Previously: What good is that sales tax free back to school shopping weekend if there aren’t enough teachers?

From a Department of Education press release:

CONGRESS PASSES BILL TO SEND MISSOURI $189.7 MILLION TO SUPPORT 3,300 EDUCATION JOBS STATEWIDE

President Signs Bill Into Law

Today, by vote of 247-161, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to provide $10 billion to support an estimated 160,000 education jobs nationwide and another $16 billion to help states fund Medicaid budgets.  The bill allocates $189.7 million to support 3,300 education jobs in Missouri. The U.S. Senate passed the bill last Thursday by a vote of 61-39. Tonight, the President signed the bill into law.

“With the support of the jobs bill, these educators will be helping our children learn instead of looking for work,” Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said. “This is the right thing to do for our children, for our teachers, and for our economy….”

[emphasis added]

The vote in the House today:

FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 518

H R 1586      YEA-AND-NAY      10-Aug-2010      3:26 PM

QUESTION:  On Motion to Concur in Senate Amendment to House Amendment to Senate Amendment

Yeas – 247

Carnahan

Clay

Cleaver

Skelton

Nays – 161

Akin

Emerson

Graves (MO)

Luetkemeyer

Not Voting – 25

Blunt

Four Missouri Democrats vote “yea”, four Missouri republicans vote “nay”, and Roy Blunt (r) didn’t vote.

From the always perceptive Digby:

…I’m telling you, this is where the vulnerable underbelly of their “just say no” campaign. They are voting against nice, white, suburban middle class Americans this time (along with nice brown and black suburban middle class Americans) with this crusade. And going after teachers, cops and firefighters is a very, very dangerous thing to do. And as I wrote before, the Democrats should throw it right in their face….

We will here, we certainly will.