The chairman of the Republican National Committee is touting the additional education spending the federal government has sent Iowa’s way under President Bush’s watch. R-N-C chairman Ed Gillespie says federal funding in Iowa for education has increased 52 percent since President Bush took office. The Bush campaign team emphasized education yesterday, and Gillespie says the state’s getting 122 million to help implement the new “No Child Left Behind” law.Gillespie says “No Child Left Behind” is a landmark piece of legislation that achieves the goal of equality in education that was set out in the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling that was issued 50 years ago this coming Monday. Gillespie spoke with Radio Iowa by phone, as did democratic presidential candidate John Kerry — a sign the state of Iowa is one of the swing states in the fall election.Gillespie says he’s long predicted the race would be close and he expects things to remain tight for the remainder of the summer. Gillespie’s been to Iowa four times in the past year, which he says shows the state is a “battleground” which either Bush or Kerry could win.
