Senate passes Murray measure for Medicaid, teachers

 The U.S. Senate on Wednesday morning broke months of partisan standoff over massive aid to states, passing a key procedural vote on an amendment by Sen. Patty Murray that would funnel $26.1 billion for Medicaid and teacher funding.
For Washington state, the measure is expected to bring in $543 million – a combination of additional funding for public schools and extra matching money for Medicaid, the federal-state health insurance plan for the poor.
The measure passed 61-38, with two Republicans siding with all the Democrats. It now needs only a simple majority for final passage before the Senate recesses for the summer next week. Assuming the Senate approves the measure, it still has to go the U.S. House.
"I'm pretty confident ... that the vote should be fairly positive in the House," Murray said.
Gov. Chris Gregoire said she's now confident Washington will get the federal aid, which would essentially solve the state's immediate budget problems and forestall further cuts. Gregoire had previously said she might have to call a special session of the Legislature or make across-the-board cuts to handle a budget shortfall.
Washington and many other states had been counting on the federal money to help balance their budgets. "What we clearly have done is avoided the special session. I can't imagine, no matter what happens in the September (revenue) forecast, that we will face the kind of draconian cuts we were facing here," Gregoire said.
Her staff had been preparing across-the-board cuts of at least $227 million in the current fiscal year that runs through June 2011. Gregoire said it's still possible the state will be forced to make more cuts in spending this year if state tax collections decline over the next few months.
State officials and educators had lobbied intensely for the federal aid for weeks. But the money was stripped out of previous bills in the face of a Republican blockade. Republicans depicted the spending measure as a form of vote-buying ahead of November elections.
The full cost of Murray's amendment is paid for by other spending cuts and by tightening foreign tax-credit loopholes for corporations. Among the casualties are adolescent literacy efforts and Murray's own Ready to Teach program.
On the Senate floor, Murray attacked the Republicans for their repeated and virtually unanimous opposition to recent Democratic legislation.
"At every turn, here in the Senate, we have been opposed by those on the other side of the aisle who seem to have long ago made their own choice about anything and everything that comes to this floor," Murray said. "The bottom line is that without this amendment, much of the progress states have made to get back on the right economic track will be endangered."
Washington now splits the cost of the Medicaid program 50-50 with the federal government. But under the federal stimulus plan, the federal match has been raised to 62 cents until the end of December. Murray's amendment would extend the enhanced match for six more months.
Beyond the immediate money concerns, the state faces a $3 billion shortfall in the next two-year budget.

Link - Seattle Times 8/4/2010