In an unannounced move nearly two weeks ago, Arizona was certified to receive federal stimulus aid when Gov. Jan Brewer sent a letter to President Barack Obama and pledged the state would request its share of the money.
In a verbose two-page letter dated March 5, the day after she addressed a joint session of the Legislature and called for a temporary tax hike, Brewer applied to receive the federal funding.
Although she said Arizonans deserve "their fair share of those funds," Brewer was critical of the stimulus plan and said it would hamper efforts to balance Arizona's budget.
"While temporarily useful, (the funds) extend programs that have accelerated the growth of government spending to unprecedented and unsustainable levels that neither our state nor our great nation can afford," she wrote.
In the letter, Brewer also thanked Obama for visiting Arizona in March to unveil his plan to help stem the tide of home foreclosures. She also outlined the challenges the state faces in balancing its budget, while at the same time "building foundations for the wealth and promise of tomorrow."
Brewer's office never announced they had sent the letter, but freely offered it when asked. Paul Senseman, a spokesman for Brewer, said he didn't believe the letter warranted a public announcement.
"She said it so many times that we're taking the money that I didn't think it would be news that we're taking the money," he said.
But the lack of a public announcement that Arizona was certified to receive the funds has led to confusion at the Capitol, where House Democrats have twice held press conferences to urge Brewer to apply for the stimulus aid since she sent the letter. On March 16, for instance, House Democrats called on Brewer to certify that the state would accept $185 million in general-purpose funds as part of the federal stimulus package and to use some of the money for the Children's Rehabilitative Services program.
Assistant House Minority Leader Kyrsten Sinema said she and other Democrats are frustrated the public wasn’t told Brewer had applied for the federal money.
“So why didn't she release the letter to the public? And why isn’t it posted (online) on recovery.gov like all the other states? And why hasn't she set up a state stimulus Web site like all the other states?” Sinema said. “So much for Sunshine Week.”
But Senseman said the state will soon have its own stimulus Web site.
“We’re going to have a Web site in the next few days on federal stimulus funds and the letter will be part of that,” he said.
Arizona is slated to receive about $4.2 billion in stimulus money over the next two years. About $1.7 billion of that would fund public health care programs. Another $832 million is aimed at education and $185 million can be used for any purpose. The remainder of the money is targeted at specific programs like highway construction, unemployment insurance and food stamps.
In addition, the Arizona Department of Education is poised to receive about $477 million as part of secondary assistance in the federal stimulus package. The money is to be used mostly for Title I programs and special education.