00                       SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 43                                                                    
01 Requesting the United States Congress to grant a two-year moratorium on requirements                                    
02 for certain state payments under federal programs.                                                                      
03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
04       WHEREAS the economic effects of the terrorists attack on our country on                                         
05 September 11, 2001, have contributed to major shortfalls in state revenues and increases in                             
06 state expenditures; and                                                                                                 
07       WHEREAS Medicare and Medicaid costs have risen causing states serious budgeting                                 
08 problems; and                                                                                                           
09       WHEREAS states are striving to reallocate available funds to address this economic                              
10 situation; and                                                                                                          
11       WHEREAS the requirements for maintenance of state effort under certain federal                                  
12 programs denies states the opportunity to reduce or reallocate a large share of state                                   
13 expenditures; and                                                                                                       
14       WHEREAS states must have this flexibility to develop budgets that truly address and                             
15 meet important state needs;                                                                                             
01       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests the United                               
02 States Congress to grant a two-year moratorium on state maintenance of effort requirements                              
03 for federally funded programs so that states may have more flexibility to address priorities                            
04 and to react to the fiscal situation.                                                                                   
05       COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Thomas Daschle, Majority                               
06 Leader of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Trent Lott, Minority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the                            
07 Honorable J. Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; the Honorable                                
08 Richard A. Gephardt, Minority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives; the Honorable                                
09 Ted Stevens and the Honorable Frank Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don                                     
10 Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress;