A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                    Contact:  Kathryn Kahler    June 7, 1995                                       (202) 401-3026

Statement By U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley

regarding the importance of sustaining President Clinton's veto of the rescissions package

There are times in a nation's history that will be remembered as turning points, occasions when the nation, through its elected representatives, says which direction it wants to go. The President's veto of the shortsighted rescissions package is such a time.

America has the opportunity to move forward and continue to invest in education and opportunity for its young people and its future. Or it can slam the door on students, close off access to higher education and the promise it holds, and betray the large majority of Americans who have grown up and raised their children to believe in the American Dream.

The cuts in this rescission package are misguided. They are not what our students and children need, and they are not what America wants. Our country can not afford that kind of balancing act.

We must achieve a balanced budget, but we can do so without sacrificing what has made this country the greatest in the world -- the opportunity for every person to be what they want to be.

[ Go Home ]