SENATE BREAKS IMPASSE ON EDUCATION BILL.(MAIN)

Byline: ANJETTA McQUEEN Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- A bill that would grant the states greater freedom in spending federal education money gained momentum in Congress Wednesday.

The Senate broke through six days of procedural jousting and agreed to vote Thursday on both the bill and amendments demanded by Democrats to implement President Clinton's education proposals, including federal subsidies for hiring thousands of new teachers.

In the House, however, Republicans continued to block Democrats' efforts to attach Clinton's proposals to their so-called ed-flex bill reducing number of strings the federal government puts on education aid to states …