After tough talk, Gibbons takes the cash

After weeks of angry rhetoric about the supposed risk to the state in accepting federal money for expanded unemployment benefits, Gov. Jim Gibbons has announced he wants the state to take the money after all.

A news release notes that Gibbons "was reluctant to accept" the $77 million because he believed it would put the state on the hook for more spending in the future. But he changed his mind based on assurances that such spending wouldn't be required. "The federal government has recently assured states that the expanded coverage base can be retracted in the future, before funding for such coverage becomes a permanent state obligation," the release states.

It might seem like another reversal from a governor who's been criticized for trying to have it both ways on many issues, but Gibbons never quite said he would actually reject the funds -- just that he was considering it. Meanwhile, the Legislature was in the process of making the statutory changes necessary for the state to get the funds regardless of where Gibbons landed on the issue.

“As our economic crisis deepens, Nevadans are suffering because of layoffs, business closings and other cutbacks,” Gibbons said in the release. “We have the responsibility to do everything we can to help our unemployed workers get through these difficult times, even if that means passing legislation that we would not necessarily approve during prosperous times.”

Oddly, links to Gibbons' previous press releases on this issue have been removed from the governor's Web site.