Governors open annual meeting

INDIANAPOLIS, Aug. 15 (UPI) -- Education, health care and the economy top the agenda of this weekend's summer meeting of the National Governors Association in Indianapolis.

At least 35 governors are expected for sessions with government experts, business leaders and Bush administration officials, according to Stateline.org.

Interior Secretary Gail Norton and Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge are among the Monday speakers. William S. Cohen, secretary of defense in the Clinton administration, speaks on Tuesday.

Though not officially on the agenda, California Gov. Gray Davis' struggles to survive the Oct. 7 recall election likely will be a hot topic. Oficials say they don't know whether Davis will attend,

Most of the governors gathering in Indianapolis come from states struggling through a third straight year of budget problems. Beyond the slumping economy, one of the chief causes of their problems is the rapidly rising cost of Medicaid, the joint-federal program that provides health care to more than 40 million low-income and disabled individuals.