Stopgap Spending Bills Worry Education Advocates

By Robert C. Johnston Washington

Low spending levels included in temporary spending bills passed last week by the House and Senate in an effort to avert a government shutdown could hurt education programs in the long run, advocates fear.

And while lawmakers agreed last week to limit cuts in student-loan programs, their agreement would significantly curtail the direct-lending program.

The so-called continuing resolutions would give Congress and the White House until Dec. 1 to complete 11 outstanding appropriations bills, replacing a six-week stopgap plan that expired Nov. 13. Failure to enact a new plan by that deadline would trigger a government shutdown, a possibility that loomed large late last week as President Clinton threatened to veto either...