Gov. Gregoire puts federal money to work for Washington's economy

GOV. Christine Gregoire got a jump on her second term by fast-tracking several pots of federal dollars and pumping them into the flagging Washington economy.

With so many local companies struggling, with so many dollars leaving the economy, our state can use all the help it can get.

The money would be spent over the next few months or years anyway but the governor opted to move the money faster to help the state's most vulnerable citizens sooner. Good timing.

About $300 million will not only help low-income families with heating and energy bills and avoid foreclosures, it will free up a few bucks for them to spend on other items.

Some of the $85 million in federal assistance — aimed specifically at helping low-income Washingtonians pay heating and energy bills and make weatherization improvements — would be channeled through utility companies and is intended to create jobs. We need that, too.

The stimulus package includes $13 million in federal relief funds already approved for gill-netters, charter-boat operators and others affected by the collapse of the West Coast wild-salmon fishery. This money normally would have been made available by March but by fast-tracking it, the governor spurs economic relief in those communities at a crucial time.

Gregoire, by executive order, speeds access to $202 million in tax-exempt bonds for housing development, rental housing for poor families, assistance for first-time homebuyers and, even more important, to refinance at-risk mortgages.

Washington cannot afford to let any more families slip through the cracks. Gregoire will push three economic-relief packages in the next several months. The second part of her efforts involves urging Congress to pass a second economic stimulus package that pays for ready-to-go public-works and transportation projects — projects that could begin in the spring if Congress does not dither.

If these programs take shape quickly and are administered wisely, the state and federal government can take important steps to help jump-start a very sour economy.