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White House report: Obama's jobs bill would support 11,900 teaching jobs in Michigan

Jennifer Guerra
/
Michigan Radio

A new White House report claims President Obama’s $447 billion American Jobs Act will save or create 11,900 teaching jobs in Michigan.

According to the "Teachers Jobs At Risk" report, about 300,000 education jobs across the country have been cut since 2008, and another 280,000 teaching jobs are in jeopardy.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan says the President’s American Jobs Act would save or create some 400,000 teaching jobs over the next two years - including nearly 12,000 teaching jobs in Michigan." Duncan says education is "the greatest investment" the country can make.

"Our children deserve nothing less than a world class education system, and the American Jobs Act will help insure our ability to provide our students with best education possible.

House Republican Leader Eric Cantor earlier said the jobs bill as a package is dead and that he wouldn’t bring the proposal as a whole to a House vote, according to the political blog Talking Points Memo:

Hours after President Obama insisted both the House and Senate vote on his entire jobs bill, a top Republican says that's not gonna happen. Asked by a reporter for a yes or no answer, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) says the jobs bill, taken as a whole, is kaput. "The $447 billion jobs package as a package: dead?" the reporter asked. "Yes," Cantor replied. This will come as little surprise to close observers of Capitol Hill, but it will likely sharpen Obama's attacks on Congress. Monday, before a cabinet meeting, Obama said he'll demand up or down votes on the package. "I'll be talking to Senator Reid, McConnell, as well as Speaker Boehner and Nancy Pelosi, and insisting that we have a vote on this bill," he said. "We've been hearing from Republicans that there are some proposals that they're interested in.... [I]f there are aspects of the bill that they don't like, they should tell us what it is that they're not willing to go for; they should tell us what it is that they're prepared to see move forward."

Jennifer is a reporter for Michigan Radio's State of Opportunity project, which looks at kids from low-income families and what it takes to get them ahead. She previously covered arts and culture for the station, and was one of the lead reporters on the award-winning education series Rebuilding Detroit Schools. Prior to working at Michigan Radio, Jennifer lived in New York where she was a producer at WFUV, an NPR station in the Bronx.
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