Job growth remains tepid, By Catherine Rampell, July 6, 2012, New York Times: “The nation’s employers created almost enough jobs to keep up with population growth in June, but not nearly enough to reduce the backlog of nearly 13 million unemployed workers. The economy added 80,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department reported Friday, after a revised increase of 77,000 in May. The unemployment rate remained at 8.2 percent. Economists are expecting tepid job growth for the rest of the year, too…”
U.S. added 80,000 jobs in June as economy struggles, By Michael A. Fletcher, July 6, 2012, Washington Post: “The economy continued its sluggish performance in June as employers added just 80,000 jobs and the nation’s unemployment rate remained at 8.2 percent, the government reported Friday. The report added to growing concern that the economic recovery, which seemed to be gaining momentum in the early part of the year, is faltering after a promising start for the third consecutive year. During the first quarter of 2012, employers added an average of 226,000 jobs a month, the Labor Department said. But job creation slowed in the second quarter to an average of 75,000 a month – far below the level that is needed to make a dent in the unemployment rate…”
‘No Child’ law whittled down by White House, By Motoko Rich, July 6, 2012, New York Times: “In just five months, the Obama administration has freed schools in more than half the nation from central provisions of the No Child Left Behind education law, raising the question of whether the decade-old federal program has been essentially nullified. On Friday, the Department of Education plans to announce that it has granted waivers releasing two more states, Washington and Wisconsin, from some of the most onerous conditions of the signature Bush-era legislation. With this latest round, 26 states are now relieved from meeting the lofty – and controversial – goal of making all students proficient in reading and mathematics by 2014. Additional waivers are pending in 10 states and the District of Columbia…”
More than half the states now free from some rules of ‘No Child Left Behind’ education law, Associated Press, July 6, 2012, Washington Post: “The Obama administration said Friday that two more states, Washington and Wisconsin, will be exempted from many requirements of the federal ‘No Child Left Behind’ education law. The decision brings to 26 the number of states granted waivers as Congress remains at a stalemate regarding an overhaul to former President George W. Bush’s signature accomplishment. With more than half of the states now free from many of the law’s requirements, there are questions about the future of No Child Left Behind…”
Two more states granted waivers from No Child Left Behind, for total of 26, By Stacy Teicher Khadaroo, July 6, 2012, Christian Science Monitor: “With the approval Friday of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) waivers for Washington State and Wisconsin, more than half the states are now moving forward with their own accountability plans for schools. President Obama directed the US Department of Education last year to start the waiver process to give states flexibility from some parts of the federal law, which has been due for a rewrite since 2007. In exchange, states have to show detailed plans for preparing all students for college and careers, targeting federal aid to the students most in need, and pushing for better evaluation and support of teachers and principals…”
La. Medicaid funding unexpectedly slashed by $859M, Associated Press, July 2, 2012, New Orleans Times-Picayune: “Louisiana’s health department was working Monday to strip $859 million from the state’s Medicaid program for the poor and uninsured, cutting 11 percent of the funding for health services after Congress unexpectedly slashed the state’s Medicaid payment. The cuts to the budget came as a surprise to Gov. Bobby Jindal’s administration and lawmakers, cropping up last week when Congress reduced Medicaid funding to the state in the just-passed federal transportation bill as part of Republicans’ efforts to offset some of the expense in highway funding. Congressional action blows a hole in the health care budget crafted by the administration and lawmakers for the fiscal year that began Sunday. On the chopping block are charity hospitals, hospice care and Medicaid providers who thought they had escaped deep reductions in the 2012-13 budget…”
New tune: Jindal team calls $859 million Medicaid cut ‘doable’, By Melinda Deslatte (AP), Alexandria Town Talk: “When a bloc of conservative Louisiana lawmakers pushed to strip money from the state health department, the Jindal administration outcry was loud, suggesting the cuts could devastate health-care services. A month later, the $859 million in budget cuts hitting the Medicaid program from new congressional action are far larger, but Gov. Bobby Jindal’s administration has been muted in talking about the ramifications…”
