Barbara Lee Supports Education Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act

For Immediate Release
 

Contact: Nicole Y. Williams
(202) 225-2661

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) voted in favor of the Education Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act. This legislation provides a total of $26.1 billion in funding for education jobs ($10 billion) and FMAP ($16.1 billion), more than fully offset by the following: rescissions ($6.7 billion), Medicaid AMP changes ($2.1 billion), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance changes ($11.9 billion), elimination of advanced refundability of Earned Income Tax Credit ($1 billion), and closure of foreign tax credit loopholes ($9.75 billion).

“During these tough economic times we must continue to provide our states and the people of this country with the necessary assistance to keep our economy on the road to recovery. This bill is a step in the right direction.

“It will support 13,500 teachers in California who will get to keep their jobs this fall as result of the education funding we provide today and will bring $1.8 billion back to California to help pay for Medicaid assistance for low income people.

“Without this crucial funding California would be forced into even more painful budget cuts that would have cascaded down to our local cities and counties – forcing layoffs for police, fire, EMT’s and other critical personnel.

“While I support this aid to the states to keep people at work – I am disappointed that the Senate chose to pay for this assistance on the backs of poor people who receive food stamps.

“We spend trillions in support of two wars – funneling hundreds of billions of dollars into a black hole over at the pentagon – yet we can’t find another way to fund a good education for our kids or help States provide healthcare to the poor? That is unacceptable.

“Additionally, we should have been approving money to pay our debt to Black and Native Americans, to fund youth employment programs, and to extend the TANF emergency contingency fund.

“As we move forward, these issues must be at the top of our funding priorities.”

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