[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5046 Reported in Senate (RS)]
<DOC>
Calendar No. 541
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 5046
To prohibit the transfer of certain offices and functions of the
Department of Education to other Federal agencies, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 21, 2026
Mr. Kaine (for himself, Ms. Collins, Ms. Murkowski, Ms. Baldwin, Ms.
Hassan, and Mr. Van Hollen) introduced the following bill; which was
read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor,
and Pensions
August 4, 2026
Reported by Mr. Cassidy, with an amendment
[Insert the part printed in italic]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prohibit the transfer of certain offices and functions of the
Department of Education to other Federal agencies, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. PROHIBITION ON TRANSFERRING CERTAIN OFFICES AND FUNCTIONS OF
THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES.
(a) In General.--
(1) Prohibition.--
(A) In general.--Notwithstanding section 430 of the
General Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1231),
sections 415 and 419 of the Department of Education
Organization Act (20 U.S.C. 3475 and 3479), section
1535 of title 31, United States Code (commonly known as
the ``Economy Act''), and section 1501 of title 31,
United States Code, and subject to subsection (b), the
Secretary of Education shall not enter into any
agreement, or implement any agreement existing on the
date of enactment of this Act, with another Federal
agency, or procure services from, contract or carry out
an agreement with, obtain any goods or services from,
transfer activities or appropriations to, use the
research, equipment, services, or facilities of,
jointly carry out projects of common interest with, or
enter into a similar arrangement with, another Federal
agency, relating to the functions (including
administering or operating programs, making grant
awards, carrying out technical assistance, enforcing
rights and requirements (including data collection and
data sharing requirements), conducting administrative
and oversight functions, and monitoring grantees,
related to any program, project, or activity for which
funds are appropriated to the Department of Education)
of any of the Department of Education's offices
described in paragraph (2), including functions of the
Secretary of Education related to programs administered
by such offices.
(B) Transferring functions and programs within the
department.--The Secretary of Education shall not
transfer a function or program from an office described
in paragraph (2) to another office of the Department of
Education not described in paragraph (2), and
subsequently enter into an agreement with another
Federal agency relating to such function or program.
(2) Offices.--The offices of the Department of Education
described in this paragraph are--
(A) the Office of Special Education and
Rehabilitative Services authorized under section 207 of
the Department of Education Organization Act (20 U.S.C.
3417);
(B) the Office of Postsecondary Education
authorized under section 205 of the Department of
Education Organization Act (20 U.S.C. 3415);
(C) the Office of Indian Education authorized under
section 215 of the Department of Education Organization
Act (20 U.S.C. 3423c); and
(D) the Office of Elementary and Secondary
Education authorized under section 204 of the
Department of Education Organization Act (20 U.S.C.
3414).
(b) Exception.--This section shall not apply to--
(1) any procurement, contract, agreement (including an
agreement for obtaining goods or services), transfer, or
similar arrangement, between the Department of Education and
another Federal agency that was in effect on February 1, 2025;
and
(2) the renewal of such a procurement, contract, agreement,
transfer, or similar arrangement described in this subsection
if the renewal contains only the same, or substantially
similar, terms.
SEC. 2. COST ANALYSIS.
(a) In General.--Not later than 14 days after the date of enactment
of this Act and each quarter thereafter, the Secretary of Education
shall, for each interagency agreement entered into on or after February
1, 2025, by the Secretary with another Federal agency, provide to the
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and the Committee
on Appropriations of the Senate, and the Committee on Education and
Workforce and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives, and make available to the public in an easily
accessible format on the Department's website, a detailed analysis and
report that contains information on the actual and estimated
obligations for implementing each interagency agreement by each party
to such agreements and a comparison to actual expenditures for carrying
out such responsibilities for fiscal year 2024. Each report required
under this subsection shall contain, at a minimum, information on
actual and estimated obligations for each of the following:
(1) Grant administration, including outreach, grant
notices, competitions, review (including peer review), award
processes, disbursement, and monitoring.
(2) Training and professional development of Department of
Education, other Federal agency, and State and local grantee
staff, such as training on transitioning to and using new grant
and payment systems, program administration, and application
processes.
(3) Training of grantees and eligible grant applicants on
transitioning to and using new grant and payment systems and
processes.
(4) Detailing, transferring, relocating, and onboarding
Department of Education staff to other Federal agencies.
(5) Changes or upgrades to facilities at the Department of
Education or other Federal agencies.
(6) Changes or upgrades to technology and infrastructure
used at the Department of Education or other Federal agencies,
or by State or local grantees implementing any such interagency
agreement.
(7) Overhead and administrative expenses attributed to each
such interagency agreement.
(8) Changes in costs of any contracts the Department of
Education enters into to carry out programs covered by any such
interagency agreement.
(9) Reductions in force of Department of Education staff.
(b) Prohibition on Use of Travel Funds.--None of the funds made
available to the Department of Education for fiscal year 2026 or 2027
under the heading ``Program Administration'' or ``Student Aid
Administration'' may be obligated or expended for travel expenses of
the Secretary of Education unless the Secretary provides the
information required in accordance with subsection (a).
Calendar No. 541
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 5046
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prohibit the transfer of certain offices and functions of the
Department of Education to other Federal agencies, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
August 4, 2026
Reported with an amendment