David Obey: “Mr. Chairman, I am frankly of mixed views on this amendment. Let me simply recite for the committee what has already…”

“Mr. Chairman, I am frankly of mixed views on this amendment. Let me simply recite for the committee what has already transpired with respect to Goals 2000. Mr. Chairman, last year Goals was funded at $491 million level. The administration asked for a $620 million funding level this year. The bill as reported by the committee cut Goals 2000 to $475 million, which is $16 million below the previous year. On the floor, we had an amendment adopted which cut it further to $462 million, and now this amendment cuts it to $442 million. Mr. Chairman, I would simply point out to the House that this Goals 2000 issue, which has become so politicized, started out as a joint effort of President Bush and the National Governors. The person who headed up, or one of the two Governors who headed up the Governors' Task Force on Education, working with the President, was a fellow by the name of then-Gov. Bill Clinton. I remember going to a conference and talking with a number of Governors, including then-Governor Clinton, about it. Mr. Chairman, I am baffled by why it has become so politicized, and I have misgivings about this amendment. But I am willing to accept it as a gesture of goodwill, indicating flexibility on our part. But I have to say in the process that as this bill moves through, it is important to remember that there are three different groups who have to be satisfied in the end for this legislation to pass.”