House reconvenes to vote on jobs bill today

LIHU‘E — Hundreds of Hawai‘i teachers’ jobs will be protected and more funding will be available to provide healthcare to low-income residents after the House finishes work on a $26 billion bill today, U.S. Rep. Mazie Hirono said.

The legislation would give $39.3 million in federal funding to strengthen education in Hawai‘i and $86 million to bolster the state’s Medicaid program for an additional six months next year, she said Saturday at The Garden Island office in Lihu‘e.

Hawai‘i Republican Rep. Charles Djou has said he will oppose the package. He says in an Associated Press article that the bill raises taxes and spends money that a nation facing a huge annual budget deficit and long-term debt cannot afford.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced last week that she would call the chamber back into session today so members can vote on the bill because the need for jobs is too great to wait until September. The House had adjourned Friday for its August recess.

The “unpredictable” Senate passed H.R. 1586 in a 61-39 vote on Thursday after Democrats made some concessions and lured two Maine Republicans to join them in voting for it, Hirono said.

The measure is reportedly half as much as President Barack Obama wanted, but he still plans to sign it when it reaches his desk.

Republicans have said the money is a giveaway to public employee unions and just another federal bailout.

Many of those whose jobs are being saved belong to teacher unions or the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, two key components of the Democrats’ political base whose get-out-the-vote efforts in November could determine whether they hold or lose control of Congress, the Associated Press reports.

Proponents claim the much-needed bill will help many cash-strapped states avoid further layoffs and maintain critical programs.

When asked about the $26 billion price tag, Hirono said the bill is already paid for and will not add to the deficit.

Democratic leaders reportedly found a way to finance the bill through spending cuts and closing a tax loophole for U.S.-based multinational corporations.

Republicans forced back to the Capitol to vote against the bill see it differently. Democrats should be staying home and listening to their constituents “instead of scampering back to Washington to push through more special interest bailouts and job-killing tax hikes,” House GOP leader John Boehner of Ohio said in an Associated Press article.

Critics fail to recognize “we’re still in a very precarious recovery,” Hirono said.

“We should be focusing still on jobs and the economy,” said Hirono, a Democrat who represents the Neighbor Islands and rural O‘ahu. “This is a time when we should be spending more money on recovery. These are not normal times. We need to stimulate the economy … but at the same time we have to have a plan for controlling the deficit.”

H.R. 1586 is titled the “FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act.” Amendment 4575, introduced last week by Sen. Harry Reid for Rep. Patty Murray, inserts the Federal Medical Assistance Percentages and teacher funding components.

To pay for the FAA aspect of the legislation, a Project Vote Smart synopsis says the bill would tax executive bonuses paid by companies who received funding under TARP at a rate of 90 percent.

The House also could take up another measure the Senate passed last week — a $600 million border security bill with money for more agents and unmanned surveillance drones, an Associated Press article states.

“We would obviously support the House concurring in the Senate package and doing so as quickly as possible,” Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told reporters in a telephone news conference the day after the Senate passed the bill, S. 3721.

•Nathan Eagle, managing editor, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 227) or neagle@kauaipubco.com.