"When the House was debating its budget resolution, the Democrats proposed no alternative of their own. . .Rather than fake it, the House Democrats punted. . .[The] budget resolution. . .is designed to be the clearest statement of a party’s policy priorities. As long as they are silent, the Democrats cannot be part of serious political debate." (Broder, "The Democrats Punt," Washington Post, April 7, 2002)
Democrat leaders are charging that proposed appropriations levels for the Elementary & Secondary Education Act (ESEA) provide less funding than "authorized." But when they were in control of the White House and Congress, Democrats did exactly the same thing. Democrats used the same approach to education funding in 1994, the last time the Elementary & Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was reauthorized – yet not a single Democrat leader accused President Clinton or then-Majority Leader Gephardt of providing "less than promised" for education. Prior to passage of No Child Left Behind, the last reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) occurred in 1994 – under a Democrat-controlled Congress and White House. The total authorization level for the Improving America's Schools Act of 1994 (IASA) for FY1995 was $13 billion. However, IASA activities were appropriated at $10.3 billion for FY1995 – a discrepancy of $2.7 billion.
