Govs to Obama: Don’t dump the fiscal cliff costs on the states

The three Democratic and three Republican governors, all members of the executive committee of the National Governors Association, are meeting with the president to warn that if Democrats and Republicans in Washington fail to hash out their differences and find a responsible way to avert the “cliff” — a series of spending cuts and tax hikes set to kick in next year — they’ll be the ones left with the tab.

“One of the important things we want to make sure that people in Washington understand is that if all that’s done is a cost shifting from the federal government to the states, it really doesn’t accomplish very much because states aren’t in a position to pick up the extra costs,” Delaware Gov. Jack Markell, chairman of the National Governors Association, said on Fox Business last week.

Along with Markell, Mr. Obama is meeting with Democratic Govs. Mark Dayton of Minnesota and Mike Beebe of Arkansas, as well as Republican Govs. Gary Herbert of Utah, Scott Walker of Wisconsin and Mary Fallin of Oklahoma, the vice chair of the NGA.