Copyright 2000 The Omaha World-Herald Company
Omaha
World-Herald
May 7, 2000, Sunday SUNRISE EDITION
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 15a;
LENGTH: 1237 words
HEADLINE:
Congress Turns Attention to Education
BYLINE: MATT
KELLEY
SOURCE: WORLD-HERALD BUREAU
DATELINE: Washington
BODY:
With an eye toward November's election, the House and Senate last week took
up education initiatives expected to spur lengthy partisan battles over a top
priority of many voters. Last week's most decisive legislating happened in the
House, where lawmakers voted 421 to 3 to call for stair-stepped increases in
special education funding over each of the next ten years. But the bipartisan
nature of that largely symbolic vote was belied by the Senate, where lawmakers
engaged in a mostly partisan and lengthy philosophical debate over how best to
spend federal education dollars. The basis for the Senate debate is a
Republican-backed plan to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act. The GOP proposal seeks to trim federal paperwork and bureaucracy while
giving states more say in spending decisions. The measure includes a new pilot
block-grant program and a plan to enable some parents to buy special tutoring
with a federal subsidy. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said the bill attempts to
reverse a federal bureaucracy that provides between five and seven percent of
education funding, but requires 50 percent of the paperwork. "Do we want an
educational system tailored by faceless Washington bureaucrats or by local
school boards and educators who know our kids by their first name?" he said.
Democrats countered that the GOP proposal seeks to make political hay without
providing concrete answers for schools struggling with outdated infrastructure
and a shortage of qualified teachers. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, accused
Republicans of offering a plan that amounts to a "retreat in our national
commitment to education." "They merely punt the problem back to the states,"
Harkin said. "That is not leadership." Senators broke along party lines to
reject a substitute bill - introduced by Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle,
D-S.D. - composed mostly of President Clinton's education agenda. By a 45 to 54
vote, the Senate effectively killed Daschle's bill, a measure to add teachers,
reduce class sizes and repair or replace older schools. Harkin and Sen. Bob
Kerrey, D-Neb., voted for Daschle's substitute, while Grassley and Sen. Chuck
Hagel, R-Neb., opposed it. A vote on Republican plan isn't expected until late
this week at the earliest. The partisan debate in Congress foreshadows a long
summer and fall in which Republicans and Democrats will jockey for an electoral
advantage on education issues. Education is expected to play a major role both
in congressional elections and the presidential contest between Texas Gov.
George W. Bush and Vice President Al Gore. Hagel, who serves with Harkin on the
Health Education and Labor Committee, used a conference call with Nebraska
reporters last week to urge his colleagues to pay more attention to their
constituents as they resume debate this week. Hagel said that while taping a
program for public television last week, he was able to hear comments offered by
parents, teachers and students from around the nation. He said all 100 senators
would have benefited from "the great common sense of our time." "If we would do
that," Hagel said, "we would do just fine." In the House, lawmakers of both
parties lauded efforts to boost federal support for local school districts
burdened by the high cost of educating disabled kids. The bill passed in the
House calls for a $ 2 billion increase in each of the next 10 years for funds
distributed under the 1975 Individual with Disabilities Education
Act, or IDEA. Proponents, including most Midlands lawmakers, said that
rate of increase would bring the federal contribution to 40 percent of special
education costs, the threshold promised by Congress in 1975. "I only wish we
could have done it sooner," said Rep Bill Barrett, R-Neb., a member of the House
Education and Workforce Committee. Currently, local school districts receive
about $ 6 billion in IDEA funding annually, a level education officials say
amounts to about 12 percent of the total cost of educating the disabled. Rep.
Lee Terry, R-Neb., said boosting special education funding will allow districts
to redirect local tax dollars for teacher hiring and training, classroom
renovation and construction or property tax relief. Echoing the sentiments of
Rep. Doug Bereuter, R-Neb., and most Midlands lawmakers, Terry said each
additional special education dollar means more local resources for all students.
"The difference has always been made up by the local school districts," Terry
said. Despite that bipartisan enthusiasm, however, observers and education
lobbyists pointed out that the real test will come when House members begin
passing the appropriations bill later this year. It is at that point when
lawmakers will make final decisions on funding specific education programs,
choices sure to spark the same type of partisanship seen in the Senate. Those
differences are likely to parallel the ones in the Senate this week, with
Republicans pushing for fewer federal restrictions and Democrats lining up
behind Clinton's more structured proposals to lower class size and improve
infrastructure. Barrett, who is serving final House term before retiring, said
he it's possible the process will be marked by much of the same "political
gamesmanship" of previous negotiations between Clinton and congressional
Republicans. "That's always around in this business," Barrett said. The special
education measure received support from all six House members from Nebraska and
western Iowa: Barrett, Bereuter, Terry and Reps. Greg Ganske, R-Iowa, Tom
Latham, R-Iowa, and Leonard Boswell, D-Iowa. In other votes last week: The House
Africa Trade Approved, 309 to 110, a bill that would open the way for expanded
trade with dozens of African and Caribbean nations. The measure provides
quota-free status for textile imports from certain nations, while also setting
labor and civil rights standards for nations wishing to take advantage of the
lowered barriers. All six House members from Nebraska and western Iowa voted for
the measure. Water Approved, 416 to 5, a measure authorizing the expansion of a
water conservation programs run by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The
measure authorized $ 75 million in spending in each year from 2000 to 2004. All
six House members from Nebraska and western Iowa voted for the measure. Stock
Options Approved, 421 to 0, a measure clearing the way for companies to offer
hourly employees stock options without coming under certain restriction imposed
by the U.S. Department of Labor. All six House members from Nebraska and western
Iowa voted for the measure. Vietnam Approved, 415 to 3, a resolution condemning
human rights abuses and calling on Vietnam to hold open elections, release
political prisoners and promote freedom of religion. All six House members from
Nebraska and western Iowa voted for the measure. Asian Refugees Approved, by
voice vote, a measure waiving certain citizenship requirements for refugees who
assisted the U.S. during the Vietnam War. The bill is aimed specifically at
relaxing literacy and civics requirement for Lao and Hmong veterans who already
enjoy permanent residency in the U.S. Federal Contractors Approved, by voice
vote, a measure that would relax standards requiring some government contractors
to hold four-year college degrees. The measure was aimed largely toward computer
and technology contractors.
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