SALT LAKE CITY — The chairman of the National Governors Association, Gov. Gary Herbert, called Thursday for a restoration of the balance of power between the states and the federal government.

In a "State of the States" address at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., Herbert said acknowledging that most problems are better addressed at the state and local levels "is not about ideology" but finding solutions.

"Making people's lives better is not a partisan issue," Utah's governor said.

The association that represents the nation's governors has developed a set of principles to encourage a strong, cooperative relationship with the federal government, Herbert said.

Those principles include stating that federal action "should be limited to situations that are truly national in scope," such as defending the nation and protecting the environment, and that unfunded mandates should be avoided.

Later, Herbert said in an interview that the federal government's "constant, continual" overreach needs to be corrected through better communication, not through actions like the armed standoff at a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon.

"I understand the frustration that people have sometimes with the public lands and the overbearingness, and the overreach, of the federal government," he said. "But certainly, armed conflict is not the way to solve the problem, not in America."

The governor said that will only make a situation that could be resolved through compromise worse.

"I would hope the people up in Oregon would stand down," Herbert said.

He also said gun control is an issue best left to the states and questioned the need for President Barack Obama's executive action to expand background checks for gun buyers.

"I wish we would focus on other issues that cause violence," the governor said. "Family stability, teaching good values in our schools and our homes, that probably would have a more dramatic effect than having some new laws."

Herbert, a Republican, and the association's vice chairman, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat, met briefly Tuesday with both House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

They also had a courtesy meeting with senior White House officials.

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In his speech, Herbert cited Utah's success in dealing with what he called "a very emotional issue," providing protections last year to both members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and religious communities.

"One person's rights do not have to come at the expense of another's," he said. "If we can find common ground on religious freedom and LGBT issues in Utah — one of the nation's most religious and conservative states — we can do it anywhere in the country."

During a moderated discussion, Herbert said he is confident other states could replicate the law supported by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the LGBT community, as well as business and community leaders.

It takes a willingness to compromise, the governor said.

"It's not an easy thing to do," he said. "It's really trying to thread the needle."

Herbert was also asked about Medicaid expansion, a decision left to the states as a result of a U.S. Supreme Court opinion upholding the president's health care law, widely known as Obamacare.

"Give the states more flexibility. Block grant the monies back and let the states create their own unique programs," he answered, saying that gives taxpayers the "best bang for the buck."

In Utah, state lawmakers have balked at the governor's efforts to come up with plan for using the millions of dollars available to the state under Obamacare to provide health care coverage to low-income residents.

McAuliffe said he and Herbert are in the same position, trying to convince their state legislatures to support Medicaid expansion to bring back some of the taxes associated with the health care law to take care of the needy.

"Unfortunately, politics gets in the way of good policy," McAuliffe said.

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