Rep. Engel, Mayor Bloomberg Pledge to Work Together to Retain teachers, Plug Budget Holes

Press Release

Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY-17) met on Wednesday with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, and United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew to discuss how the federal government could help New York State avoid budget cuts, which could lead to thousands of teachers losing their jobs and adversely affecting thousands more students.

Rep. Engel, a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and a former teacher, issued the following statement in support of Mayor Bloomberg's efforts to shore up federal support.

"The House needs to support additional funding for education to prevent teacher layoffs. While much attention has been paid to other areas of concern over the last two years, we must not forget that our education system is in desperate need of reforms. However, before we can seriously and thoughtfully address the big picture, we must throw a life preserver to the states and the schools to keep teachers on the job and students in manageable classrooms.

"In addition to emergency education funding, something supported by President Obama, we can do the states a great service by simply extending the enhanced Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP), which was provided for in the Recovery Act. If we provide aid for health coverage, it enables states to redirect the rest of their funds towards other programs, such as education, and we will go a long way to saving those jobs.

"I support the efforts of Mayor Bloomberg, Ms. Weingarten and Mr. Mulgrew to save these jobs, and to protect New York's next generation of leaders receiving a first-rate education. We must do whatever we can to help preserve these jobs, and I will continue working with the Mayor to find ways to solve this problem."

Source