Federal File

A new item was added last week to the list of things you didn't see during Republican Administrations but do see now: Education Department officials attending the annual Committee for Education Funding awards dinner.

The crowd at the 1993 C.E.F. function included Kay Casstevens, the assistant secretary for legislation and Congressional affairs; Tom Wolanin, her deputy; Judith Heumann, the assistant secretary for special education and rehabilitative services; Terry Peterson, a counselor to Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley; Fritz Edelstein and Maureen McLaughlin, both career officials; General Counsel Judith Winston; and even Mr. Riley himself.

The annual dinner, where members of Congress and others are honored for their support of education funding, brings lobbyists, lawmakers, and their aides together...