Obama signs $26 billion bill to help teachers, public workers

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Obama signs bill to help teachers

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama has signed a bill that he says will save hundreds of thousands of teachers and other public workers from unemployment.

Obama signed the measure into law just hours after the House passed it in a special one-day session during what would normally be the lawmakers’ summer break.

The $26 billion bill would protect 300,000 teachers, police and others from election-year layoffs. Obama and Democrats said quick action was necessary before children return to classrooms minus teachers laid off because of budgetary crises in states that have been hard-hit by the recession.

Republicans called the bill a giveaway to teachers unions and an example of wasteful Washington spending.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is urging lawmakers to pass a bill that he says will save hundreds of thousands of teachers and other public workers from unemployment.

Speaking in the Rose Garden alongside two teachers facing potential job loss, Obama said the bill should not be a partisan issue. He says failing to pass the bill would set the country back at a time when it needs to be moving forward.

The House is expected to pass the bill in a special session Tuesday. Democrats say the measure would save more than 300,000 jobs for teachers, police officers and other public health workers. But Republicans see it as reckless government spending and a gift to teachers’ unions ahead of the November elections.