This document contains the testimony of Richard W. Riley, Secretary of Education, on the fiscal year 1996 budget for the Department of Education (DOE), made before the Senate Subcommittee on Appropriations for Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and Related Agencies. The lack of appropriation has two major effects on the DOE and its customers: it impedes planning and threatens large cuts in educational services. The current budget system has also undermined the longstanding practice of forward-funding DOE programs. Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies would lose 1.1 billion dollars, or 17 percent, under the 1996 House appropriations bill. Reductions in Title I would also undermine the Goals 2000 and School-to-Work programs. The Senate and House committee bills would cut funding for the Safe and Drug-Free Schools program by 60 percent. The proposed budget would also directly affect classrooms, because staff and administrative spending have already been reduced. The Secretary requested at least $446 million for raising academic standards through Goals 2000, $7.3 billion for improving basic skills through Title I, and $466 million for Safe and Drug-Free Schools. (LMI)