Education Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. STARK. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the Education Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act. This bill provides much-needed assistance to our community, by funding jobs in our schools and helping states maintain health coverage for low-income families.

Students are returning to school this fall, and states and localities are facing budget crunches that could lead to layoffs of teachers and first responders. These budget shortfalls also jeopardize health coverage for the millions of American families that depend on Medicaid.

The Education Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act extends a program in the Recovery Act that support local school districts to prevent teacher layoffs. This bill provides $10 billion in funding that will create or save over 160,000 teachers nationwide, including 16,500 in California.

The legislation also extends a Recovery Act program that will provide $16.1 billion for states' Medicaid programs. Medicaid provides health care to low-income Americans, including children and pregnant women. In California, 7.5 million people depend on Medi-Cal, the state Medicaid program. If we don't provide this funding to states, many will be forced to balance their budgets by dropping people off their Medicaid rolls, cutting benefits, or weakening the program by reducing payments to doctors, hospitals, and other providers.

The Education Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act will create and save over 150,000 jobs--including first responders, nurses, and private sector jobs--because it provides an influx of funds that enables states to balance their budgets.

This legislation does not add to the deficit. It is paid for by reducing government spending and closing tax loopholes for companies that ship American jobs overseas. With today's vote, this bill will go to the President's desk for his quick signature. I urge my colleagues to join me in voting yes.

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