DU: I'll get right on that!

source: Democratic Underground

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The Gavel: Bill to Save 319,000 Jobs Will Be Felt in Communities Across the Nation

The Gavel: August 9th, 2010 by Office of the Speaker

The fully-paid for legislation that reduces the deficit and closes loopholes that allow corporations to ship American jobs overseas is getting praise across the nation for keeping our children’s teachers on the job.

Teachers hope $26M jobs bill keeps them employed:

…Teachers call it the “yo-yo effect.” School budgets, facing severe reductions in state funding, are cut and layoffs are made, but then some or even all of the teachers are hired back over the summer as officials scramble for money…

State and local governments cut 29,500 education jobs in July, bringing total cuts this year to 61,800. More layoffs are likely as states still face yawning budget gaps…

Dave Ebersbach lost his job as a math teacher this summer, and he spends each day hoping that his poverty-stricken school in Ohio will call up and offer him his position back.

My biggest thing is I want to go back to the school I was at for the students,” said Ebersbach, 43, one of 14 math teachers in the Toledo school district to receive notice a few weeks ago that their jobs were cut. “We’re in a high-poverty school and one thing the students need more than anything else is consistency. And they’re not going to get that . . .
Aid bill provides $670M for NJ

Congress expects to pass legislation this week containing $670 million for New Jersey to expand its Medicaid rolls and prevent thousands of layoffs among teachers, police officers and firefighters…

New Jersey would get $400 million in Medicaid money and $268 million to avoid layoffs, mostly of K-12 teachers. The U.S. Department of Education estimated that 3,900 New Jersey teachers could be retained…

Michigan up for $600M in aid

Michigan is in line to get more than $600 million in school and Medicaid funding under a bill going to a vote before the U.S. House on Tuesday…

Michigan is slated to get more than $310 million in education money, the equivalent of 4,700 average teacher salaries, according to numbers provided by federal Department of Education…

This is not for bureaucracy,” [Gov. Jennifer] Granholm said. “This is for people, real people who need real help out here. And this bill was entirely funded … this doesn’t add to the deficit.”

Nebraska Teachers’ jobs hang on vote

… in a rare move, U.S. House members are being summoned back to Washington during their annual recess to consider a $26 billion package of education and Medicaid funding aimed at avoiding further layoffs of teachers and cuts to health care for the needy…

One person OK with the timing is Cindy Brazda, who was laid off from her position teaching high school business classes in Wood River, Neb…

Everyone always says you want the best education for your kids,” she said. If that’s going to happen, you have to figure out how to quit cutting these teachers and to keep them there. You can’t educate your kids if you keep cutting back . . .
Oklahoma may get $119 million to help save teacher jobs

…”Because of the historic recession, we’re having a tough time making ends meet, and the more resources we can get to classrooms and health care programs, the better for Oklahoma,” [Gov. Brad] Henry said.

In Tulsa, several hundred teaching positions were cut, and that story is being repeated in school districts across the state…

[Gov. Henry] said the federal legislation would provide a safety net to help protect important programs in the months to come and keep the state’s economy moving in the right direction…

NC leaders pleased bill could close gap by $343M

North Carolina likely won’t have to make across-the-board government spending cuts and could see thousands of additional public school positions preserved now that extra money appears headed to the state from Washington…

The $26 billion package also would give $10 billion to school districts nationwide in the form of grants to prevent teacher layoffs. [Sen. Kay] Hagan said North Carolina’s share could preserve 4,500 positions . . .The bill:

should secure every job for the coming school year, strengthen our retirement system, and give us the breathing room to prepare for the next couple fiscal years,” North Carolina Association of Educators President Sheri Strickland told colleagues . . .

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GOP Filibuster Fails As Scott Brown And Others Break With Party

Ryan Grim

ryan@huffingtonpost.com | HuffPost Reporting

Scott Brown was in and out of the Senate chamber and had voted against his party before most of his colleagues had even arrived.

