Dan Miller: “Mr. Chairman, H.R. 6 cannot pass the House in its current form. Somewhere along the line the bill lost track of our…”

“Mr. Chairman, H.R. 6 cannot pass the House in its current form. Somewhere along the line the bill lost track of our tradition of allowing States, local school boards and families to develop education policy and, instead embarked on a mission to intrude and mandate educational policies on a national level. The 1994 legislative agenda is certainly the most aggressive since the Great Society days of the 1960's or the New Deal days of the 1930's. With health care reform, welfare reform, and a major crime bill, we will be busy. The major debate on these issues focuses on the role of the Federal Government versus the local and State governments. The role of the Federal Government was greatly expanded in the Great Society days of Lyndon Johnson and today we are looking at a bill that makes a giant Lyndon Johnson leap to increase the role of the Federal Government in elementary and secondary education. The bill has too many mandates that are both excessive and intrusive. The bill is too expensive. The programs added by the leadership total $1.1 billion in additional spending above and beyond the request made by the President.”