Washington, DC – Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (CT-3) voted today in support of the Education Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act, which will protect our children’s education by keeping teachers in the classroom, prevent the layoffs of tens of thousands of police officers, firefighters, and nurses, will create hundreds of thousands of new jobs, and reduces the deficit by $1.4 billion over 10 years by eliminating a loophole that actually encouraged corporations to ship American jobs overseas.

The House of Representatives reconvened this week – in the middle of the August work period – to pass the Education Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act, emergency aid that will help states keep teachers in our classrooms and first responders on duty. The bill will provide over $26 billion in assistance to states, helping to reduce budget shortfalls, stimulating the economy, and ultimately creating and saving 320,000 jobs in both the public and private sectors.

“Communities across the country and at home in Connecticut are being forced to choose between critical public services, like keeping teachers in the classrooms or keeping police officers on the beat. We came back to Washington to protect our children’s education and to stand up for our teachers, firefighters and middle class families,” said Congresswoman DeLauro. “However, I do have some concerns about how this bill is paid for, and its affect on the millions who depend on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) program in order to feed their families. I will work to ensure that the benefits that these families so desperately need do not suddenly end when the funds expire in 2014.”