there. that is the good news. but for america's workers, families and small businesses, progress needs to come faster. our job is to make sure that happens. not only to lay the foundation for private sector job creation, but also to accelerate hiring, to fuel the small businesses that are the engines of economic growth, to speed our recovery so it reaches the people in places that need relief, not a year from now, not six months from now, but now, right now. that's why i welcomed the news earlier this week that after a lot of partisan bickering and delay the senate passed a bill that will not only keep at least 160,000 teachers in the classroom this fall who would otherwise be out of a job, but will help states avoid making other painful layoffs of essential personnel like police and firefighters. one of the areas where we've been losing jobs even as we are