Duncan: Children will be hurt if House fails to pass state-aid bill

Education Secretary Arne Duncan on Monday warned that children will be hurt if the House fails to pass the $26 billion state-aid package that advanced from the Senate last week. 

"If the bill doesn't pass, basically children get hurt," he told MSNBC's "Morning Joe." "We'll see class size increase dramatically; we'll see after-school programs eliminated; we'll see extracurriculars eliminated." 

The House Rules Committee is expected to meet this evening to decide the parameters of debating the bill, which provides $10 billion to educators and gives $16 billion to extend federal Medicaid reimbursements to states. 

The House is expected to vote on the measure Tuesday.

The bill is fully paid for, in part by restricting the use of foreign tax credits. 

The offset raises nearly $10 billion and has been blasted by organizations like the Business Roundtable, which argues the measure further disadvantages U.S. multinational companies that rely on the credits to remain competitive with foreign companies. 

"We urge the House of Representatives to reject the counterproductive tax hikes and instead begin a bipartisan conversation on comprehensive tax reform," said Johanna Schneider, executive director of external relations of the Business Roundtable, in prepared remarks last week. 

Schneider warns that the tax hikes will hurt U.S. multinationals, which historically have played a vital role in fueling economic expansion in the U.S.