Kildee Votes to Fund Teachers & First Responders, Close Tax Loopholes That Help Ship Jobs Overseas

Press Release

Today, Congressman Dale E. Kildee (D-MI), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education, voted to save or create nearly 320,000 jobs -- including those of 160,000 teachers - provide a six month extension of the Federal Medical Assistance Percentages or FMAP, help keep firefighters, nurses and police officers on the job and close tax loopholes that encourage businesses to ship jobs overseas. H.R. 1586, the Education Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act is completely paid for and is estimated to reduce the deficit by $1.4 billion over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office. This legislation passed the House 247 to 161 with Congressman Kildee's strong support. It now goes to the President to be signed into law.

"As we continue our work to revitalize our economy, too many of our local communities are being forced to make the impossible choice between keeping teachers in the classroom and keeping police officers on our streets. H.R. 1586, the Education Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act will give our states and communities the support they need to help maintain these important services for our families," said Congressman Kildee. "This legislation is also expected to reduce the deficit by closing a tax loophole that encourages companies to ship jobs overseas, helping to keep jobs here at home. I am proud to support this legislation, which is expected to save or create almost 320,000 jobs -- including saving the jobs of 160,000 teachers and preventing the layoffs of tens of thousands of police officers, firefighters, and nurses."

H.R. 1586, the Education Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act provides:

$10 billion for education jobs: The bill provides $10 billion for additional support to local school districts to prevent imminent layoffs. The latest estimates from the Department of Education are that this fund will help keep 160,000 educators employed this coming school year, including 4,700 in Michigan.

$16.1 Billion in Medicaid Assistance:

Under the Recovery Act, enacted in February 2009, the federal Medicaid matching rate was increased by 6.2 percentage points for all states, and by additional percentage points for states with high unemployment. The provisions are scheduled to expire on December 31, 2010. This bill would continue the additional federal assistance for six months (from January 1, 2011 through June 30, 2011), but would phase the level of assistance down. According to an analysis by the Economic Policy Institute, the Medicaid funds will save and create 158,000 jobs, including preventing the layoff of police officers and firefighters.

Closing Loopholes That Encourage Corporations to Ship Jobs Overseas
This legislation eliminates tax provisions that encourage companies to ship jobs overseas, beginning in 2011. The foreign tax credit is designed to prevent double taxation (i.e., full taxation by both a foreign country and by the United States) of income earned abroad. However, companies have devised schemes essentially shifting the burden of their foreign income tax onto the U.S. Federal government. This abuse of the foreign tax credit encourages companies to move jobs offshore to avoid U.S. taxation.

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