Critics Say Budget Plans May Be Unrealistic

By Erik W. Robelen

Washington

New House and Senate budget plans make big promises for education spending that may be hard to keep in the face of tight overall spending limits, some congressional skeptics and education lobbyists say.

This month, conferees from the two chambers are set to reconcile their respective versions of the nonbinding budget resolution for fiscal 2000. The Republican-crafted plans were approved last month despite nearly unanimous Democratic opposition. Both versions would increase K-12 education spending, though the Senate proposal is $2.1 billion larger than its House counterpart.

In recent weeks, some have welcomed the resolutions' focus on education but expressed concerns, as well. While the plans set out big-picture projections for spending, it is congressional appropriators who make the actual binding budget decisions, and those could be hard to reconcile with...