$2 billion in stimulus money spent in state

OLYMPIA — About $2 billion in federal stimulus money has been spent in Washington state, creating or retaining tens of thousands of jobs in the state, state officials said Monday.

State and local government workers submitted an update to the federal government this past weekend to track stimulus spending. The federal government reported Friday that about 600,000 jobs have been saved or created under President Obama's stimulus plan.

Gov. Chris Gregoire said about 45,000 jobs have been retained or created since the stimulus money started being released early last year. About 14,000 of those have come since October.

The state's unemployment rate is 9.5 percent. Said Gregoire, "Without the stimulus dollars Congress invested in Washington state, more of our people would be without work."

Last week the state was awarded $590 million for projects related to high-speed rail, pushing the total amount the state is set to receive to more than $8 billion.

State agencies in Washington have been awarded more than $2 billion, with about $500 million spent on transportation projects. Nearly $2 billion more has been awarded for cleanup at the Hanford nuclear reservation. Local governments, tribes and others are splitting an estimated additional $1 billion. The state is awaiting an additional $700,000.

Federal stimulus was used last year to help the Legislature plug a $9 billion deficit.

The state hopes to get more money, to help patch a $2.6 billion deficit this year. Gregoire said the White House is pushing for Washington state to get an additional $435 million through President Obama's budget.

The money will be tied to Medicaid, which is jointly bankrolled by the state and federal governments, she said. Congress still needs to approve the money, but Gregoire said she's fairly confident that it will be delivered.

The Democratic governor plans to use Medicaid money to reduce the size of a tax package she's working on to help fill the budget deficit.