It appears Sen Reid will move Monday to force a vote on saving 300,000 teacher positions, funding FMAP aid for the states and more. At first this sounds great- educators across this country are in peril unless this Democratic congress can pass funds to prevent schools from laying them off. And states are in dire need of Medicaid funding to avoid further drastic cuts on the backs of the poor.
Ah but then you read the fine print. This bill will be fully paid for to satisfy the deficit fever sweeping the conservadems and GOPers in DC. How will it be paid for? Well part of it will be by ending some foreign tax loopholes. But instead of the rest of it being paid for by oh say repealing tax breaks for big oil, some 7 billion dollars will be raided from SNAP- yep FOOD STAMPS.
You may recall Rep. Obey a week ago saying the WH told him to cut food stamp funding to pay for teacher job money. Obey rejected the notion calling it robbery from the poor. Its unclear here if this is all voodoo stuff reid is pulling- how bad of a cut will this be for folks on SNAP? Or is this cut going to be restored in the budget? Its not clear to anyone it seems tonight from what I’ve read but it raises alarm bells. We should repealing more tax breaks for the rich or corporate America to pay for this- not cutting funds for the poor to fund other states’ programs. Its circular logic here.
If anyone finds more info post it. I’m glad to see this issue revived on teacher funding and FMAP but horrified at Democrats daring to cut funds from SNAP.
Senate Moves EduJobs and FMAP Funding By Annie Lowrey 7/29/10 6:37 PM
This evening, Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) attached an amendment with funding to preserve teachers’ jobs and to provide much-needed Medicaid funding to states to a Federal Aviation Administration bill. The amendment is fully paid-for, and the FAA bill is just a vehicle. Reid filed cloture, meaning the Senate will vote on the provisions on Monday.
The amendment includes $10 billion in funding for teachers’ jobs and $16.1 billion in funding for the Federal Medical Assistance Percentages, or FMAP, program, which provides Medicaid funding to states. For offsets, it closes foreign tax credit loopholes to raise $9 billion; it also cuts $2 billion from Medicaid drug pricing, $8.4 billion in rescissions and $6.7 billion from the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, or SNAP, formerly known as food stamps.
http://washingtonindependent.com/......At first blush, cutting food stamps to pay for Medicaid — both problems aid the most economically distressed Americans — and teachers’ jobs seems like a hard compromise to swallow, though it is unclear when the cuts will take effect and what portions will be cut. Rep. Dave Obey (D-Wis.) recently said the White House suggested cutting SNAP to pay for teachers’ jobs....
More from the Hill: http://thehill.com/...