Mr. Schwarzenegger Goes to Washington, Seeking Help

When Gov.-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger visits the U.S. Capitol this week, he can’t expect the cash-strapped federal government to bail California out of its budget mess.

But there are steps the Bush administration and Congress could take.

The federal government could grant the state more flexibility in how it spends federal funds to provide health care to the poor. It could offer states more federal aid for the cost of jailing illegal immigrants. And it could change funding formulas for federal programs, such as one that gives California less per capita for homeland security than Wyoming.

These are expected to be among the ideas presented to Schwarzenegger by California lawmakers at their meeting Wednesday. Schwarzenegger also plans to meet with House and Senate GOP leaders -- a possible sign of the new clout the state could gain in Washington.

Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach) said Schwarzenegger, by virtue of his celebrity status, may be able to muscle his way into congressional leadership offices that other governors can’t. “He’ll have no trouble getting an audience with members from other states,” Cox said.

Schwarzenegger, a Republican who replaced Democratic Gov. Gray Davis in the Oct. 7 recall vote and will take office next month, has said he would look to President Bush and Congress to help California out of its budget woes. “I will be known in Washington not as the Terminator but as the Collectinator,” the former actor said.

Though Bush and his fellow Republicans could benefit from a close relationship with Schwarzenegger -- perhaps helping the GOP become more competitive in California’s presidential races -- no one is expecting the president to write him a big check.

Asked whether Schwarzenegger could expect much help from Washington, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said, “I wouldn’t count on it.”

But Larry Sabato, a University of Virginia political scientist, said that “there may be more waiting for Schwarzenegger and California than most believe right now.”

Sabato said that keeping the nation’s most populous state economically healthy is essential if the U.S. economy is to grow vigorously in advance of the 2004 presidential election, one of Bush’s top priorities.

Schwarzenegger has already moved to establish friendlier ties to Washington by tapping Rep. David Dreier (R-San Dimas) as his transition director. Dreier, chairman of the House Rules Committee, arranged Wednesday’s meeting with lawmakers.

H.D. Palmer, a spokesman for Schwarzenegger’s transition team, said the governor-elect sees the meeting “as an opportunity to lay the foundation for a solid working relationship with members of the delegation and other federal officials.”

Schwarzenegger’s election comes at a time when the 53-member California House delegation, the biggest in Congress, has increased its influence. California Republicans chair five House committees, more than any other state, and Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Redlands) is in the running to become chairman of the Appropriations Committee in 2005. The House Democratic leader, Nancy Pelosi, is from San Francisco.

California will need all its political muscle to change federal funding formulas over the objections of other lawmakers who believe California already gets enough. Schwarzenegger has complained that for each dollar paid by Californians in taxes, only 77 cents comes back to the state.

California officials hope to recruit Schwarzenegger in their effort to change the formula for distributing about $2 billion in homeland security grants to states.

Under the current formula, every state, regardless of size, gets a large chunk of the money; the remainder is distributed based on population. California officials say the funding should be based on such factors as which regions face the greater threats and have critical infrastructure.

California lawmakers also would like the governor-elect’s support to move legislation that would extend the CalFed Bay-Delta Program and authorize $880 million over four years for water projects and restoration of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the state’s major watershed.

They may also ask him to help persuade federal energy regulators to order as much as $9 billion in refunds from power sellers for alleged electricity overcharges during the state’s 2000-01 energy crisis.

In addition, the Californians in Congress may try to enlist Schwarzenegger in the looming battle over a new round of military base closures.

Among the actions the administration could take to help California would be to grant it greater flexibility in spending federal funds.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) has asked Schwarzenegger’s support for his campaign to use money from local as well as state sources as matching funds for federal dollars for the state’s Healthy Families program.

The program provides health care to children whose families don’t have private insurance and aren’t poor enough to qualify for MediCal.

Bush, a former Texas governor, has expressed support for giving states more authority to retool federal programs to meet their needs.

Marcia Howard, director of the Federal Funds Information for States, a Washington-based organization that analyzes federal issues for states, predicted that Schwarzenegger would get “a lot of willingness for flexibility.”

“There is some room for help,” added Stephen Zuckerman, a health economist at the Urban Institute, “and certainly this administration does seem to be willing to approve waivers under the Medicaid rules to give states additional flexibility to run their programs.”

In 1995 and 2000, the Clinton administration waived Medicaid rules to allow Los Angeles County to receive federal reimbursement for treating patients in outpatient clinics. The 2000 waiver was worth about $900 million over five years to the county.

Among the other things that might end up on Schwarzenegger’s list of things to seek from Washington:

* Asking Congress to forgive federal sanctions -- about $190 million for the 2003 fiscal year and $209 million in 2004 -- that California faces for failing to meet a federal deadline for establishing a statewide computerized system to track and collect child support payments.

* Pressing the U.S. Department of Agriculture to waive about $188 million in penalties the state and counties owe for errors, such as overpayments, in the food stamp program.

* Seeking a federal buyout of the oil leases off the California coast, similar to one Bush approved to retire leases off Florida’s coast last year for $115 million. However, the purchase of the California leases could be far costlier -- more than $1 billion.

* Lobbying the administration to support an increase in aid to states for jailing illegal immigrants. In the 2003 fiscal year, Congress provided $250 million, down from $565 million the previous year. As a result, California received $100 million less than it did in the previous year.