WASHINGTON — New York Gov. David A. Paterson and the state's congressional delegation called a time-out Wednesday on their quest for tens of billions of dollars to help pull the state out of its fiscal crisis, blaming Senate Republicans for blocking an economic stimulus package that would include the money.
"We haven't decided it. Republicans in the Senate have decided it," said Rep. Charles B. Rangel, D-Manhattan, as lawmakers vowed to revisit the issue after Barack Obama becomes president and a new Congress with bigger Democratic majorities is seated in January.
Mr. Paterson visited the Capitol with state Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, and the incoming state Senate majority leader, Malcolm A. Smith, D-Queens, for meetings with New York lawmakers and Democratic leaders in the House and Senate. They repeated Mr. Paterson's recent pleas for state aid for highway and transit projects, Medicaid funding and other measures to boost the economy.
This time, they added a call for aid to ailing automakers, which employ more than 8,000 people in upstate New York, Mr. Paterson told reporters at a news conference.
Their visit also came on the heels of the Republican-led state Senate's failure in an emergency session to reach a deal to reduce New York's budget deficit, estimated at $1.5 billion this year. Mr. Smith vowed to make better progress next year when Democrats assume the majority there, as well.
And, they arrived in Washington as more bad fiscal news hit the state: New York City's transit system is in such dire financial condition that subway and bus lines may be eliminated, and officials are looking to Albany and Washington for help.
"I think, perhaps, reality is starting to set in," Mr. Paterson said.
The economic stimulus debate ground to a halt after Republicans in the Senate resisted aid to automakers and said they would not support such large spending on highway and other infrastructure projects around the country. They have also balked at the Democrats' price tag, which was $100 billion on the deal proposed this week and is likely to grow in January. Of the $100 billion, about $40 billion was reserved for Medicaid reimbursements to states, a big contributor to deficits.
Some Democrats have called for an economic stimulus as large as $300 billion. How much of that would come to New York remains to be seen, but several billion dollars is certainly possible, including up to $410 million in highway projects that are ready to proceed as soon as funding is secured.
Mr. Obama has been far more supportive of such a measure than President Bush. Although Democrats will likely remain short of the 60 votes needed to override a filibuster, leaders say they hope they can pull just enough Republicans across to pass a large stimulus.
"If we don't step up to the plate, there will be no real help," said Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., warning if states are forced to slash programs or increase taxes, "we'll get nowhere" on improving the economy.
"We're going to do as much as we can to help you as soon as the new Congress takes effect," Mr. Schumer told state officials at the news conference.
After meeting with the state's congressional delegation — the Democrats, primarily — Mr. Paterson set off for meetings with the House majority leader, Rep. Steny H. Hoyer, D-Md., and Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev.
