Governor Perdue today defended his stance on accepting federal stimulus money. The governor has come under criticism for saying he may not accept all the unemployment insurance money because it would mean Georgia might have to expand benefits.
He spoke to reporters after briefing state department heads on the stimulus package:
As for when other state agencies might start to receive federal funds-Department of Transportation Chief Gena Evans says her agency is at the front of the line:
He spoke to reporters after briefing state department heads on the stimulus package:
“We’re gonna take every dollar we can. That means long term benefits... Georgians have paid their taxes in and when the Congress passes a law like this, I want Georgians to get everything to which they’re entitled.”Governor Perdue says Georgia has already received $340 million in Medicaid funds. More stimulus money is expected in coming weeks.
As for when other state agencies might start to receive federal funds-Department of Transportation Chief Gena Evans says her agency is at the front of the line:
“We anticipate that we’ll probably be one of the first ones out of the gate. We think our money will be available sometime around March 10. And we have to have 50 percent of our funds obligated in 120 days so we’ve got a little bit different time frame than everybody else.”Evans projects her department should get up to $900 million to help fund potentially thousands of projects.
