Dismantling the Department of Education

Floor Speech

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Mrs. HAYES. Mr. Speaker, I rise today as a member of the Committee on Education and Workforce, a teacher, and a parent to lead this Special Order hour on the systemic dismantling of the Department of Education.

From the beginning, the Trump administration and Secretary Linda McMahon have been ruthless in attacking the Department that is dedicated to ensuring equal access to quality education, promoting student achievement, preparing students for global competitiveness, administering Federal funds, enforcing civil rights, collecting data, conducting research, and supporting educational programs from early childhood to higher education.

On March 11, the Department of Education initiated a reduction in force affecting nearly 50 percent of its workforce. Only 2,200 employees of the 4,000 employees that used to work at the Department remain to protect the civil rights of students, to support students from low-income backgrounds, to develop and prepare educators, and to provide resources for English language learners.

President Trump also signed an executive order directing the Secretary of Education to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education. This action by the President is illegal.

The Department of Education was created by an act of Congress, and only Congress has the authority to close that agency or any other Federal agency it creates. Yet, the executive order was one of many attacks by the President to collapse Federal agencies and end necessary services to the American people.

Last month, the Department of Education announced six new interagency agreements to shift the day-to-day functions to four other agencies. This, I have to say, is one of the most devastating actions yet.

This agreement sends the American Indian and Tribal colleges to the Department of the Interior. It sends TRIO programs to the Department of Labor. It sends the Child Care Access Means Parents in School program to the Department of Health and Human Services and International Education and Foreign Language Studies to the Department of State. These Departments do not have the expertise or appropriate staff to administer these programs, and our students will eventually suffer.

Since its creation in 1979, the Department of Education has been committed to ensuring high-quality education for the 49 million children who attend public schools across the country.

The Department of Education also collects and publishes data on student enrollment, school staffing, and crime in schools, and distributes Federal funds to support programs for 7.5 million students with special needs. We haven't heard any examples or any information on how these programs will run when being administered across several different agencies.

When my Republican colleagues say they want to dismantle the Department, what they are really saying is they want to eliminate the sole Federal agency that protects the civil rights of students, the sole Federal agency that supports students from low-income backgrounds and develops and prepares educators. For postsecondary students, the Department administers Pell grants and $1.6 million in Federal student aid programs to support those trying to afford college.

This Department has long been a target of Republican lawmakers who make the false claims about the role of the Department of Education. I know with fidelity that the Department of Education does not handle school curriculum, instruction, or instructional materials. Those decisions have been and will remain at the local level. What the Department does is support title I districts and low-income communities that rely on Federal funding.

Abolishing the Department of Education would place the burden for continuing vital services on States and local communities that would either be forced to cut programs or raise their local taxes.

Every student deserves access to a free and appropriate public education. As a teacher serving in Congress, this issue is deeply personal to me. I introduced the Department of Education Protection Act to shield the Department of Education from efforts by the Trump administration to dismantle the agency without the consent of Congress. Specifically, my legislation would prohibit the use of appropriated funds to decentralize, reduce staffing levels, or alter the responsibilities, structure, authority, or functionality of the Department of Education.

If this administration wants to make a proposal that the Department of Education should be abolished, they must come before Congress and lay out a plan for how that looks, how it will work, and how it will impact students and families.

I will continue to advocate for the Department of Education to work to find commonsense solutions to address education issues, not just tear it down with no plan to support students.

McClellan).
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Mrs. HAYES. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott), the ranking member of the full committee, for that history lesson. It is really important to understand what all of this means.

He is right that I have been relentless on this issue. Not only was I a high schoolteacher but I have benefited from a high-quality public education. I understand what it means for a child in a low-income community who has one shot at getting a good education. If we don't protect that for every child in every community, it is to the detriment of our Nation.

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Mrs. HAYES. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California and comment that the gentleman is exactly right. If this administration or Secretary McMahon have a different vision for the Department of Education, then they need to come before Congress and lay that out. We need to have hearings. That needs to be done in the light of day for the public to truly understand how this will impact their children.

Bonamici).

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Mrs. HAYES. I will. Well, for many school districts, as the student population gets larger and they are dealing with all of the issues that kids come to school with, we have to make sure that kids are on green and ready to learn. However, the Department of Education provides for some of those wraparound services, some of those summer programs and meal programs that kids have at school. These are all of the things that help kids to learn.

We have to make sure that we fill the gap from decades of disinvestment. We can't just never have schools adequately resourced and expect different results, never have teachers properly prepared and expect different results. We need to, as a nation, make educating our children a priority, which has not happened.

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Mrs. HAYES. In many districts, they are always struggling just to catch up. In title I low-income districts, they are always--they are always at a disadvantage. So the answer is not to disinvest. We need to figure out what is working and amplify those programs. If there are places where we can become more efficient, then we address those things.

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Mrs. HAYES. Well, I just think about my district, and while my State of Connecticut got approximately $170 billion from the Federal Government for special education services for students, there is no way a State can backfill those gaps without support from the Federal Government.

When communities start to look at the programs that they will have to cut because they lack funding and understand what those supports mean, I think we will see an uproar from parents, from educators, from elected officials, and from leaders around the country because our children are the ones who will suffer.

I think what is most egregious is that this is all happening, to your point, against the background of increasing defense budgets, against the background of cutting healthcare and nutrition assistance programs for families.

While all the programs that are meant to support the most vulnerable people are stripped and cut, tax breaks to the wealthiest individuals, and even more than the Department of Defense asks for, is allocated. At some point, we have to prioritize the education of our children.
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Mrs. HAYES. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues who joined me.

In a statement from my colleague from Connecticut, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, she talks about her support for the Department of Education and really reminds us that this administration has empowered Russ Vought, the author of the anti-education, anti-American, pro- billionaire Project 2025, this manifesto that lays out literally firing thousands of Federal employees and decimating the Department of Education.

Congresswoman DeLauro talks about her family, growing up in New Haven, her parents who immigrated here, working in a garment factory, and education really being the catalyst for a better life. That story has not changed in all of these years.

There are so many families and so many students that I taught, and so many kids that just need accommodations, with parents who are left wondering what will happen next. If this is the path that we are to take, I implore my Republican colleagues to not usurp our Article I authorities, to demand that we have some transparency and clarity for what this looks like, to demand that the Secretary of Education come before the Congress and assure parents about what the future of public education looks like and make sure they know that their children will not be left behind.

This is something that, again, is near and dear to me, not just because of the profession that I chose in my adult life, but because education saved my life. Without public schools, an education, community college, and teachers who cared about me, my life would have taken a very different direction. I know that there are so many kids who are in that situation right now.

I will continue my work to protect the Department of Education and to protect public education for our children, to make sure that they at least have a shot at an education to change the trajectory of their future and their families.

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