Protecting the Department of Education

Floor Speech

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Ms. TLAIB. Madam Speaker, any day now, President Trump is gearing up to shut down the Department of Education. This is the latest power grab, an assault on our kids, an assault on our teachers, and an assault on our families in our district that rely on public education.

The Department of Education is a lifeline for many low-income residents and students. When the President says he wants to abolish it, he is coming after communities like Detroit, Southfield, Dearborn, and Livonia.

The Department's title I funding ensures all children, regardless of which ZIP Code they were born in, can access public education, quality education.

Here we go. The President is attacking public school students. More than half of our Nation's public schools educate low-income kids but also students with special needs. They are going after the different programs that help children living with autism, children having learning disabilities, needing that special care. I know that it is the public education system that takes them in and takes care of them and ensures that they have access to quality education.

We also know that States across the country want to whitewash Black history. They are already going after it, as if Black history is not American history.

We also know they want to erase the existence of LGBTQI+ students and discriminate against our children.

I know without the Department of Education, no one will be left to ensure civil rights laws are enforced in our schools. We know that community college students in my district alone will particularly suffer, because 50 percent of Henry Ford College in my district receives Pell grants that are going and administered through the Department of Education.

I know folks are thinking it is never going to happen. It already has started.

If my colleagues support abolishing the Department of Education, then they should publicly do it. Vote on it on this House floor. Don't allow the little minion billionaire to do it. If they want to do it, then their residents, the American people, deserve to see how they will vote. Will they leave our children behind or not?

It is important, critically important, that we do this in a transparent way, because I know my residents want me on record voting against abolishing public education. Abolishing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

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Ms. TLAIB. Madam Speaker, here we go. Elon Musk, the richest man on the planet, and Russ Vought, the guy who wrote Project 2025, want to shut down the 911 agency for fraud and consumer protection that many of us call the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

This is where my residents call for mortgage fraud, to fight against different scams that they fall victim to because we haven't done a good job preventing folks from out of the country and others targeting our seniors and so many others.

Financial predators like Wall Street and CEOs despise the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. I wonder why. That is because it is the only agency whose sole mission is to protect working people from getting ripped off.

I still remember the success we had in going after loan servicers for student loans, getting back millions of dollars to people who were directly impacted by those scams.

Shutting down the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau lets financial predators run wild, and working-class families will pay the price.

Since it was created, we know it forced big banks and powerful corporations to give $21 billion back to our families that were cheated, but here we go. President Trump's minion, Elon Musk, wants to steal hard-earned money from the working class to reward their billionaire donors and CEOs, to protect them, not us.

I know that the CFPB has had a huge impact on the lives of my residents, doing things like capping credit card late fees, holding companies who break the law accountable, targeting junk fees, and eliminating $49 billion in medical debt from people's credit reports.

Think about that. No one plans to get sick. We have sick care in our country, not healthcare. No one should have to file bankruptcy because they got sick, and they couldn't afford to take care of themselves.

They helped also protect 15 million Americans that have medical debt on their credit report. It was supposed to be implemented in March to remove medical debt from people's credit report. It doesn't belong there.

I know that doesn't matter to these billionaires, but it makes a world of difference for our families who are just trying to make ends meet. They want to make sure that our government is about people, that we have their back. I know the 911 call they make to this agency to protect them has made a difference, but they want to eliminate that.

If they want to get rid of this agency, do it publicly. Vote on it. I have no idea why they are handing their duties and responsibilities and the oath of this office over to a billionaire that never took the oath.

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