In advance of tonight’s vote, the White House has thrown its unequivocal weight behind the edujobs measure.
The administration released this statement, urging Congress to pass the bill.
The Administration strongly supports Senate passage of [the measure], which would provide much-needed relief to teachers and critical assistance to hard-pressed States. Since teachers are essential to the quality of education that the Nation affords its children and to America's long-term strength and security, the Administration strongly supports the $10 billion Education Jobs Fund to avert the layoff of hundreds of thousands of public school teachers as students return to school in the coming months.
The White House also said it supports the $16 billion in Medicaid aid to states.
In any case, it’s a far cry from the veto threat the administration issued in advance of the House vote. (Which, if you’ll remember, took issue with the offsets the House picked to help pay for the jobs bil. Those included cuts to administration priorities, like Race to the Top, teacher performance pay, and charters.) This version doesn’t contain those offsets.
Will this be enough to gain support? Let us know what you think.