SFGate.com

…The governor has taken to calling himself the "collectinator,'' a well-connected GOP officeholder who he says will help California out of its deep budget hole by bringing home more federal dollars.

So perhaps the most important visit of his trip to Washington came Monday afternoon in the Capitol, where he met with Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, chairman of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, which parcels out federal money.

Schwarzenegger said he particularly appealed to Stevens for more money to help the state pay for the upkeep of illegal immigrants imprisoned in the state. This issue has been a thorny one for California and other border states for years, and Bush has proposed eliminating the federal government's share of hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

"I expect to get a lot'' of the money that California is due for the immigrant jail costs, homeland security and other programs, Schwarzenegger said. Of course, every other governor in town is making similar appeals, and with the federal budget deficit ballooning and Bush calling for restraint in spending, it's unclear how much money California can get.

Schwarzenegger vowed to be relentless.

"I'm like a tick that holds on,'' he said. "I will come back to Washington as many times as possible.''

Schwarzenegger said he felt optimistic in his meeting with Stevens.

"I judged Sen. Stevens' facial expressions,'' he said. "It indicated to me, 'You should get the money.' ''