UPDATE: Federal aid is on the way
NYSUT President Richard Iannuzzi joined New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg Wednesday for a series of meetings with Congressional leadership on Capitol Hill to stress the importance of an enhanced national economic recovery bill as it moved through a joint Senate-House conference committee.
Meeting first with members of the New York State Democratic Congressional delegation, President Iannuzzi and Mayor Bloomberg then met privately with Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who represented one of the key swing votes on the bill that later in the day emerged with a $789 billion agreement.
At a press conference in the House Labor and Education Committee Hearing Room, Iannuzzi was joined by House Education and Labor Chairman Rep. George Miller, (D-CA) , Mayor Bloomberg, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), and New York City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein to reaffirm their commitment to education investments in the bill.
"Without the support of great friends of education like George Miller, this task would be much more difficult," Iannuzzi said. "What we are looking at here in this bill is extraordinarily valuable not only to the schools and the children and teachers that enter them every day, but to our future economy and the future of our country."
President Iannuzzi also met with Sen. Arlen Spector, R-PA, and met to coordinate lobbying efforts with Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders and San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed. Over the last few days, Iannuzzi also authored an op-ed article on the need for a stimulus package that benefits schools, and conducted a number of media interviews.