March 5, 2009 - Governor's Weekly Radio Address - Federal Stimulus in Hawai`i

Click here to listen to this address.

"I recently returned from Washington, D.C. where the nation's governors and President Obama's Administration discussed the fiscal challenges states are facing.

Hawai`i is well-positioned to take maximum advantage of the federal stimulus package to create jobs for our residents. Fortunately, we are ahead of many other states because of our focus on key initiatives like clean energy, broadband communications and infrastructure investment.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds will be provided to the states and administered by the governors, who will be held accountable for how the money is spent. We will determine how to best spend these dollars in the next two fiscal years in order to help Hawai‘i in both the short and long-terms.

While federal stimulus funds will assist our state, these funds will not close our budget gap. Together, we are making critical decisions to close our budget shortfall today and after the Council on Revenues adjustments on March 12."