Don Nickles: “To outline just a little bit, the Department of Education has 307 education programs and spends a little over $59…”

“To outline just a little bit, the Department of Education has 307 education programs and spends a little over $59 billion. The Department of Health and Human Services has 172 Federal education programs, that costs $8.6 billion. The Department of Labor has 21 at a cost of $5.4 billion, and I can go on down the list but we have had it printed in the Record. It is a total of 788 programs; a total cost of almost $97 billion a year. I found that hard to believe, and I served on the Budget Committee for years and thought I knew a little bit about Federal budgeting. But I started looking at these figures, and they are astronomical. Mr. President, we have had this information printed in the Record. I hope my colleagues will pay a little attention to it. I hope as a result of that they will realize there is no way in the world that we, on the Federal level, from Washington, DC, can micromanage 788 programs. The amendment of the Senator from Washington says let's let the local school boards do it. Let's put this money, with a few exemptions-- impact aid and a couple of other exceptions that maybe really have Federal cause--let's exempt them. But for the most part, let's take the balance of them, 788 programs, and put that money together and turn it over to the local school boards and to the parents and to the teachers where they can really do some quality education. They know what works.…”