A Mixed Bag:
The 1999 Omnibus Appropriations Bill

     On October 21, 1998, President Clinton signed the Omnibus Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 1999 into law. Liberals and conservatives criticized both the content of the bill and the process of finalizing it.
     The lack of long-promised tax relief for families, omission or elimination of other pro-family amendments, and large increases in spending were enough for many conservatives in Congress to vote against the bill in spite of some good provisions. Both liberals and conservatives spoke out on the floors of Congress against not only the content of the bill, but also the process of arriving at a final version. Very few members were allowed into the negotiation meetings with the White House, which completely bypassed the standard procedures of passing bills through Congress. The final version of the bill was 16 inches tall, weighed 40 pounds, and was over 3,800 pages long.
     HSLDA cannot say that on balance it was a good bill. We are, however, grateful that the testing ban was included, as well as a prohibition on the further development of a national ID card.

R E L A T E D   I T E M S

Home Schoolers Win Ban on National Test
National Testing Time Line
What were the risks of a national test?
Victory Letter from Bill Goodling