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Government
& Public Affairs Update
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Government &
Public Affairs Team
Reginald M. Turner
John
Van Fossen, Practice Group Leader
Lucius A. Vassar
Chris Wagner
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House Returns From
Recess to Approve State Aid
Following Senate approval of an aid package last week that will send
$26 billion to state governments to extend Medicaid funding and
prevent teacher layoffs, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) indicated
that the House would return from its 5-week recess to vote on the
bill.
Senate Republicans Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine joined
Democrats in supporting the measure, resulting in a 61-39 vote for
the legislation and a recall of the House this week to continue Democrats'
emphasis on their efforts to create jobs despite continually
high unemployment.
As a result, $16.1 billion is provided for state Medicaid programs -
about half of what President Obama had requested initially, as well
as $10 billion to prevent tens of thousands of teacher layoffs.
However, due to record budget deficits and political expediency,
Democrats needed to reduce those amounts to ensure that the bill was
paid for by decreasing the amount of renewable energy loan guarantees
available through the Department of Energy, increasing taxes on
multinational corporations and reducing food stamp funding from
levels approved in last year's stimulus bill.
The House approved the bill easily by a margin of 247-161 and then
adjourned until September 14. The bill now awaits the
President's signature.
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If you have
any questions concerning these issues, please contact Chris Wagner at
202.772.0924 or cwagner@clarkhill.com.
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To find out
more about Clark Hill and our Government & Public Affairs
Practice Group, visit clarkhill.com
or call 800.949.3124
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