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

       FOR RELEASE                                          Contact: David Frank     September 12, 1996                                            (202) 401-3026

Statement by U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley Regarding Senate Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee Vote

Yet again, the bill fails to meet our national commitment to raise academic standards, improve teacher quality and preparation, provide special help for children to learn the basics, invest in new technologies for America's classrooms, and expand public school choice through jump-starting charter schools. This measure falls short -- $2.2 billion short -- of the President's request.

For working and middle-income families sending their children to college, the Pell grants, college work-study and TRIO programs remain seriously underfunded.

It's especially discouraging to see that special interests continue to hold sufficient power to threaten direct loans for students in 1,700 colleges. This bipartisan initiative is now serving millions of college students. It's efficient and popular with students, parents and aid administrators. I hope the full committee will insist on a direct lending allocation that assures students continued access to higher education and flexible repayment options, including repaying loans as a share of one's income.

While I'm pleased that the subcommittee honored the President's request to increase the funds available to keep the nation's schools safe and drug free and provided an additional $5 million over 1996, as the President proposed, to expand the number of parental assistance centers to help parents help their children learn how to read, so much is left undone.

The simple fact is that the investment in education must be increased. Congress must recognize that at a time of record student enrollments, we cannot retreat from a fundamental commitment to give our children the education foundation they need to get on the right course.

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