GOVERNOR LINGLE AND BIPARTISAN POLICY CENTER'S GOVERNORS' COUNCIL DISCUSS NEED FOR BIPARTISAN APPROACHES TO BUDGET AND HEALTH CARE POLICY SOLUTIONS

News Release from www.Lingle2012.com

Washington, D.C. - The unwillingness of Congress to make tough decisions could seriously harm our country's future and the American people. This was one of the key messages Governor Linda Lingle and her colleagues on the Governors' Council of the Bipartisan Policy Center heard during two days of extensive meetings in Washington D.C. this past week.

"My Democrat and Republican former gubernatorial colleagues and I discussed how bipartisan approaches are needed to resolve some of the fundamental problems facing our nation," said Governor Linda Lingle. "We focused on key issues such as banking and financial services regulations, improving State flexibility under Medicaid to provide health care to our most needy citizens and the impact of looming Federal budget cuts on the military and state and local governments," added Governor Lingle.

The Bipartisan Policy Center staff applauded the Governors' Council (made up of three Democrats and three Republicans) for achieving significant progress on the issue of Medicaid improvements. The Governors met with Health and Human Services Secretary Katherine Sibelius to discuss this progress and the potential of further flexibilities being sought by States.

The Governors' Council was briefed on the potential consequences of Congressional gridlock on several major programs. These include the expiration of extended unemployment benefits, the expiration of temporary assistance to needy families (TANF), the fact that the Alternative Minimum Tax may adversely impact an estimated 20 million middle class families and small businesses, the end of tax cuts which have been in effect since 2004, payment cuts to doctors who treat Medicare patients, and automatic Federal budget reductions in national defense.

These will all occur if our members of Congress fail to take action before the end of the year. Some economists estimate the combined impacts could result in another national recession.

"I am running for the U.S. Senate because we need to stop creating Congressional gridlock which then becomes crises. We need to start crafting common-sense solutions," Linda Lingle stated. "And we need to find reasonable compromises," she added.

"Governor Linda Lingle has demonstrated a proven track record of making the correct tough decisions in difficult economic times. This type of leadership is clearly needed in Washington, DC," remarked her former Senior Policy Advisor and Hawaii small business owner, Linda Smith, who also attended the Bipartisan Policy Center briefings.

Linda Lingle is a founding member of the six-member Governors' Council at the Bipartisan Policy Center which brings pragmatic state-based perspectives to national issues. It is made up of former Governors with proven records of working across party lines for the people of their state.

For more information about the Bipartisan Policy Center, please visit: www.bipartisanpolicy.org.

For more information about Governor Lingle's U.S. Senate campaign, please visit:www.lingle2012.com or tune into Oceanic Cable Digital Channel 110.

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