Governor
Jim Douglas is leading the opposition to a congressional plan that would
require states to help pay for expanding the Medicaid program. Douglas says the plan is an unfunded mandate that will impose unfair financial
burdens on many states.
Time is running out for the state employees union and the Douglas
Administration to reach an agreement over a plan to cut labor costs by roughly $7.5 million in
this year’s budget.
In addition to Governor Douglas’ announcement to not seek re-election, a Vermont soldier died in Iraq, a whistleblower called into question Fairpoint’s readiness to take over from Verizon. These were some of the voices in the news this week.
Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas says he won’t run for re-election. Douglas, a four-term Republican who has bucked Vermont’s political tide for years, says he won’t seek another two-year term in 2010 but has no plans to seek any other office.
Governor Jim Douglas says the Pentagon is working on a plan that would allow military
officials to run their own disaster response operations, independent of those
set up by governors. Douglas says the proposal will lead to chaos in the field.
Governor Jim Douglas says he’s asked the corrections commissioner to report to
him on allegations that members of the Vermont National Guard were denied
permanent employment at the state prison in Springfield.
Governor Douglas, who is taking a lead role on health care reform for the National Governor’s
Association, says he opposes the creation of a new public health insurance
program, as part of proposed legislation in Congress.