Gingrich: Bankruptcy Bill for States Imminent
Legislation that would allow U.S. states to file for bankruptcy will likely be introduced in Congress within the next month, said Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House of Representatives, Reuters reported on Friday. For months Gingrich has championed letting states file for bankruptcy as a way of handling their long-term budget problems despite resistance from states and investors in the $2.8 trillion municipal bond market and questions about the sovereignty of states under the Constitution. While he declined to comment on who might In related news, while Massachusetts is facing at least a $1 billion budget gap, Gov. Deval Patrick said that there is no need for the state to consider filing for bankruptcy, the Associated Press reported on Friday. Patrick will unveil a fiscal 2012 budget next week containing heavy cuts in large part required by a loss of federal stimulus money. California, the eighth largest economy in the world, would not benefit from bankruptcy legislation, Treasurer Bill Lockyer said. "States didn't ask for it. We don't want it. We don't need it," Lockyer said. "Bankruptcy would devastate states' ability to recover from the recession and make the infrastructure investments that create good jobs."introduce legislation, Gingrich said that there was support in both the House and the Senate and that lawmakers have been looking into the idea for three or four months.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2011-01-21/governor-mass-doesn-t-need-state-bankruptcy.html
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704881304576094091992370356.html#
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