State-federal relations

I'm here in the Longworth Building with Robbie Wills and other state legislative leaders visiting with Congressmen Jim Costa (center) and Mike Castle (right) regarding state-federal relations and the health of our representative democracy (that's North Carolina Speaker Joe Hackney to the left). Both of these congressmen served in the State House prior to serving in Congress. Costa served in both California chambers and called state legislatures the "laboratory of representative democracy," and he worries about some tactics being adopted by the majority similar to what took place in the 90s.

Castle served in the Delaware Legislature before becoming Lt. Governor and Governor of Delaware. He's now serving a record 8th term as Delaware's sole House member. Both congressmen agreed that the lack of partisanship at the state level helps culture an environment optimal for enacting meaningful legislation.

Of course, the biggest fiscal difference between the two levels is the requirement of states to balance the budget. We're now moving into a discussion of specific state-federal issues that are at the forefront in many areas: transportation, illegal immigration (reimbursement for holding and detaining), education (specifically NCLB), etc.