D.C. However, we are disappointed that you will not use the occasion to follow up on your promise to convene a bipartisan California Congressional delegation and Legislative leadership meeting - a meeting you promised to convene on February 17, 2005 - to develop a strategy that we can all employ to achieve important federal objectives for California.

President Bush's FY07 budget proposes funding cuts for many programs that are important to California, including, education, health care, Community Development Block Grants and SCAAP. Coming on the heels of the $3.1 billion hit California is facing as a result of the budget reconciliation bill, the costly Medicare Part D fiasco and the loss of a House Appropriations Committee seat, California needs a strong federal strategy.

In these critical times, it is vital that you, as Governor, bring the bipartisan Congressional delegation and Legislative leadership together to work as Californians for California, rather than as parochial partisans. We must ensure that our federal representatives work to increase the federal funds available for California and that our state legislative leaders know how to craft state laws so as to maximize available federal matches. We should take advantage of the fact that six Congressional committees are chaired by Californians. If we don't have a unified game plan, we will lose out to other states that do. Why should California be the piggy-bank for the nation?

Last February, we were encouraged by the brief but promising meeting with you, the Legislative leaders and more than forty Members of our Congressional delegation. It was an important first step, but as you know, we asked for and anticipated a prompt follow-up. You promised to convene such a follow-up meeting in Sacramento within 30 days, where we could roll up our sleeves and develop a state/federal game plan. More than 365 days have elapsed and there has been no such meeting, despite our repeated reminders. Californians do not want their leaders to wait one more day to convene this bipartisan strategy session.

We also presume that you would want to meet with all of us to develop strategy for your stated objectives of improving California's infrastructure. Your proposal requires federal matches and other federal funds and it certainly seems that you would want to work with the Legislature and Congressional delegation to ensure that the laws passed in Sacramento and Washington will provide the greatest opportunities to make your plan, or whatever infrastructure plan ultimately passes, viable.

Congress is currently in the budget/appropriations season. Our coordinated, collective efforts are needed NOW in order to effectively address California's federal priorities. Attached is a list of several areas where California is shortchanged by the President's FY07 budget proposal. The list is by no means exhaustive, but it does highlight several important areas where we and our colleagues believe the budget is detrimental to California. On behalf of our respective colleagues, we request that you convene the promised bipartisan Congressional delegation/Legislative leadership meeting and lead us in setting an action plan of federal priorities for our state.

Sincerely,

Zoe Lofgren, Chair, California Democratic Congressional Delegation

Fabian Nunez, Speaker, California State Assembly

http://www.house.gov/apps/list/speech/ca16_lofgren/022406_CDCD_Gov_Visit.html