Bob Casey Still Needs to Read the Stimulus Bill

Sen. Bob Casey - in remarks designed to counter the facts laid out by the Commonwealth Foundation, namely that Pennsylvania school districts will get a dramatic increase in funding, considering both state aid and federal stimulus money - says "They're cutting a hole out and filling it with federal recovery money, which was not the intent of that money" (emphasis added).

Oh really?  The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act lists five purposes for the legislation; number 5 reads, "To stabilize State and local government budgets, in order to minimize and avoid reductions in essential services and counterproductive state and local tax increases"  (emphasis added).

It sounds to me like the intent of the stimulus legislation was exactly to fill in the gap and avoid tax increase.  Look, I know no one in Congress read the bill before voting on it, but this appears on page 2.  Really?  You couldn't make it to page 2, Senator?