Just as Washington was girding for a nasty special legislative session or across-the-board spending cuts by Governor Gregoire, Congress may at long last be riding to the rescue.  The U.S. Senate voted 61-38 in a key test vote Wednesday to jump-start a $26 billion aid package for the financially-strapped states.

That  would translate into over a half-billion for Washington state.

This would include $320 million in Medicaid matching funds that the Legislature had booked when it wrote the budget last winter.  Without it, the budget would dip into the red, and Gregoire would be required to start cutting, or call a reluctant Legislature back into special session.

The federal aid package also would include over $200 million in education money for Washington.

Governor Gregoire and the state’s two senators, Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, were delighted with the Senate vote.  It’s not a done deal, though. The full Senate was expected to approve final passage, but House approval also is needed, and they’re on recess until after Labor Day, unless Speaker Pelosi recalls her members back to the Capitol.  Still, Gregoire’s statement sounds like she’s expecting success.