Washington - On a conference call with U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), today Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) unveiled the Teachers and First Responders Act which provides $30 billion to create or protect nearly 400,000 education jobs and $5 billion to create or save thousands of police and fire fighter jobs. This is the first piece of President Obama's Jobs Act being introduced in the Senate since Republicans blocked the entire package.

"We have a choice: With this legislation we can fulfill our duty to educate our kids and keep our communities safe; or we can gamble our future on political games that dis-invest in the future of our children and the safety of our communities," said Menendez. "Today we choose our children and our communities by putting teachers, cops and firefighters back on the job."

According to a CNN poll released this afternoon, 75% of Americans support providing funding to state and local governments to hire teachers and first responders, including 63% of republicans.

Senate Majority Leader Reid will begin the process for considering the legislation today. The Senate vote on the measure is expected as soon as the end of this week.

KEY PROVISIONS:

  • $30 Billion To Create or Protect Nearly 400,000 Education Jobs
  • $831.1 Million to Create or Protect 9,300 Education Jobs in New Jersey.

Nearly 300,000 education jobs have been lost since 2008, and state and local budget crisis will put as many as 280,000 teacher jobs at risk next year. A $30 billion investment will help local school districts not only avoid layoffs, but also rehire tens of thousands of teachers who have already lost their jobs because of budget cuts. In New Jersey, thousands of education jobs have been cut. The Teachers and First Responders Back to Work Act will provide New Jersey with an additional $831.1 million in funds that will support 9,300 education jobs

  • $5 Billion to Keep Thousands of Police and Firefighters on the Job including hundreds in New Jersey.

State and local budget cuts have forced thousands of cops and firefighters off the beat. The bill will commit $5 billion to retaining police, firefighters and first responders and to rehiring those who have been laid off during these tough economic times through competitive grants to states and localities. More than 700 police officers were let go in New Jersey just this year and there are 4,000 fewer officers today in New Jersey then there were at the end of 2009. Just last month, Menendez announced that 12 communities in New Jersey received a total of $20.8 million to hire and support 78 officers for the next three years. More than 150 New Jersey localities applied for the grants but only enough funds were available to support 9% of applicants. This new funding would greatly expand the opportunity to create and protect hundreds of first responder jobs throughout the state.

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