DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN HEARINGS BEFORE A COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS JAMIE L. WHITTEN, Mississippi, Chairman EDWARD P. BOLAND, Massachusetts SIDNEY R. YATES, Illinois BILL CHAPPELL, JR., Florida JOHN P. MURTHA, Pennsylvania BOB TRAXLER, Michigan JOSEPH D. EARLY, Massachusetts LINDY (MRS. HALE) BOGGS, Louisiana MARTIN OLAV SABO, Minnesota JULIAN C. DIXON, California VIC FAZIO, California W. G. (BILL) HEFNER, North Carolina LES AUCOIN, Oregon DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii WES WATKINS, Oklahoma WILLIAM H. GRAY III, Pennsylvania BERNARD J. DWYER, New Jersey STENY H. HOYER, Maryland BOB CARR, Michigan ROBERT J. MRAZEK, New York RICHARD J. DURBIN, Illinois RONALD D. COLEMAN, Texas ALAN B. MOLLOHAN, West Virginia LINDSAY THOMAS, Georgia SILVIO O. CONTE, Massachusetts JIM KOLBE, Arizona FREDERICK G. MOHRMAN, Clerk and Staff Director (II) DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND EDUCATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS FOR 1989 TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 1988. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEAR 1989 BUDGET REQUEST WITNESSES HON. WILLIAM J. BENNETT, SECRETARY LINUS WRIGHT, UNDER SECRETARY BRUCE M. CARNES, DEPUTY UNDER SECRETARY FOR PLANNING, BUDGET, AND EVALUATION CHAIRMAN'S INTRODUCTORY REMARKS Mr. NATCHER. At this time, we take up the budget request for the Department of Education for the fiscal year 1989. We have before the committee the Secretary of Education, Mr. Bennett. Mr. Bennett, it is a distinct privilege and honor to have you appear back before our committee. As we said to you the first year that you appeared, we wanted you to be a good Secretary of Education and we said that as long as you are for education, you are at the right place. Mr. Secretary, the budget request as you well remember that was submitted to our subcommittee last year for education was just a little over $14,000,000,000. FISCAL YEAR 1989 BUDGET REQUEST The budget that has been submitted to our subcommittee and to the Congress for fiscal year 1989 for education for the fiscal year 1989 is $21,097,731,000. That is a considerable increase over the amount submitted last year. As you will recall, we ended up in the Continuing Resolution last year. We passed our bill in the House on August 5 with a total of $20,178,000,000. Now, the $21,097,731,000 that you and your Department have submitted for the fiscal year 1989 does not include Indian education. If that were added, of course, that amount would go up. MANAGING THE BILL ON THE HOUSE FLOOR Mr. Secretary, I call those figures to your attention, figures that you are well acquainted with, and I want you to know that when Mr. Conte and Mr. Pursell and Mr. Obey and all the rest of the members of this subcommittee take this bill to the Floor, we need all the help we can get. The House helps us. You know, one year, Mr. Secretary, we passed this bill in the House in an hour and 53 minutes, and we are right proud of that. I say to you, frankly, everyone helps us. This is a bill that should go through the House in one hour. All appropriations for health and education are appropriations that mean a whole lot to the people in this country, and you know better than I do when you take care of the health of your people and educate your children, you then remain the strongest country in the world. So, we are right proud of it on this subcommittee. You know, Mr. Conte and I, when we take this bill to the Floor with the other members of the subcommittee, they walk up the aisle and they come by and they say, Mr. Conte, is everything in this bill that is supposed to be in here? You told them, yes; I would do the same thing. Mr. Conte, as you well know, they all help us and we appreciate it. Mr. Secretary, it is a distinct honor and privilege to have you back with us, and we will be glad to hear from you. Tell us who you have with you at the table. INTRODUCTION OF WITNESSES Secretary BENNETT. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, gentlemen. It is a pleasure to be back with you this morning, Mr. Natcher. Let me introduce my colleagues: Linus Wright, to my right, is the new Under Secretary of the Department of Education and former Superintendent of the Dallas Independent School District. We are happy to have Linus with us. Bruce Carnes, whom you know, is Deputy Under Secretary in the Office of Planning, Budget, and Evaluation. You have a statement of mine, Mr. Natcher, that I submitted for the record. Let me just give you some of the highlights in a couple of minutes, in the interest of time. FISCAL YEAR 1989 BUDGET REQUEST As usual, we are pleased to appear before you to discuss the 1989 budget for the Department. We are requesting, as you pointed out, $21,200,000,000, an increase of $851,000,000 over the 1988 appropriation. UNDERSCORING PRINCIPLE OF ACCOUNTABILITY As you pointed out, our budget for 1989 does spend more and we do request more, a good deal more than we requested last year. But I think more important, it spends better. Last year, we proposed to the Congress that the principle of accountability be applied to Chapter 1, the largest Federal elementary and secondary education programs; and to the programs of the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act. The Congress is moving to adopt these important concepts. This year, we want to continue and expand efforts to foster accountabil |