U.S. may give state $2.6B for teachers, Medicaid

WASHINGTON - After a procedural victory in the Senate Wednesday, New York appears to be in line for a hoped-for boost - a $2.6 billion federal infusion of money for teachers and Medicaid.

Under the still-pending measure, New York would get about $607 million to save as many as 7,100 teaching jobs and $2 billion in Medicaid funds, said Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), a bill sponsor.

About $1.4 million of the federal Medicaid funding would go to Albany to address state budget needs and about $530 million will go directly to New York City and counties including Nassau and Suffolk, said Schumer aide Brian Fallon. He had no estimates for particular counties.

The new federal funding could make it unnecessary for the state to turn to its $1 billion contingency plan for government cuts in the budget it just passed Tuesday, Fallon said.

New York Gov. David A. Paterson Wednesday said he didn't know how much money New York would get, but added, "Depending on how much money they restore, our across-the-board reductions that we have made will be diminished."

The Senate will vote Thursday or Friday on the bill, which gives states $10 billion to pay for teachers and $16 billion for Medicaid to help strapped budgets and to save public sector jobs amid persistent high unemployment in the private sector.

The upcoming vote on the bill was made possible by Maine's two Republican senators, who joined Democrats in breaking a GOP filibuster 61-38 Wednesday. Most Republicans objected to another large spending bill amid growing deficits.

Should the measure pass in the Senate, as is expected, it would have to be approved by the House, which is on recess.

But in an unusual move, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Cal.) Wednesday announced she has called House members back for a vote early next week. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) announced Wednesday night that the House would vote on the bill Tuesday.

Long Island Reps. Tim Bishop (D-Southampton), Steve Israel (D-Huntington), Peter King (R-Seaford) and Carolyn McCarthy (D-Mineola) plan to return to Washington for a vote, their aides said Wednesday. Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-Roslyn Heights) could not be reached.

"This is really good news for Long Island from Washington, and it's about time," Schumer said. "The bottom line is that this will help Long Islanders in two ways: preventing tax increases at the county level and preventing teacher layoffs."

The New York State United Teachers said about 12,800 teachers in the state face layoffs, including 534 in Suffolk County and 177 in Nassau County. The federal infusion, once approved, is expected to save about 60 percent of those jobs.

Pelosi's decision to call members back here during their August recess underscores the importance of the issue of jobs and state aid in a highly partisan midterm election year.

Only once have House members been called back during the August recess since it was established in 1970, Senate historian Betty Koed said.