Finally, A Done Deal
President Clinton signed the most contentious element of the $1.8 trillion federal budget Thursday, giving generous spending increases to education programs that he said will provide "more modern, more dignified, more functional schools" for the nation's children.
With a group of youngsters standing behind him, the president signed appropriations legislation for education, labor and health and human services programs during a ceremony in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building adjacent to the White House. Mr. Clinton previously signed spending bills covering other federal agencies.
Mr. Clinton hailed the final piece of a $1.8 trillion spending plan, saying it would allow the government to pay off hundreds of billions of dollars in debt and safeguard record budget surpluses, boosting the nation's economic prospects.
"In so many ways, it could truly be said we saved the best till last," Mr. Clinton said. "It's a bill about these children behind me today, about their hopes, their dreams, their capacity to learn and their need to learn. … This budget takes the long look ahead. If we stay on this course, our best days are ahead."
John Feehery, spokesman for House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., said the speaker was happy that more than 90 percent of the budget surplus remained devoted to debt reduction, "as we fulfilled our promises to increase education spending and spending on health research."
The budget, completed last week in a post-election session of Congress, was put into place nearly three months after the start of the fiscal year. It contains an estimated $634.5 billion in spending, roughly $48 billion higher than last year, $11 billion more than Mr. Clinton requested and $34 billion more than Republicans set in Congress' budget.
The president said he is most proud of the $44 billion set aside for the Education Department, nearly double the $23.9 billion devoted to education programs when he took office in 1993. He said he hopes that will help education become "priority number one for any administration" after his.
As Mr. Clinton spoke, President-elect Bush met with a group of senators in Austin, Texas, to discuss education policy. The priorities that emerged from that meeting included a focus on literacy and special education, said Sen. Jim Jeffords, R-Vt., chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
Mr. Clinton praised Democrats and Republicans for agreeing to devote $1.2 billion for public school repairs, special education programs and technological upgrades. "Over time, millions of children will attend more modern, more dignified, more functional schools," Mr. Clinton said.
Also included are increases for hiring teachers, operating after-school centers and conducting research at the National Institutes for Health. There is more money for Pell grants for low-income college students, community health centers, the Job Corps and substance buse programs.
During Mr. Clinton's speech, a girl collapsed behind him. He stepped over to attend to her, but someone from the audience got there first and carried the child off stage. "She's OK, she just fainted," Mr. Clinton told the crowd before resuming his remarks.
The budget includes a $25.8 billion package of tax credits and venture capital initiatives to spur economic investment in neglected inner cities and rural areas. Mr. Clinton praised the program, a blend of one of his proposals and a GOP-touted community renewal plan, as "a triumph of bipartisanship."
"It's a terrific idea, and I only wish I was going to be around when all the results come in," Mr. Clinton said.
The budget also liberalizes restrictions that could help nearly 1 million immigrants become legal residents, and raises Medicare reimbursements to hospitals, health maintenance organizations and others by $35 billion over five years.
The package provides $30.3 billion for the Treasury Department and smaller agencies and $2.5 billion for Congress. There also is about $1.1 billion for hundreds of projects in the districts and states of members of Congress, such as $9 million for a Boys & Girls Club national training center in South Carolina named for Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C.; $75 million to preserve tortoises and other species in the Mojave Desert and a $1 million grant to the National Museum of Jazz in New York City.
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