Watson Coleman: “first of all, President Clinton 2 weeks ago said that he would veto this bill because the Republicans have approved $36…”

“first of all, President Clinton 2 weeks ago said that he would veto this bill because the Republicans have approved $36 billion in cuts in education and training over 7 years. In contrast, the President's proposal balances the budget while increasing investment in education and training by $40 billion over that same 7 years. In my State of Texas, Republican cuts of $2.5 billion will harm working families. The gentleman from Oklahoma [Mr. Istook] used the term ``hogwash.'' I agree with him. Statements of the chairman of the Committee on Appropriations seem to indicate that he believes that the philosophy here is one of socialism, if we do not do what the gentleman from Oklahoma [Mr. Istook] and the gentleman from Louisiana [Mr. Livingston] say we need to do. Second, the gentleman from Pennsylvania stands up and says we need educational excellence, and the gentleman speaks all over the country about it. We ought to start putting our money where our mouth is. We are told in this bill we are going to downsize and streamline. What did you do to Goals 2000? Eliminated it.”