Clinton: Pass Education Budget

Monday, December 4th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

WASHINGTON (AP) â€” Lawmakers returning to the Capital this week for a lame-duck session should make passage of the almost $40 billion education budget their first priority, President Clinton said Saturday.

``It is very important that we get right back to business and fulfill our responsibility to give our children a world-class education,'' Clinton said in his weekly radio address, broadcast live from the Oval Office before an invited audience of educators and supporters.

Bipartisan bargainers agreed last month to a record $7.9 billion increase in education spending â€” 20 percent above last year â€” that was later rejected by House GOP leaders.

Democrats are battling for specific funds to hire new teachers and repair crumbling schools. Republicans are seeking to give states the option of spending that money on other programs such as special education and reading lessons.

``The Republican Congress has increased education spending by 50 percent over the past four years. The question is not about funding, it's about who controls the funding, and Republicans want more education dollars to go to classrooms, not to Washington bureaucrats,'' John Feehery, spokesman for House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., said Saturday.

Clinton said that Congress is returning ``still time to get the job done. Congress should pass the education budget as its first order of business. Fortunately, we're already standing on common ground.''

Vital federal investments are needed to replace and repair crumbling schools, operate after school programs, hire new teachers, reduce class size, improve teacher training, turn around failing schools and expand the Head Start program for preschoolers, Clinton said.

Also included in the education budget are increases in Pell Grant college scholarships for needy students, and tutoring and counseling to help prepare low-income students for college.

A Department of Education report he released claimed California alone could lose almost $715 million in new education dollars if Congress fails to approve the proposed $7.9 billion spending increase.

``Now is not the time to walk away from the agreement we made, especially so close to the finish line,'' the president said.

Clinton complained that Congress decided to recess to permit members to campaign for re-election before finishing the education budget.

``The holiday season is a perfect time to reflect on the values that unite us â€” our children and their education,'' Clinton said. ``Let us join together two parties and one country to give our children the school, the teachers and the futures they deserve.''

He added, ``A lot is at stake here â€” the condition of our schools, the quality of our teachers, most important, the education of our children.''

Education Secretary Richard Riley said both candidates for president â€” Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore â€” campaigned on ``a strong pro-education agenda.''

``So it makes no sense to put aside a budget agreement that keeps American education moving forward,'' Riley told reporters on Friday.