Dems eye stimulus to pay teachers

Politico reports:

Crossing a line they had hoped to avoid, Democrats are now actively discussing budget options that would mean going back into last year’s Recovery Act and redirecting billions in unspent stimulus funds to more pressing needs, such as averting threatened layoffs of public school teachers next fall.

The shift reflects the dramatically changed political climate in Congress and immense difficulty the party now faces in building any consensus for new spending initiatives.

More meetings are scheduled Thursday and no final decisions have been made. But the strategy was discussed at a meeting Wednesday night of House leaders and Appropriations Committee Chairman Dave Obey (D-Wis.) regarding a wartime emergency funding bill slated for passage this month.