ABSTRACT
The Constitution of the United States charges the federal government with providing for the general welfare of its citizens and grants the tools to do so to its judicial, legislative, and executive branches. Although the Constitution does not mention education, the General Welfare Clause (Art. I, sec. 8) allows the federal government to collect taxes and spend the resulting revenue on programs that are in the public interest. As Alexander and Alexander point out, the tools of taxation, budget development, and appropriation of funds have been used by members of Congress and the President to expand federal authority into a variety of areas not enumerated in the Constitution itself.1
