Last week, the House sent HR 1586, the Education Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act, to the president’s desk, who subsequently signed it.  The Great Recession has choked off the flow of tax revenue States need to balance their budgets threatening, the foundation of the middle class, our public education system. Today, Congress took a critical step, in order to ensure that the effects of the recession are not passed on to school districts, teachers and our children.

The bill will save an estimated 161,000 teaching positions nation-wide, 16,500 in California, and 136 teaching jobs in the 15th District.  The President has correctly characterized education as the economic issue of our time. The Education Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act is a critical step, keeping teachers in our children’s classroom as we strive to build a workforce that can make America competitive in the 21st Century.