Senate Approves Jobs Bill
The Senate has approved a $26 billion jobs bill:
Eager to go home for the summer recess, the Senate gave quick approval Thursday to a $26.1 billion fiscal aid package to help state and local governments avoid threatened layoffs, including tens of thousands of public school teachers next month.
The 61-39 roll call sets the stage for final action in the House next week, and the Democratic leadership signaled that the House Rules Committee will meet as early as Monday evening to prepare for floor debate Tuesday.
Republicans ridiculed the spectacle of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) calling back lawmakers from their recess to deal with the issue. But having found sufficient offsets to pay for the package, Democrats argued that the bill is a “common-sense” solution to help states and cities cope with still depressed revenues resulting from the continued housing crisis and slow economic recovery.
Cash-strapped governors are promised $16.1 billion to help pay Medicaid bills next year, and $10 billion will be distributed to state and local school boards to address the more immediate threat of teacher layoffs.
Best known by the acronym FMAP, the Medicaid dollars boost Washington’s contribution under the so-called federal medical assistance percentages that dictate the shared costs for Medicaid, the chief health care program for the poor and disabled.
The measure now builds on last year’s giant recovery act, which boosted the base federal payment by 6.2 percent and made further adjustments depending on a state’s unemployment rate. This program is due to run out in December, and the new bill would extend the aid for six months but reduce the percentage to 3.2 percent in the first quarter of 2011 and then 1.2 percent for the second.
In the case of the school aid, the Education Department estimates that as many as 145,000 teaching positions could be saved with the added funds — a major reason for the House to return now from its recess.
