Fiscal 2000 Spending Bill Passes Senate; Heads to White House for Clinton’s Signature
The Senate has approved a final budget agreement for fiscal 2000 that would increase Department of Education funding by about $2.1 billion over fiscal 1999 levels.
The omnibus legislation encompassed five remaining spending bills President Clinton had not signed into law, including the appropriations bill for the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education.
The Senate approved the bill 74-24 on Nov. 19, paving the way for an expected signature by the president. The House passed the plan one day earlier. (“Budget Plan Includes Public-School-Choice Provision,” Nov. 24, 1999.)
The budget for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1 contains about $35.6 billion in discretionary spending for the Education Department, which would mean an increase of $2.1 billion, or 6.3 percent, from fiscal 1999.
—Erik W. Robelen
Fritschler Sworn In as Assistant Secretary
A. Lee Fritschler, 62, was sworn in Nov. 17 as the Department of Education’s assistant secretary for postsecondary education.
His responsibilities include setting the department’s agenda for higher education policy and administering federal higher education programs.
The new assistant secretary served as the president of Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa., from 1987 until his retirement last summer. The private, liberal arts institution enrolls about 1,800 students.
Mr. Fritschler worked as the director of public education policy at the Brookings Institution from 1981 to 1987 and served as the chairman of the U.S. Postal Rate Commission from 1979 to 1981.
He replaces David A. Longanecker, who stepped down from the position in June. He held the job for six years.
—-Julie Blair
