Lots of discussion on the EduJobs bill slated for a vote today. The President just delivered remarks in the Rose Garden on the subject which I'll post once they're available. In the meantime:
The Quick and the ED: "The $10 billion fund will save an estimated 138,800 teacher jobs, or a little over $72,000 per job. Because the funding is based on a formula, the amount of money per job saved varies by state. My home state of Iowa will receive $96,490,048 to save an estimated 1,500 teacher jobs, or $64,326.70 per job saved. For some perspective, according to the Iowa Department of Education’s 2009 Condition of Education, the average Iowa teacher makes $49,664."
Organizing for Obama: Sends out an email from a teacher in Pennsylvania: "Without federal help, a lot of teachers like me -- as well as other public servants like police officers and firefighters -- will lose their jobs. Maybe you know some of these people. Maybe it's you. Democrats in Congress are trying to do the right thing, proposing emergency assistance for states to preserve more than 100,000 jobs like mine. They're racing back to the Capitol for an emergency session this week to pass this bill and save these jobs. But Republicans are standing in the way. Minority Leader John Boehner is calling the bill a "payoff" to "special interests" and attacking every Democrat who is fighting for us. But I'm not a special interest. I'm a teacher."
Mike Petrilli responds to her: "Nobody wants to lose their job in a downturn, but it’s happened to millions of private-sector employees over the past two years. Many workers have also seen their pay cut and benefits trimmed. Teachers have been rather fortunate; not only have most of their jobs been protected by federal aid, but many are actually receiving pay raises during this difficult time. And their health care benefits and pensions remain worlds better than what most Americans receive. It’s inevitable that school systems are going to need to learn to do more with less. Here’s the good news: your job could easily be saved if your union leaders were willing to accept some modest concessions. (Even a salary freeze might do the trick.) But when teachers demand job protections, generous benefits, and salary increases in the midst of a recession…well, that’s expecting special treatment, indeed."
Education Intelligence Agency: "A few weeks ago, the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government ginned up a neat little report, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data, on the nation's job situation. Figure 1 is a depiction of the change in employment since the start of the current recession. The blue, yellow and green lines are the public sector. The red line is the private sector. There's more. After 30 months of recession, local government education employment (the category where most teachers and support employees reside) has yet to approach a one percent decline.
Politico: State aid bill a gamble for Dems: "Even though party leaders expect that approval will be a slam-dunk, some early responses from rank-and-file Democrats have raised red flags about the optics of returning to a special session to vote on more spending — even if it’s framed as saving teachers’ jobs."
Liberals vow to back state aid, but restore food-stamp funding: "Nearly half of the state aid bill's cost is being offset by taking $12 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the official name for the food-stamps program. The bill finds those savings by ending in 2014 a stimulus program that has increased food-stamp levels. While House Democrats say they'll support the jobs measure, liberal members said they're doing so over qualms about using funds that would otherwise go to people who need the help."
4:00pm Update:
Jay Greene Responds to OFA:
Rep. Miller:
"Almost 600 teachers are missing from classrooms in Solano and Contra Costa counties this year because of the recession and state and local budget cuts,” Miller said Monday. “The legislation I will vote for tomorrow can’t bring them all back, but it will provide emergency funding to help teachers return to the classroom. This bill provides critical lifeline for teachers, their students, and urgent services across the country.”
Rep. Kline:
"Spending another $10 billion we do not have will not improve public education or protect the very best teachers. Earlier this year, Education Secretary Arne Duncan told us ‘Today, the status quo clearly isn’t good enough.’ Yet the status quo is exactly what this $10 billion will perpetuate...
“Schools will continue to operate on ‘last hired, first fired’ policies that ignore student achievement when deciding which teachers to keep in the classroom. These dollars are not targeted based on jobs at risk or student needs – this is nothing more than an across-the-board inflation of state spending...
“Spending another $10 billion we do not have will not balance state budgets or bolster our economy. Because of major increases in the number of school personnel in recent years, states are operating education budgets they cannot afford. At best, inflating state education spending for another year will kick the can down the road – merely postponing the tough decisions and allowing states to overextend themselves for another year...
Excerpts from POTUS Remarks:
It’s one thing for states to get their fiscal houses in order and tighten their belts like families across America -- because families have been doing it, there’s no reason that states can’t do it, too. That’s a welcome thing. But we can’t stand by and do nothing while pink slips are given to the men and women who educate our children or keep our communities safe. That doesn’t make sense. And that’s why a significant part of the economic plan that we passed last year provided relief for struggling states -- relief that has already prevented hundreds of thousands of layoffs. ...
Now, this proposal is fully paid for, in part by closing tax loopholes that encourage corporations to ship American jobs overseas. So it will not add to our deficit. And the money will only go toward saving the jobs of teachers and other essential professionals. ...
It should not be a partisan issue. I heard the Republican Leader in the House say the other day that this is a special interest bill. And I suppose if America’s children and the safety of our communities are your special interests, then it is a special interest bill. But I think those interests are widely shared throughout this country -- a challenge that affects parents, children and citizens in almost every community in America should not be a Democratic problem or a Republican problem. It is an American problem. ...
Read more
Using Food Stamps to Pay the Bill:
The Big Pictures Goes All Macro: 
