Clinton Defends Programs And Hails Loan Expansion

President Clinton last week took his defense of embattled education programs on the road, urging a community-college association meeting in Minneapolis to fight Republican plans to cut back student-loan subsidies and the direct-lending program.

"The fault line of American society is education," the President told members of the Association of Community and Junior Colleges. He argued that bringing educational opportunities to the disadvantaged--as community colleges are designed to do--is the way to increase prosperity and decrease social discord.

"Number one, do no harm. Don't undo what we just did," Mr. Clinton said, imploring Congress not to eliminate recently enacted education programs such as the Goals 2000: Educate America Act and...