Lastest Edujobs Draft Has $10 Billion To Prevent Layoffs
House Democratic leaders are circulating a draft of a scaled-down version of the edujobs bill that would include $10 billion to prevent teacher layoffs.
For those keeping score at home, the $10 billion would be a significant decrease from the $23 billion that Rep. David R. Obey, D-Wis., and Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, initially sought to stave off staff reductions. Conservative Democrats balked at the $23 billion pricetag and the fact that the bill would add to the deficit.
This time around, there's a lot less money, and the spending would be offset by about $12 billion in reductions to other programs, including an $800 million cut in funding for new discretionary programs in the U.S. Department of Education.
The $800 million question, for now, is ... where would that money come from? That's not clear yet. I can't think of many new discretionary programs, other than the ones created under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, most notably the $4.35 billion Race to the Top program, the $650 million Investing in Innovation Grants. And since we're talking about discretionary grants, it's unlikely anyone would be looking at money approved under the
For those keeping score at home, the $10 billion would be a significant decrease from the $23 billion that Rep. David R. Obey, D-Wis., and Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, initially sought to stave off staff reductions. Conservative Democrats balked at the $23 billion pricetag and the fact that the bill would add to the deficit.
This time around, there's a lot less money, and the spending would be offset by about $12 billion in reductions to other programs, including an $800 million cut in funding for new discretionary programs in the U.S. Department of Education.
The $800 million question, for now, is ... where would that money come from? That's not clear yet. I can't think of many new discretionary programs, other than the ones created under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, most notably the $4.35 billion Race to the Top program, the $650 million Investing in Innovation Grants. And since we're talking about discretionary grants, it's unlikely anyone would be looking at money approved under the
