Federal File

Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa knows well that huge monetary increases for education are going to be a tough sell to the Republican-led Congress and White House. But he's still promoting a pie-in-the-sky idea that tops the record-breaking proposals by other Democrats.

And he's calling his 10-year, $350 billion comprehensive plan the "Moonshot for Education." It's the same concept, he said, as President Kennedy's commitment in the 1960s to put a man on the moon and substantially increase the federal budget for science and technology.

The federal government should look at education in the same way and give it the same hefty funding increases, said Mr. Harkin, the ranking Democrat on the Senate...