Governor rejects stimulus money when the state’s unemployment rate is among the highest in nation.

Staff Writer March 24, 2009

In the state legislature of Nevada, Governor Jim Gibbons caused ire across party lines with his recent pleas for lawmakers to reject federal stimulus money, which is intended to help pay unemployment benefits. Other Republican governors, such as Mark Sanford of South Carolina, have made their pleas in the name of fiscal conservatism with a fair amount of approval in their states. Nevada, however, suffers from an increasing rate of employment, at 10.1% now, and is one of the leading states suffering amidst the downtrend economy. In fact, the state’s unemployment benefits program will be without any funds within a year according to current predictions. Even in light of the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, Governor Gibbons remains resilient in his belief accepting federal stimulus money will benefit the state of Nevada. His thoughts on the money are along the lines that accepting the federal money will require Nevada to rewrite their unemployment benefits laws, which will be in place much longer than the proposed federal financial backing. In the long term, according to Gibbons, the state of Nevada will have an overly broad unemployment benefits program with little or no resources to fund this program without federal handouts or loans. Additional rhetoric offered by the Governor includes the idea that Nevada must remain a sovereign state from the federal government, although the state has been accepting federal money for unemployment programs since the FDR Administration.

Governor Gibbons’ outspoken stance has drawn criticism from both sides of the political spectrum, including from two Republicans, who have committed to challenge the incumbent governor in next year’s elections. According to the State Department of Unemployment, Training and Rehabilitation, which has remained relatively neutral in the widely covered media shootout over the issue, offered their opinion that the current state unemployment benefits exceed or met the eligibility requirements for accepting the federal unemployment money, which could amount to nearly seven billion dollars for the state of Nevada alone. The bill to accept the financial relief from the federal government and the Obama administration, is set to be voted upon this Monday, and will likely be approved in light of Gibbons’ protestations.