Obama pledges to help states weather crisis

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By Jeff Mason

CHICAGO (Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama on Tuesday pledged to help state governors cope with a deepening recession and asked them to help craft a massive stimulus package to create jobs and tackle the crumbling economy.

As governors petitioned the federal government for billions of dollars in aid, Obama planned to name one of their ranks, New Mexico Democrat Bill Richardson, as his commerce secretary, according to a Democratic source.

Unlike the federal government, states are required to balance their budgets even in times of recession, when tax revenues plunge and unemployment rolls rise. At least 41 of the 50 states are expected to face budget shortfalls next year.

At a meeting of the National Governors Association in Philadelphia, state leaders said they needed federal help for jobless benefits, food stamps and healthcare coverage for the poor, as well as an estimated $136 billion (91 billion pounds) in repairs to bridges, airports and other infrastructure.

Obama, who takes over from President George W. Bush on January 20, pledged to involve states in his plans to tackle the U.S. recession and create or save 2.5 million jobs.

"I'm not simply asking the nation's governors to help implement our economic recovery plan, I'm going to be interested in having you help draft and shape that economic plan," Obama told a meeting that included Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the former Republican vice presidential candidate.

"To solve this crisis and to ease the burden on our states, we need action and we need action swiftly," he said.

CABINET RAPIDLY FILLING

Obama is expected to nominate Richardson, a former rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, at a news conference in Chicago on Wednesday -- his fifth such meeting in the last two weeks.

Obama has already named most of his key economic and national security teams, including Monday's announcement of Sen. Hillary Clinton as his nominee for secretary of state.

Richardson, a former U.N. ambassador and energy secretary, was also seen as a candidate for the top diplomatic job and among the likely choices as the first Hispanic to be named to Obama's Cabinet. As commerce secretary, he would play a key role in efforts to revive the faltering economy.

Democrats in Congress hope to have a $500 billion stimulus package ready for Obama's signature when he takes office.

The president-elect has spent much of the time since his November 4 victory over Republican John McCain forming his economic team and advocating a massive new stimulus package.

The meeting came the day after the National Bureau of Economic Research confirmed that the United States had entered recession in December 2007. The downturn, which many economists expect to persist through the middle of the next year, is already third-longest since the Great Depression.

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, touted as a possible energy secretary in the Obama administration, said the governors had not settled on an overall price tag for aid.

While Obama gave no specific commitment, "we are fairly confident that we are going to get help," Rendell said.

Obama told the governors that efforts to reduce the mounting federal debt load must take a back seat to more immediate efforts to contain the recession, according to Rendell.

Nearly all 50 governors attended, including California's Arnold Schwarzenegger, who on Monday declared a fiscal emergency and called lawmakers into a special session to tackle a widening budget gap.

Schwarzenegger told Reuters that the Federal Reserve has not yet responded to his request to buy his state's bonds.

(writing by Andy Sullivan; additional reporting by Jon Hurdle, John Whitesides, Deborah Charles, Lisa Lambert; editing by David Wiessler)

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