Education Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Madam Speaker, this is a vitally important bill. In my state of Wisconsin alone, it will save the jobs of 2000-3000 teachers. With the school year right around the corner, it is essential that we keep these teachers in our schools--where our children need them. This legislation will also ensure that some of the most vulnerable in our society continue to receive Medicaid while protecting states from drastic cuts to their budgets. Without this Medicaid assistance, states would be forced to lay off more workers, cut more services, and raise taxes more than they would otherwise to balance their budgets.

However, I am outraged by a reduction in Supplementary Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits that is used to pay for this measure. Those who receive the meager SNAP benefits are the most poor and the most vulnerable in our society. Currently, 6 million Americans receiving SNAP report that they have no other source of income. In my district, about 20 percent of all people and 38 percent of children are SNAP beneficiaries.

Before this bill was considered, I offered an amendment to the Rules Committee that would have ameliorated the SNAP cut. My amendment would have rescinded $2.972 billion in unspent Race to the Top funds in order to provide an additional year of more adequate SNAP benefits. Race to the Top funds benefit only a few chosen students and schools while on the other hand saving teacher positions benefits the masses of children who would face larger class sizes and cuts to vital programs such as libraries, computers, and gym classes. This is just one example of a more appropriate offset than cutting SNAP.

While I support the bill on the floor today, I abhor this cut and will work to restore it.

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