I have a chapter in this new book just out from Cato. When the Republicans took over Congress in 1994, they vowed to end “government that is too big, too intrusive, and too easy with the public’s money.” Did they?
My chapter examines the effect of the Republican Revolution on federal education policy. From 1994 to 2000, the Republicans constrained the growth in federal education spending while seeking to strengthen local control. But by 2000, the policies of fiscal restraint and federalism had been jettisoned and Congress returned to a policy of “business as usual,” meaning a rapidly expanding Department of Education and greater federal control over the nation’s schools.
