Liberal House Dems, unions push for $23B fund to save teacher jobs

Soon after Congress returns from its Memorial Day recess,
liberal House Democrats and teachers unions will make one last push to pass a
$23 billion fund to prevent teacher layoffs.

Democrats are looking to package the fund with war and
disaster spending in a supplemental appropriations bill the House will vote on
as early as this week.

{mosads}The House approved the teacher fund in December as part of a
jobs bill, but that legislation stalled in the Senate. With lawmakers wary of
moving big spending measures, the upcoming bill may be the last vehicle that
could carry the teacher money before the November elections.

Democrats in the House pushing for the fiscal aid warn that
up to 300,000 teachers could lose their jobs because the $44.5 billion in
fiscal aid in the 2009 stimulus bill is running out.

“At the same time, states are still facing bleak
budgetary outlooks and may very well have to cut funding for education in order
to balance budgets,” Democratic Reps. Maurice Hinchey (N.Y.), Phil Hare
(Ill.) and Bob Etheridge (N.C.) wrote in a letter. “If Congress does not pass
additional funding for education jobs soon, many of the jobs that have been
supported by [the stimulus] will be lost.”

The letter was signed by 104 other House Democrats, the
American Federation of Teachers and National Education Association unions, and
other public education groups. The teacher fund has gotten public backing from
Education Secretary Arne Duncan and senior White House economist Christina
Romer.

The measure is likely to run into resistance from Democratic
freshman and fiscally conservative Blue Dogs, both of whom face tough
reelection races this fall.

House Appropriations Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.) is
including the teacher money in an $86 billion package that also has $37.5
billion for the Afghanistan and Iraq wars and related State Department operations; $13.4 billion for Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange; $5.7 billion for
Pell Grants for college students; $2.8 billion for Haiti aid; $677 million for
increased security at the Mexican border; and $275 million for aid for the Gulf
Coast oil spill. Most of the money isn’t offset and would increase the deficit
because it’s considered emergency spending.

Rep. Gerry Connolly (Va.), a freshman Democrat, said
Congress will be more mindful of additional deficit spending than they were
when the recession was in full swing.

“Moving forward, what worked a year ago is not going to
work now,” Connolly said. “There is going to be a fiscal standard
that is frankly much more rigorous than it was a year ago, and, by the way,
correctly so. A year ago we were still struggling to get out of the recession.
Today we are now managing a recovery and trying to sustain it.”

This year’s budget shortfall is expected to be about $1.5
trillion, which would be a record in terms of nominal dollars. Deficits would
average almost $1 trillion for the next decade, according to the Congressional
Budget Office.

Just before the recess, freshmen lawmakers and Blue Dogs
blanched at voting for a nearly $200 billion measure that would have extended
expiring jobless benefits and business tax provisions because it would have
added more than $130 billion to the deficit. House leaders found enough votes
for the package only after lopping off about $50 billion in spending.

“I would think that a lot of members would like to see
these priorities paid for,” a Blue Dog aide said.