Federal File

A House-Senate conference committee meeting last week on the fiscal 1998 education appropriations bill provoked a lively debate on federal funding for education programs. It also revealed some members' views on a more personal subject: laundry.

The war of words centered on ideological differences between Republicans and Democrats, with most Republicans backing a block grant proposal by Sen. Slade Gorton, R-Wash., that would give most federal aid directly to local districts and set few restrictions on how districts spend federal dollars. Democrats, however, defended the current system of targeted federal grant funding, saying that the federal role is to funnel money to special populations through programs such as Title I and initiatives authorized by the Individuals with...