Original sentence: Republicans in Congress have viewed these authorized levels as spending caps, not spending promises, and have responded to criticisms by claiming that President Bill Clinton never requested the full amount of funding authorized under the previous ESEA law
Edited sentence: Republicans in Congress have viewed these authorized levels as spending caps, not spending promises, and have pointed fingers in an attempt to deflect the consequences of their failures by claiming that President Bill Clinton never requested the full amount of funding authorized under the previous ESEA law