Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg delivered remarks on July 15 at a markup session for ten bills intended to codify President Trump’s plan to return control of education to the states. Walberg said, “Today we are considering 10 bills that mark the first step toward ending the Department of Education’s reign over our nation’s education system.”
Nearly 50 years ago, the Department of Education was created as a payoff for teachers union support of Jimmy Carter’s presidential campaign. Its creation was a politically motivated mistake, and today we begin the process of correcting that mistake.” He continued by citing statistics on graduation rates and student preparedness: “There can be no doubt that the Department of Education has failed. At the postsecondary level, 40 percent of students fail to graduate within six years. The students who do graduate are unprepared, with 85 percent of recent graduates saying they wish their college had better prepared them for the workforce. The Department’s student loan portfolio stands at $1.7 trillion, with more than 9 million borrowers in default. At the K-12 level, fewer than one-third of eighth graders can read or do math at grade level.
The status quo isn’t working, but it seems my colleagues across the aisle are unable to see that,” Walberg said. He contrasted Republican proposals with Democratic opposition: “You will undoubtedly hear much wailing and gnashing of teeth from my Democrat friends today. They will treat these bills as an unprecedented assault on education. That would be foolish for two reasons. One, we’ve done this before, and not that long ago… Two, many of the programs being transferred under these bills predate the Department of Education.”
He described today’s debate as representing “competing visions” for American education: “Do we believe in students, families, workers, and communities, or do we believe in entrenched special interests? Do we believe in the status quo that is failing our children… Or do we believe in a new vision…that puts students, families, and educators in the driver’s seat? Republicans believe in the latter vision…”
The House Education and Workforce Committee manages federal programs concerning education, labor, health and workforce development; influences policy on issues such as student loans and worker protections; and serves in jurisdiction over education and labor matters, according to its official website.