[House Hearing, 118 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]




                                

 
                               MEMBER DAY

=======================================================================

                                HEARING

                               Before The

                COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND THE WORKFORCE
                     U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                    ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS

                             FIRST SESSION

                               __________



            HEARING HELD IN WASHINGTON, DC, DECEMBER 1, 2023

                               __________

                           Serial No. 118-30

                               __________

  Printed for the use of the Committee on Education and the Workforce
  
  
  
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        Available via: edworkforce.house.gov or www.govinfo.gov
        
        
        
        
                           ______

             U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 
 56-138 PDF            WASHINGTON : 2024         
        
        
        
        
        
        
        
                COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND THE WORKFORCE

               VIRGINIA FOXX, North Carolina, Chairwoman

JOE WILSON, South Carolina           ROBERT C. ``BOBBY'' SCOTT, 
GLENN THOMPSON, Pennsylvania             Virginia,
TIM WALBERG, Michigan                  Ranking Member
GLENN GROTHMAN, Wisconsin            RAUL M. GRIJALVA, Arizona
ELISE M. STEFANIK, New York          JOE COURTNEY, Connecticut
RICK W. ALLEN, Georgia               GREGORIO KILILI CAMACHO SABLAN,
JIM BANKS, Indiana                     Northern Mariana Islands
JAMES COMER, Kentucky                FREDERICA S. WILSON, Florida
LLOYD SMUCKER, Pennsylvania          SUZANNE BONAMICI, Oregon
BURGESS OWENS, Utah                  MARK TAKANO, California
BOB GOOD, Virginia                   ALMA S. ADAMS, North Carolina
LISA McCLAIN, Michigan               MARK DeSAULNIER, California
MARY MILLER, Illinois                DONALD NORCROSS, New Jersey
MICHELLE STEEL, California           PRAMILA JAYAPAL, Washington
RON ESTES, Kansas                    SUSAN WILD, Pennsylvania
JULIA LETLOW, Louisiana              LUCY McBATH, Georgia
KEVIN KILEY, California              JAHANA HAYES, Connecticut
AARON BEAN, Florida                  ILHAN OMAR, Minnesota
ERIC BURLISON, Missouri              HALEY M. STEVENS, Michigan
NATHANIEL MORAN, Texas               TERESA LEGER FERNANDEZ, New Mexico
JOHN JAMES, Michigan                 KATHY MANNING, North Carolina
LORI CHAVEZ-DeREMER, Oregon          FRANK J. MRVAN, Indiana
BRANDON WILLIAMS, New York           JAMAAL BOWMAN, New York
ERIN HOUCHIN, Indiana

                       Cyrus Artz, Staff Director
              Veronique Pluviose, Minority Staff Director
                                 ------                                
                         C  O  N  T  E  N  T  S

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                                                                   Page

Hearing held on December 1, 2023.................................     1

                           OPENING STATEMENTS

    Foxx, Hon. Virginia, Chairwoman, Committee on Education and 
      the Workforce..............................................     1
        Prepared statement of....................................     3
    Scott, Hon. Robert C. ``Bobby'', Ranking Member, Committee on 
      Education and the Workforce................................     4
        Prepared statement of....................................     5

                               WITNESSES

    Finstad, Hon. Brad, a Representative in Congress from the 
      State of Minnesota.........................................     6
        Prepared statement of....................................     8
    Kilmer, Hon. Derek, a Representative in Congress from the 
      State of Washington........................................     9
        Prepared statement of....................................    11
    Yakym, Hon. Rudy, a Representative in Congress from the State 
      of Indiana.................................................    13
        Prepared statement of....................................    15
    Castro, Hon. Joaquin, a Representative in Congress from the 
      State of Texas.............................................    16
        Prepared statement of....................................    18
    Fitzpatrick, Hon. Brian, a Representative in Congress from 
      the State of Pennsylvania..................................    20
        Prepared statement of....................................    22
    Wenstrup, Hon. Brad, a Representative in Congress from the 
      State of Ohio..............................................    26
        Prepared statement of....................................    28

