Veto Power
Chelsea Clinton was one of the first people to review parts of her mother’s new book, Hillary Rodham Clinton says.
In an interview with Education Week earlier this month, the first lady said she gave Chelsea an opportunity to review parts of It Takes a Village and Other Lessons Children Teach Us because they included anecdotes about Chelsea’s life. (See Education Week, Jan. 17, 1996.)
For example, one chapter chronicles the Clintons’ efforts to help their young daughter understand the rigors and negativity of politics during President Clinton’s 1986 campaign for re-election as governor of Arkansas.
The first lady said she gave a copy of the final product to Chelsea, now 15, but was unsure whether she had had time to read it while studying for her midterm exams at the Sidwell Friends School in Washington.
“It’s in her bedroom, that’s all I can tell you,” Mrs. Clinton said.
Retiring
Rep. Pat Williams, D-Mont., has announced that he will retire from Congress at the end of the year. He is one of 35 House members who will not seek re-election this year.
Mr. Williams, a member of the Economic and Educational Opportunities Committee, chaired its postsecondary-education panel when the Democrats controlled the House and the committee was known as Education and Labor.
Now in his ninth term, Mr. Williams has been a leading voice on education and job training. He said last week that he will end his tenure by working on the pending job-training block grant.
Mr. Williams, 58, did not say what he might do next. But he said his congressional service focused on “seniors, children, veterans, [and] Native Americans” and “I intend to continue my support for them.”
Cyberlobby
The Education First Alliance, a coalition of education organizations lobbying to protect federal education spending, has created a “home page” on the Internet’s World Wide Web.
It includes legislative proposals, congressional schedules, materials from member organizations, links to related home pages, and connections to congressional offices by e-mail.
A forum is also promised; an on-line message urges browsers to look in coming weeks for a discussion of education matters.
The page can be reached at http://policy.net.efa.
--Deborah L. Cohen
& Mark Pitsch
