The president, who is vacationing in this ski resort town, will send a letter to Senate leaders Monday urging Congress to authorize $11.4 billion to hire 100,000 teachers in the next six years. The GOP-led Congress, contending that the federal government should not meddle much in local schools, rejected that proposal last year, although it later agreed to devote $1.2 billion to hire about 30,000 teachers for one year.
The Senate, in its first substantive floor action since it acquitted the president two weeks ago on impeachment charges, this week will take up the “Ed-Flex” bill, designed to give states greater freedom in using federal funds for curriculum design and other educational needs. Republicans view the measure as a means of showing their interest in public education, for which many voters believe Democrats have more concern.
