[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 34 (Wednesday, March 13, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H2128]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             HOW DO WE JUSTIFY THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION?

  (Mr. MICA asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, when you think you have heard it all from this 
administration, they never cease to amaze me. In today's Washington 
Times, the U.S. Education Secretary Richard Riley responded to an 
editorial that questioned the role of the Department of Education.
  To justify the Federal Department of Education, let me read what 
Secretary Riley said: ``Most recently, the President asked me to 
distribute the manual on school uniforms,'' and I have got a copy of it 
here, the manual on school uniforms.
  I have not read this invaluable tool that helps justify the existence 
of the U.S. Department of Education. Maybe Secretary Riley suggests 
color coordination on uniforms. Maybe Secretary Riley suggests now 
mixing plaids and stripes. Or maybe, in fact, this manual justifies the 
employment of 4,876 Department of Education employees, of whom 3,322 
are in Washington, DC, working on this manual on school uniforms.

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