GOP CAVES AGAIN ON THE ISSUE OF FEDERAL FUNDING FOR SCHOOLS

Why is Bill Clinton so militantly opposed to letting the states and local communities decide how to allocate federal education funds? Maybe he was just kidding when he piously announced that the era of big government was over.

Apparently caught off guard by a reporter's question, he gave us a glimpse into his guiding worldview. When asked what was wrong with letting local school districts decide how best to spend federal education dollars, he snapped, "Because it's not their money." Just chew on that for a minute. Clinton's knee-jerk response says it all. Money sucked into the federal coffers through onerous taxes on individuals and entities is his money. Just like those jets of the military he loathes are his jets, and the Oval Office is his bedroom.

Clinton has been absolutely intransigent about his statist demand that federal money be earmarked to hire 100,000 new teachers. Congressional Republicans were insisting that these education decisions be left to states and cities.

In sharp contrast to the failed negotiations that resulted in their being blamed for the government shutdown in 1995, until this week, congressional Republicans have been much more adroit in their budget dealings with Clinton this time around.

Instead of falling into his snare again, they kept their noses to the grindstone, stayed on message and passed one continuing resolution after another.

Rather than giving in to their fatigue and consolidating the spending measures into an omnibus-spending package, Republicans wisely separated them into 13 distinct proposals. This had the desired effect of flushing Clinton out and forcing him to decide which specific bills to veto.

Until Wednesday, an impasse remained as both White House and congressional budget negotiators had their heels dug in over certain ideologically important issues involved in the remaining spending bills.

Congressional budgets are approved on an annual basis and authorize government expenditures for each fiscal year beginning Oct. 1 and ending Sept. 30. If Congress and the president fail to approve any part of the budget for the next fiscal year prior to the end of the then current fiscal year, for example Sept. 30, 1999, the government runs out of authorized funds to operate into the next fiscal year.

In the absence of a complete budget agreement, Congress and/or the president can either allow the deadline to expire, in which event, we will have a government shutdown as in 1995, or they can agree to extend the deadline through continuing resolutions.

These resolutions have the effect of continuing the funding of programs (for which there has been no spending bill passed) at the same level as the just-expired fiscal year.

It was unrealistic to expect that Congress and the president would agree to run the government on this basis in perpetuity. It was inevitable that one or both would compromise. I am extremely dejected to report that Republican negotiators are the ones who caved on the education issue.

The Washington Post reported Thursday that Republicans had agreed to almost all of the president's education demands. They dropped their efforts to convert the federal education money to a block grant that would leave local school boards with broad discretion in spending the funds.

Some may view this Republican capitulation as an honorable compromise. Perish the thought.

Clinton praised the Republicans for their "bipartisan spirit" (read: cowardice).What about all the lofty GOP rhetoric about states' rights, freedom and local autonomy? Do they truly believe that empty words are just as noble as the actions they advocate? How can these congressional Republicans possibly expect to rally support from the conservative base of their party when they roll over like this? At the last presidential debate, Alan Keyes aptly reminded us that " liberty is one of those things that once you lose it, you don't even know what you have lost." Indeed.

It is extremely disappointing that so often our Republican officeholders do not put our money where their mouths are. Apparently, Clinton has convinced them that it is indeed his money.

It turns out that Republicans really talked a good game, but, in the end, getting out of town must have been more important than standing on the principles of freedom.

David Limbaugh of Cape Girardeau is a columnist for Creators Syndicate.