Congress Passes Additional FMAP, Teacher Funding

August 10, 2010

The U.S. House of Representatives voted 247-161 Tuesday to provide $26 billion in additional federal assistance to the states. The Senate passed the bill last week, and President Barack Obama signed it into law Tuesday.

Pennsylvania will receive about $600 million in additional FMAP funds for public health and human services and $388 million in funding to keep teachers in the classroom.

Federal fiscal aid could not come at a better time. Over the past two years, more people have turned to state government for help, but Pennsylvania has been cutting back: eliminating programs and making cuts to libraries, literacy and job training, environmental protection, services for abused and neglected children, and assistance to vulnerable Pennsylvanians.

Federal fiscal assistance is critical to preserving jobs and keeping the economic recovery on track. About half of the jobs that will be preserved through continued state spending are in the private sector - including contractors and local vendors across the Commonwealth. We cannot afford to stall this fragile recovery.

The Congressional Budget Office has certified that the additional spending in the FMAP legislation will not add to the federal deficit. In fact, the bill pays for itself and will reduce the deficit by $1.37 billion over 10 years.

We are not out of the woods yet. The state budget for this year assumed $850 million in additional FMAP funding, leaving a $250 million shortfall. That could be made up if the economy recovers and tax revenue increases, or we could be facing more cuts.

Pennsylvania has to come out of this recession ready to grow. That means continuing investments in education, workforce training, higher education and infrastructure so that we can compete moving forward. 

Read Congressional District fact sheets detailing the impact of the additional federal FMAP funding across Pennsylania.