n the past few months, the federal government has engineered massive bailouts of distressed economic institutions from Wall Street to the Big Three automakers.
But for the upcoming stimulus package, politicians want to shore up local governments -- from counties beset by Medicaid costs to local school districts forced to deal with cuts to state funding.
"There's a very strong likelihood that (school aid) will be included in the package," U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Monday as he unveiled a plan -- being pushed by several governors as well as members of Congress -- to allocate stimulus money to local school systems.
If approved as part of President-elect Barack Obama's $750 billion package, New York could get an extra $6.4 billion in local school aid over the next two years.
"It's going to put less stress on the local school districts," said Gov. David Paterson, who joined Schumer for a news conference at the state Capitol.
It marked the second time in two weeks that Schumer said he wants stimulus funds to pay for ongoing local government functions.
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