Herbert justifies grousing about feds while money flows to Utah

SALT LAKE CITY — Gov. Gary Herbert defends his complaining about Washington's intrusions into state affairs, while accepting the millions in federal dollars flowing into Utah.

In his State of the State speech Wednesday, Herbert told state lawmakers to be “assured that this governor is firmly resolved to fortify our state as a bulwark against federal overreach.”

The next day at his monthly televised news conference on KUED, the governor said he saw no problem in seeking Federal Emergency Management Agency funds to repair damage caused by a windstorm that hammered Davis County last month.

“That’s our money. We put money into the federal government in dramatic fashion as do all states,” he said .

FEMA, he said, is like an insurance program.

“It’s not hypocritical at all,” Herbert said.

Since Herbert took office, the federal portion of the state’s budget as risen from 22 percent to 27 percent, totaling more than $1 billion.

He attributed the increase to federal mandates for programs such as Medicaid, which he said would take a chunk of the additional money Utah has to spend this year.

“But we can wean ourselves off it. We can live within our means,” Herbert said.

Federal overreach, he said, forces the state do things it shouldn’t.

“We want to be as self-sufficient as we possibly can,” the governor said. “Being partners where we need to but being independent where we ought to be.”

— Dennis Romboy, Twitter: dennisromboy