WASHINGTON - Amidst mounting budget shortfalls in most states, governors will gather here starting Saturday for four days of meetings where they will focus on bipartisan discussions about how best to reform Medicaid - one of the primary culprits of states' fiscal challenges - and successful implementation of new federal education legislation.

U.S. Secretary of Education Roderick R. Paige will speak about the No Child Left Behind Act at an NGA governors-only lunch and work session on Saturday, February 22 (this session is closed to the media). David Gergen, professor of public service at Harvard University and editor-at-large of U.S. News and World Report, will then moderate a conversation where governors will share their experiences with their colleagues about overcoming their state's education-related challenges.

Early childhood education will be the topic of the first half of the opening plenary session on Sunday. Rob Reiner, best known as an actor and director and who is also founder of the I_Am Your Child Foundation and chair of the California Children and Families Commission, and Craig Ramey, founding director of the Georgetown Center of Health and Education at Georgetown University, will outline the research and key issues relating to early childhood education; then governors will discuss the challenges and opportunities of policy design and implementation.

The second half of the Sunday's plenary session will center on states' fiscal challenges. For this session, the governors will be joined by members of Congress.

On Monday, governors will travel to the White House to meet with President Bush and members of the Cabinet. Later in the day U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson, Sen. John Breaux, and

Reps. John Dingell and Ed Whitfield will be guests at a special session on Medicaid reform.

Members of the Senate and House leadership will wrap up the meeting on Tuesday with a discussion of legislative priorities.

Beyond those issues, governors will discuss drought and energy legislation, transportation policy, and providing health care to the uninsured.

Reporters and producers who miss advance registration may register at the JW Marriott beginning at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, February 22.