Statement of AFSCME President Gerald W. McEntee on House Passage of the Jobs Bill
Washington, DC — “America’s working people have won a tremendous victory in the United States Congress today – a victory that is going to save hundreds of thousands of jobs. The House of Representatives joined the Senate to pass a bill that will provide vital federal aid to state and local governments and school districts to help with budget shortfalls and save jobs.
“Everyone agrees that we aren’t creating jobs fast enough. The last thing we needed was even more layoffs. AFSCME led the fight to pass this bill to save thousands of jobs that were on the chopping block without adding a penny to the deficit.
“The American people will remember that Democrats stood up to save our struggling economy, while Republicans – with a few courageous exceptions – chose to play politics with our lives and jobs.”
I’m pleased to announce that, thanks to your efforts, we finally overcame Senate Republican obstructionism today when the Senate voted 61-38 to overcome a GOP filibuster against the FMAP/education jobs bill. A last minute AFSCME advertising and mobilization blitz in Maine helped secure the votes Senators Snowe and Collins.
We still need to go through the House again, and we will need your help to secure the necessary votes. When Congress clears a final bill states will receive $16.1 billion in Medicaid funding as well as $10 billion to fund education jobs (not just teachers, but all public school employees). Attached is a state-by-state breakdown of what the bill means for you.
Thank you for all of your work on this. It is by no means all that we wanted or all that is necessary, but it is a major step forward.
Gerald McIntee
Predent, AFSCME International
This is a critical moment for the folks who depend on public services — and the workers who provide them.
Today, the U.S. Senate will vote on whether to provide billions in badly-needed aid to state and local governments and school districts that would do nothing less than help prevent severe cuts to public services and jobs.
If Congress fails to act, more than 900,000 public and private sector workers will lose their jobs.
ONE ISSUE THE GOVERNOR IS RIGHT ON: WITHOUT FEDERAL MEDICAID FUNDS, ANOTHER 12,000 JOB CUTS LOOM
We disagree with the governor on many things, but not on the need for a federal jobs bill with the Medicaid money Washington and other states need.
Without the $480 million in federal Medicaid funds (called FMAP), another 12,000 state jobs would be cut on top of the roughly 6,000 already cut, the governor said in a letter to this state’s Congressional delegation.
Without the federal money, the governor said she would likely call the Legislature back into special session to fill the budget gap—and cut jobs.
“If the (FMAP Medicaid funding) extension is not realized, the state will not only be unable to provide medical services to thousands of families, but would likely see a loss of thousands of jobs as across-the-board cuts would be a likely response,” the governor said, as reported in today’s (June 8) The Olympian.
That’s why we need you to call Sen. Patty Murray and Sen. Maria Cantwell and tell them to support a jobs bill that saves public jobs. Because deficits matter—but jobs matter more.
The U.S. Senate is about to vote on a jobs bill that includes dollars for state governments to avoid layoffs and public service cuts. This money is needed more than ever. Cutting public jobs and services will endanger economic recovery. And it will make the national debt even worse.
Call your U.S. senators toll-free at 1-877-442-6801 and urge them to vote YES! on the Senate Jobs Bill (H.R. 4213). This bill will prevent more layoffs and public service cutbacks.
Ask for a response. Call as soon as possible on your own phone.
8/1/10:
KEEP AMERICA WORKING
8/9/10:
Last week every single Democratic U.S. Senator voted to protect hundreds of thousands of public and private jobs. And now Congress is in the homestretch of passing critical aid to state and local governments that we've been fighting for all summer.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi thinks this bill is so important that she ordered members of the House of Representatives to fly back to Washington immediately to get it passed. The House is expected to vote on Tuesday.
Join us in demanding that Congress keep America working!
In Washington, calls are needed for:
Jay Inslee (1st), 202-225-6311
Brian Baird (3rd), 202-225-3536
Adam Smith (9th), 202-225-8901
8/5/10:THANKS TO YOUR CALLS, U.S. SENATE CLEARS WAY FOR FMAP MEDICAID MONEY
The U.S. Senate on Wednesday broke the filibuster and moved the final vote for Washington’s $500 million in federal “FMAP” dollars. It came thanks to an amendment authored by our state’s own Sen. Patty Murray.
Final majority approval by the Senate and then the U.S. House is expected.
The loss of those dollars would have worsened our budget crisis. The governor would have imposed across-the-board cuts of 4 percent. Or she would have called lawmakers back for a special session.
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