House Dem proposes $60 billion in new grants to hire teachers

Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.) this week introduced legislation under which the federal government would offer $60 billion in grants to states so they could fill hundreds of thousands of lost teacher jobs, and hire additional teachers beyond that.

Crowley's Teachers and First Responders Back to Work Act, H.R. 6561, was announced back in May, but only introduced on Tuesday. In May, Crowley said the grant money would help towns all across the country hold together teaching jobs and other public-sector jobs at a time when state budgets are strained.

"When teachers are taken out of the classroom, fewer cops are patrolling our streets and firehouses close, we all pay the price," he said. "Teachers and first responders are the backbone of our communities and my bill will give cities like New York the ability to retain these critical jobs and ensure we are meeting the demands of our growing community."

The bill does not find spending offsets for the new grant programs, but instead authorizes new spending. Specifically, it would authorize $30 billion a year for the next two years on state grants to hire teachers.

According to one study by the Hamilton Project, 220,000 teaching jobs were lost from 2009 and 2011, and other estimates say job losses have totaled more than 250,000 over the last three years. While $60 billion is more than enough to hire back those laid off teachers, Crowley said in May that his bill was also meant to hire new teachers beyond rehiring those who lost their jobs.

Also under the bill, the government could make $2 billion in grants to states to hire firefighters over the next two years, and $8 billion to hire police officers.

---