Clinton Talks Up Grants to Hire 30,000 Teachers

President Clinton and Republicans squared off Saturday on issues they see as winning ones for the 2000 campaign: The president appealed to parents with his plan for more teachers and smaller classes, while a popular governor touted GOP success at cutting taxes.

In his weekly radio address, broadcast while the president and his family spent the weekend at Camp David in Maryland, Clinton announced $1.2 billion in grants to hire 30,000 teachers for the new school year. Congress approved the program with bipartisan support last year, when lawmakers were up for reelection.

This year, Clinton said, “unfortunately, there are some in Congress who are backing away from their commitment to reduce class size” by financing a total of 100,000 new teachers.

Clinton has asked Congress for a total of $12 billion over seven years to pay for those new teachers.

“I think a promise made in an election year should be kept in the years when there are no elections,” he said.

“In far too many of our schools, 30 or more students are pressed desk-to-desk in a single classroom,” Clinton said. And teachers spend too much time maintaining order.

Rep. J.C. Watts Jr. of Oklahoma, chairman of the House Republican Conference, replied with a statement that did not directly address the teacher-hiring proposal but said generally: “Republicans believe we should give parents and local school officials independence from federal mandates so that education dollars can be spent on students rather than wasted on abstract theories or heavy-handed Washington mandates.”

In a radio rebuttal to Clinton’s broadcast, Michigan Gov. John Engler spoke for Republicans, spotlighting efforts of the 31 GOP governors to cut taxes, improve education and streamline government.

Four years ago, the average American, if all wages were devoted just to government revenue, had to work until July 2 to cover taxes and the cost of regulations, Engler said. He noted that the date this year fell on June 22, crediting Republican governors with shortening the time by 10 days.

“And just as important, GOP governors are reforming welfare and fixing our public schools so taxpayers get more for their money, more families can escape poverty and more children can get a high-quality education.”

Engler also made a dig at First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is considering running for the Senate from New York, a state where Engler said Republican Gov. George Pataki has signed 36 tax cuts into law.

“As Gov. Pataki puts it, New York has gotten so much better with Republican leadership, First Lady Hillary Clinton is thinking of moving there,” Engler said.

But when it comes to endorsements for the 2000 election, it looks like Republican governors might be sticking with their own--for now.

When he taped his radio speech Friday, Engler changed a line in his prepared text--promising governors would “work hard to help elect a Republican president to help us get the job done”--to read:

“We’re working hard to tell all Americans about the differences Republican governors are making in state after state.”