Budget stalemate persists in North Carolina over Medicaid expansion

Tuesday, July 16, 2019
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- For more than two weeks, North Carolina has been without a state budget.

Republicans are at odds with Gov. Roy Cooper and neither side is budging.
[Ads /]
RELATED: Why Medicaid Expansion is pushing lawmakers to their corners

"The legislature passed a budget and the Governor is blocking that budget or any budget based on our conversations over his Medicaid or nothing ultimatum," North Carolina Sen. Phil Berger said during a press conference Tuesday.

In a memo sent Tuesday, Cooper said he wants a clean expansion of Medicaid but is willing to talk about compromise on the issue--as long as a Medicaid expansion is part of the conversation.

Cooper issued a compromise July 9 he said invested in public schools and health care, while balancing the state's budget.
[Ads /]
Republicans continue to push to override Cooper's veto but have not yet gotten enough votes to do so.

"The idea that the $24+ billion budget gets held up for one policy item does not make any sense," Berger said.



The good news for North Carolina citizens: unlike a federal budget, our state does not shutdown over a budget disagreement. Instead state funding remains allocated as it was in the previous year's budget.
Copyright © 2024 WTVD-TV. All Rights Reserved.