"It's a small step, but it's still a step," Brown told reporters after casting a procedural vote in favor of the Democratic jobs bill, bucking his party leaders and the strategy of opposition they have carried out since President Obama took office.

For Senate Democrats, it was much bigger step. Four Republicans followed Brown's lead, giving the jobs legislation 62 votes, two more than needed to cut off a GOP filibuster.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) thanked the newly-elected Republican from Massachusetts:

"I hope this is the beginning of a new day here in the Senate. Whether this new day was created by the new Senator from Massachusetts or some other reason, I'm very, very happy that we were able to get this done. But there are some winners. Not any individual Senator, not Democrats or Republicans. The winners are small business people throughout this country."

Brown was followed by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who was followed by her home state GOP colleague Olympia Snowe.

Sens. George Voinovich (R-Ohio) and Kit Bond (R-Mo.), who are retiring, also backed the bill.

Voinovich's vote came after he was given an assurance from Reid that the surface transportation reauthorization bill that Voinovich prizes will be given high priority.

Voinovich, who was patted on the back by a grateful Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) after the vote, said that he could see himself working jointly with Brown and Democrats for the remainder of the term.

"I think he and I are going to do a lot of music together," said Voinovich. "My vote was reflective of what I thought made sense."

Voinovich didn't stick around for any loyalty lectures after his vote. "I have no idea," said Voinovich when asked what leadership thought of his vote. "I voted and took off."

Brown also said that he had "no idea" how the rest of his colleagues would vote. But it was good enough for him. "It's not a perfect bill. I would have liked broader and deeper tax cuts, but I was comfortable with that first vote," said Brown.

Twenty nine Republicans opposed the measure, while six skipped the vote. More Republicans skipped the vote than voted in favor.

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), meanwhile, muddled the message of Democratic unity behind the jobs bill. He voted against it.

See the rest of the story at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/22/jobs-bill-vote-senate_n_472172.html

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Jobs Bill Squeaks Through Despite Dem Defections

Nancy Pelosi pulls another one out of the fire. Say what you will about her. She is getting the job done. Well done, Speaker Pelosi!

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) muscled a $154 billion jobs bill through the House on Wednesday evening just before Congress departed for a holiday recess. With the vote in serious doubt until seconds before it was gaveled to a close, Pelosi worked the floor furiously, imploring her caucus to stick with her and move the measure through.

The bill passed 217-212, but when the time on the clock expired, it was losing 208-212. A few minutes later, when it hit 214-213 and then 215-213, someone shouted "gavel it!" from the Democratic side. A bill doesn't need the full 218 to pass -- only a simple majority of those voting. The presiding officer took the suggestion and closed the vote.

Not a single Republican approved of the bill.

The slim margin is strong evidence that deficit hawks have momentum in the ideological battle between one camp that demands more spending on job creation and another, dominated by the GOP and Blue Dog Democrats, calling for immediate reductions in the deficit. Even the fact that the money was being redirected from Wall Street couldn't sway 38 Democrats, who voted with the Republicans.

A vote moments earlier Wednesday showed much the same thing: 39 Democrats split with their leadership on a measure to raise the debt ceiling. Lifting the debt limit is a politically un-fun vote for any member of Congress -- and one that has a habit of popping up on TV ads during campaign season -- but is necessary to continue the functioning of the government. It barely passed, 218-214.

The jobs bill would use $75 billion in money earmarked for the Wall Street bailout and redirect it to infrastructure investment and aid to states. The bill also extends the duration of the COBRA subsidy from nine months to 15 months, extends the deadline for eligibility from December 31, 2009 to June 30, 2010, extends by six months unemployment benefits that would have expired at the end of the year, and expands a child tax credit to 16 million families.

source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/16/house-jobs-bill_n_395107.html

source: http://rt.com/Top_News/2009-12-11/stalin-letter-sothebys-auction.html#

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