James Rufus Koren, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/13/2010 05:24:24 PM PST

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will travel to Washington next week to ask federal officials for nearly $7 billion to help balance the state’s budget – a plan lawmakers and the state’s nonpartisan fiscal analyst say won’t pan out.

Schwarzenegger says the feds owe California $6.9 billion because of the state cost of federal programs and because California creates more federal tax revenue than the state ultimately receives from Washington. Over the weekend, he told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he plans to push for that money by meeting with California’s Congressional delegation, which he said has not been “representing us really well in this case.”

That comment drew ire this week from Rep. Joe Baca, D-San Bernardino, who said Schwarzenegger is trying to “pass the buck.”

“Recent statements by Governor Schwarzenegger pointing the finger at California’s Congressional delegation for our state’s budgetary problems are irresponsible,” Baca said in a statement Tuesday.

Baca, who is chairman of a Congressional subcommittee that oversees the federal food stamp program, said California’s relatively low participation in that program is just one example of how the state is responsible for missing out on federal funds.

“When it comes to the lack of federal nutrition funding at work in California, the governor has no one to blame but himself,” he said. “I wrote the Governor in November of 2007 to express my concerns to him over California’s low food stamp participation rates.”

Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands, declined to comment about Schwarzenegger’s comments this weekend, but Lewis spokesman Jim Specht said he isn’t sure if Congress will be able to send more federal funding to California.

“Congressman Lewis is always looking for ways to help the state, but at this point, he also has a responsibility to ensure we don’t add even more to the federal deficit,” Specht said. “At this point, it’s not clear what can be done to help California or any other state.”

In a letter sent to the state’s Congressional delegation Wednesday, Schwarzenegger said federal lawmakers have said California deserves more federal funding and that, “Now is not the time to abandon those efforts.”

But Specht said Lewis and other lawmakers have worked hard to bring money back to California.

One of the governor’s grievances is that the federal government doesn’t cover the full cost of jailing illegal-immigrant criminals. Specht said Lewis and Rep. David Dreier, R-San Dimas, have been key forces in ensuring that some federal money has gone toward covering those costs, even in years when presidents – Republican and Democratic – have tried to eliminate funding.

“Congressmen Lewis and Dreier have led efforts to put that money back,” Specht said. “They’ve always been successful.”

Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear said that’s fine, but that “the job isn’t done.

Inland Empire lawmakers in Sacramento said they are glad Schwarzenegger is pushing for more federal dollars, although they’re not expecting results.

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