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San Antonio Congressman Charlie Gonzalez, in town for the recording of the Story Corps for NPR told reporters Monday that he did not agree with the final state aid bill passed by the Congress last week. Texas Public Radio’s Eileen Pace reports.
August 18, 2010 · Gonzales said bills are rarely ideal, but he disagreed with the funding behind this bill. He said the legislation had to be paid for by taking monies from other programs, but he did not agree with taking money from the food stamp program.
“The House found a way to pay for it by closing a tax loophole, and, by taking money from one of the president’s programs, which was ‘Race to the Top,’” Gonzales said. “The Senate did it differently. They went and took money from the food stamp program, which I don’t think is the most prudent way to fund it, but that’s what they did. And we passed it.”
The bill did add money to the Medicaid program, but Gonzalez said its main focus was to provide money for teachers to stay employed and for fire and police personnel. Gonzales said there are specific restrictions on the money to make sure it is spent in those areas.
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