Rendell 'extremely gratified' over jobs bill
Gov. Rendell said Wednesday that he was "extremely gratified" about Senate action on the jobs bill, which would send Pennsylvania much of the Medicaid funds it had been counting on to prevent further state budget cuts.
Gov. Rendell said Wednesday that he was "extremely gratified" about Senate action on the jobs bill, which would send Pennsylvania much of the Medicaid funds it had been counting on to prevent further state budget cuts.
In addition, the legislation would send Harrisburg several hundred million dollars to be used for school jobs.
"The bill is crucial for the commonwealth," Rendell said. "There is tremendous relief that it is moving forward."
Pennsylvania is set to receive just shy of $600 million in Medicaid assistance from the bill. That is about $250 million less than state officials had anticipated getting from Washington. Rendell said he would meet with legislative leaders in Harrisburg next week to figure out how to make up for the lost money. He did not rule out layoffs.
But he stressed that the alternative - receiving no federal dollars for Medicaid - would have been devastating. The governor said that more than 12,000 workers could have lost their jobs under that scenario.
The education money in the Senate bill comes as an unexpected bonus because state officials had not counted on getting the funds and so had not included them in the recently passed state budget.
They said Wednesday that they had not yet received figures from the federal government for how much the state - and in turn each school district - would get.
An analysis of the bill by the Education Commission of the States, a nonpartisan education research and policy advisory group, shows Pennsylvania getting an estimated $390.5 million to save or create educator jobs from the bill.
The Senate legislation calls for Harrisburg's share of the money to be distributed according to the state's Basic Education Funding formula, its main subsidy to school districts. That formula is weighted to give extra money to districts with more students from low-income families and English Language Learners and to districts with a high tax burden.
The bill says the money can be spent only "for compensation and benefits and other expenses . . . necessary to retain existing employees, to recall or rehire former employees, and to hire new employees" in early-childhood, elementary, and high school occupations.
The legislation bars states from using the money for general education funding or on support services. And it has provisions aimed at ensuring that it is used to supplement, not replace, education spending already planned by the states.
The infusion of cash is welcome, Education Department spokeswoman Leah Harris said in an e-mail. "Districts are cutting programs and reducing staff," she wrote. "So . . . there is a need for [additional] funding for education jobs."
Gary Tuma, Rendell's spokesman, said: "Anytime [the federal government is] providing the states with additional money in this economy, it's helpful - I'm sure it will be put to good use."
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