Posted on 09/10/2001 7:50:17 PM PDT by JohnHuang2
JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Sept. 10 — With his education plan bogged down in Congress, President Bush on Monday sought to prod lawmakers into action. The dwindling budget surplus gave new significance to the central debate — how much federal money to spend on schools.
“I DON’T THINK education ought to be a partisan issue,” Bush said at a campaign-style event at an elementary school. “I know reading is not a partisan issue — I mean, getting every child to read in America is an American issue and it ought to be an American goal and it is going to be in this administration.”
Bush also announced a pair of federal initiatives to improve reading instruction.
The president is attempting to persuade Congress to accept the smaller increase in education spending that he has proposed — about $5 billion over five years — rather than the version submitted by the Democratic-led Senate, which would boost spending by about $14.6 billion.
Bush said Saturday that a bigger boost in education spending would require tapping the Social Security surplus — something Republicans and Democrats alike have said they would not do.
Last week White House officials called the economy Bush’s No. 1 priority, a distinction that education had long held. On Sunday, the administration sought to fuse the two issues. “Education is part of our economy, and remains a top priority to the president,” spokeswoman Jennifer Millerwise said.
The two-day trip to Jacksonville and Sarasota, Fla., opened a week in which Bush planned to emphasize education, and reading in particular. On Thursday, Bush will address the White House Assembly on Reading at the Library of Congress.
The activity comes as congressional negotiators resume work on a schools bill.
Months ago, the House and Senate passed similar versions of the revised Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which provides most of the federal support for K-12 schools. Negotiators are working out a compromise between the two bills, but difficult issues remain, chiefly the price tag.
The House and Senate versions of the bill differ drastically in how much money they would provide. The Republican-controlled House proposed about $24 billion, while the Senate, run by Democrats, approved $33 billion. The federal government is spending about $18.4 billion this year on elementary and secondary education.
“The president told us education would be his top priority. Now it’s time for him to prove it,” said Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass. “We know that the president will figure out a way to pay for his $18 billion defense increase. Surely he can find a way to increase funding for our children’s education, too.”
Seeking to focus public attention on Congress’s deliberations, Bush and Education Secretary Rod Paige were emphasizing reading during the Florida trip.
The White House on Monday announced a federal commitment to regional “reading academies” that would help prepare states and school districts to use new “research-based” reading instruction and strengthen reading instruction systems. Bush also unveiled government-prepared literature for parents and teachers meant to bolster reading instruction.
Bush did not put a price tag on the projects.
Bush kicked off his renewed education push in his Saturday national radio address, saying lawmakers were hurting children by delaying action on the package.
Such efforts, he said, are a fruitless “tactic of the past.”
But the National Education Association responded that the president’s budget does not provide the money needed to improve education and meet the expectations raised by his education package.
“While we appreciate the focus he’s bringing to education, delivering the individualized attention to students necessary to meet the expectations of the bill requires resources that aren’t currently available in the president’s budget,” said Bob Chase, the NEA’s president.
For Education And Discussion Only. Not For Commercial Use.
Such eloquence. Such stirring phraseology.
Sends shivers up the spine, don't it?
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