JOBS BILL OVERCOMES GOP FILIBUSTER; STATE AID ON THE WAY

Washington, N.Y.—Today Senate Democrats overcame Republican opposition and cleared the way for a $26 billion measure to help states ease their severe budget problems and save the jobs of tens of thousands of teachers and other public employees.

The bill advanced by a 61-38 tally that ensures the measure will pass the Senate on Wednesday or Thursday. The House may return early from its August recess for a final vote that would deliver the bill to President Obama, his larger jobs agenda curtailed by Republicans who argue against the spending it would entail.

Moderate Republican Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine cast the key votes to break the GOP filibuster. The bill would extend programs enacted in last year's stimulus bill to preserve the jobs of teachers, librarians, police officers, firefighters and other public employees.

The legislation is scaled back from versions that stalled earlier this summer as part of a larger tax-and-spend measure extending jobless benefits and a variety of expired tax breaks. The first piece is $16 billion to help states with their Medicaid budgets in the first six months of next year.The measure also contains $10 billion to help school boards hit with similar budget woes avoid teacher layoffs this fall.

Par for the course, most Republicans opposed the measure, calling it a payoff to public employee unions and warning that it would make the states ever-dependent on federal funds.  Both provisions were heavily backed by the AFL-CIO and unions who represent teachers and public employees.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) ran ads Wednesday in four Maine newspapers urging Collins and Snowe to vote to break the filibuster.

"It's important to be able to provide this support to the states at a very critical time," Snowe said afterward. "I think it also should be done with the understanding that the states are going to have to begin to make some tough decisions." Obama requested an extension of additional aid for the Medicaid program budget and has belatedly rallied behind the money for teachers as well.