Burgess Owens: “the omnibus appropriations for fiscal year 1996 (H.R. 3019) represents a partial victory for common sense and the…”

“the omnibus appropriations for fiscal year 1996 (H.R. 3019) represents a partial victory for common sense and the Democratic Party. We have forced the Republican Majority to cancel devastating cuts in programs such as Title I; Head Start; Drug-Free and Safe Schools; the Summer Youth Jobs Program and the School-To-Work Program. The children of America have won a temporary victory and vital funding will now flow smoothly. We applaud this incomplete but positive step forward; however, the fact that the Appropriations Committee has usurped the power of the authorizing Economic and Educational Opportunities Committee and promulgated reactionary setbacks for educational reform must be exposed. If the closed door, secretive actions of the Appropriations Committee are not curbed we will soon be confronted with a situation where all authorizing committees are rendered irrelevant and obsolete. The scenario which began with the irresponsible campaign to abolish the Department of Education has now reached a backdoor climax through the appropriations process. By gutting the authorizing education reform legislation passed in the 103d Congress, the powerful Appropriations Committee has removed the reason for the continued existence of the DOE. The results of all existing public opinion polls indicate that an explosion of public indignation is likely to greet this monstrous result of Republican blackmail at the negotiating table.”