Along the Northeast corridor, taking Amtrak downtown-to-downtown takes about as long as flying and is vastly more pleasant. The service out west is bad because it's a gongshow of interactions between Amtrak and a bunch of private companies, which seems...oddly reminiscent of something.

My only direct experience with the Department of Education was college financial aid. The FAFSA wasn't particularly awful and I appreciate the help I got--the work study job not only paid for my books and food, but got me started in my career.