Bush Education Plan Heading to Capitol Hill Tomorrow; McCain to Unveil New Campaign Finance Reform Bill Today
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: And heading for Capitol Hill tomorrow, another cornerstone of the Bush presidential campaign. We are talking education reform. The most controversial provision for vouchers and private school choice will be part of the package. But the White House chief of staff says it will not be a priority. More now from our White House correspondent Major Garrett. Hi, Major.</s>MAJOR GARRETT, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Well, the Bush team would like to score a quick legislative victory and score one on an issue that they know most Americans care about, to prove that, even though they have the slenderest of mandates, they can get things done in Washington right off the bat. And as you said, education will be the first issue that the president will actually send to Congress, an education package that has many facets and builds upon many things that Congress has already agreed upon. The Bush team has structured the education plan to deal with many items Democrats have already voted for in the House and Senate, expand them in some cases, and then add one very important Republican priority. Let me summarize for you the main dimensions of this Bush education plan: The Bush plan wants to increase student testing throughout all grades to make sure both students and teachers know that students are meeting federal standards. Also hold school responsible for how much those pupils learn. That is to say, if they're not testing well, that things can be done. Thirdly, expand charter schools, something that President Clinton did quite a bit during his eight years in office. That's provide other schools that can maybe provide education more tailored to certain children's needs. More funding to boost literacy, particularly for children involved in Head Start. The Bush teams wants to make Head Start primarily a reading program to get young children reading at a very early age. Also, more funding for college scholarships and grants. That was a capstone of President Clinton's education agenda. All of these things have a lot of bipartisan support on Capitol Hill. But the other element of the Bush education plan: vouchers. Now, the Bush team doesn't even like to use the word vouchers, but they're vouchers nonetheless. And what it would mean is, after three years, if a student is involved in education at a school that is failing to meet new federal standards, their parents would receive the federal allocation identified for that particular child and use that money either for hiring a tutor perhaps, or, in some cases, paying for private school tuition. A very controversial issue on Capitol Hill. They know that they're going to encounter stiff Democratic resistance on this. But as I said, they've tailored the package in a way that had a lot of bipartisan support up front, put the vouchers in that they hope they can crack a deal early on. Carol, back to you.</s>LIN: We shall see. Major Garrett at the White House. The president plans to meet this week with Sen. John McCain, the chief Republican advocate of campaign finance reform. McCain unveils a new campaign bill in just a few hours from now. White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card says that issue is not a Bush administration priority. More on this now from national correspondent Bob Franken on Capitol Hill. Bob, if you were Sen. McCain and you're having lunch with George W. Bush Wednesday, what is it that he's going to say that's going to be making such a convincing argument for this?</s>BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, he's going to suggest to him that the time has come to support it; that, in fact, the issue has gained momentum, particularly since their primary contest. And the legislation that he's going to be introducing is not really new, it is the old legislation, the old McCain-Feingold legislation, which includes strong limitations on so-called soft money. That is the unlimited contributions that can be used as long as it is not a direct campaign contribution. It's going to include the requirements that issue advocacy ads be very, very limited. Those are the ones that pretend not to be campaign spots but many people believe really are. It also will codify a Supreme Court decision, which means that non-union members who have to pay dues have some say so about their campaign contributions. What it will not contain is a number of requirements that the Bush administration and fellow Republicans would like to have in it that McCain feels would dilute that legislation. There will be no increase in the $1,000-per-person hard-campaign contribution, money that is openly for a political candidate. It would not increase -- it would not include union check-offs. These are two things that the Republicans say they absolutely must have. The fact of the matter is, the differences are the same differences that have occurred for years. McCain says, however, that he has some strengths, and he plans to try and negotiate some sort of agreeable compromise.</s>SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: Well, the president and I are in agreement on a number of aspects of campaign finance reform: unions and corporations and soft money and a number of other areas. So I'm hopeful that we can reach final agreement.</s>FRANKEN: Well, they are in agreement, but the fact of the matter is the disagreements are the same ones that have been around for quite a while now. The meeting between McCain and President Bush, by the way, occurs on Wednesday -- Carol.</s>LIN: All right, sounds good. Bob Franken covering the issue on Capitol Hill.