Value of Two GOP Education Probes Debated

By Joetta L. Sack

Washington

Brandishing a dictionary-sized computer printout listing more than 760 federal education programs, Rep. Peter Hoekstra last May denounced such bureaucracy as indefensible.

Flanked by other Republicans in a wood-paneled, marble-accented room in the Capitol, the chairman of the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations vowed that his series of "Education at a Crossroads: What Works, What's Wasted" hearings would continue to plumb the depths of the federal education bureaucracy. His enthusiasm soon spread to the Senate, where GOP budgeters last fall created an education task force with a similar mission.

This month, the House and Senate hearings will draw to a close. A report by the Senate Budget Committee Task Force on Education, led by Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., is expected as early as next week. Mr. Hoekstra says he also plans to release a final report, initially slated for late last...