Every time a bell rings, Sebelius gives us $1 million… we hope.Today, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced that Washington state will get $7.5 million from the feds just for working so darn hard to make sure kids in the state have health care. “This bonus award is recognition that Washington state is in the forefront of states that have made children’s health coverage a priority concern,” Gregoire says, adding: “No child should ever have to go without health care.”Kind of ironic given that health care for kids is on the chopping block in Gregoire’s first version of a budget to be taken up in Olympia next year. Gregoire has made it quite clear that she doesn’t actually want to leave kids uncovered. But according to state law, she has to propose a budget that closes our $2.6 billion budget deficit without new taxes. Then she can ask the legislature to try and keep her proposed cuts from going through, presumably with new taxes.Taking a page from the Ron Sims playbook, Gregoire put heart-string-tugging programs like Apple Health, a program that supplements Medicaid to ensure 16,000 kids in the state have health care coverage, on the chopping block. The hope is that by threatening to cut something as politically beloved (and adorably named) as Apple Health, there will be pressure on legislators to push tax increases through.But it didn’t work for Sims and if it doesn’t work for Gregoire, some of the proposed cuts may happen. The federal award has to have a few people breathing easier, since it’s supposed to be spent on getting kids to the doctor. Now if only we can get a few more angels in the other Washington to give us the rest of the $2.593 billion, we can get ourselves out of this pickle without cuts or new taxes. I think I know what State Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown will be asking Santa for this year.