                         ADDITIONAL SUBMISSIONS

    Fitzpatrick, Hon. Brian, a Representative in Congress from 
      the State of Pennsylvania:
        Letter dated November 29, 2023 from Boys & Girls Clubs of 
          America (BCGA).........................................    24


                               MEMBER DAY

                              ----------                              


                        Friday, December 1, 2023

                  House of Representatives,
          Committee on Education and the Workforce,
                                                    Washington, DC.
    The committee met pursuant to call, at 10:02 a.m., 2124 
Rayburn Building, Hon. Virginia A. Foxx [Chairman of the 
Committee] presiding.
    Present: Representatives Foxx, and Scott.
    Staff present: Cyrus Artz, Staff Director; Mindy Barry, 
General Counsel; Isabel Foster, Press Assistant; Daniel 
Fuenzalida, Staff Assistant; Sheila Havenner, Director of 
Information Technology; Paxton Henderson, Intern; Georgie 
Littlefair, Clerk; Hannah Matesic, Deputy Staff Director; 
Rebecca Powell, Staff Assistant; Maura Williams, Director of 
Operations; Savoy Adams, Minority Intern; Nekea Brown, Minority 
Director of Operations; Rashage Green, Minority Director of 
Education Policy; Christian Haines, Minority General Counsel; 
Emanual Kimble, Minority Professional Staff; Stephanie Lalle, 
Minority Communications Director; Kristen Lemus, Minority 
Intern; Raiyana Malone, Minority Press Secretary; Kevin 
McDermott, Minority Director of Labor Policy; Kota Mizutani, 
Minority Deputy Communication Director; Kyra Patterson, 
Minority Intern; Veronique Pluviose, Minority Staff Director; 
Clinton Spencer IV, Minority Staff Assistant; and Banyon 
Vassar.
    Chairwoman Foxx. Good morning, everyone. The Committee on 
Education Workforce will come to order. I note that a quorum is 
present. Without objection, the Chair is authorized to call a 
recess at any time. Thanks to all of our guests for joining 
this year's Member Day Hearing.
    Non-Committee members are invited to share stories, 
policies and issues from their home districts to help inform 
our decisionmaking as we move forward with legislation. The 
Committee plans soon to pass key pieces of legislation 
impacting postsecondary education and the workforce.
    We greatly value the input of members regarding their 
priorities. As one of the hardest working Committees in 
Congress, the Committee on Education and Workforce is an 
effective audience and advocate for member's concerns. We have 
reported 23 bills and resolutions from this Committee so far 
this year, and 11 have passed the full House.
    Furthermore, I am a firm believer that no Committee speaks 
to the issues impacting everyday working Americans quite like 
the Committee on Education and the Workforce. Our jurisdiction 
spans from childcare to classrooms, pension funds and 
everything in between. For these reasons, a wide variety of 
perspectives are not just admissible, but welcomed and 
encouraged.
    I look forward to members providing the Committee with 
views today which help broaden our horizons. With that, I yield 
to the Ranking Member for his opening statement.
    [The prepared statement of Chairwoman Foxx follows:]
    
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    Mr. Scott. Thank you, Madam Chair. Today the Committee is 
gathered to hear from Members of Congress about their 
priorities for improving our education system, supporting 
workers, making healthcare more affordable, and strengthening 
our economy. Its jurisdiction covers a wide range of policy 
areas impacting Americans throughout the country from birth to 
retirement.
    In fact, in the last Congress Committee democrats advanced 
legislation that reduced the unemployment rate to historic 
lows, added millions of jobs to the economy, reduce healthcare 
costs and save the pensions of over 1 million workers and 
protected thousands of businesses all while fulfilling our 
promise to ensure that students have access to high-quality 
public education through the most significant one-time Federal 
investment in K through 12 education in our history.
    Regrettably, this Congress has not been quite as 
productive. We focus mainly on culture wars and ways to 
undermine labor unions, and despite the unprecedented rise in 
child labor and multiple requests from the minority, we have 
yet to hold a single hearing on what Congress can do to end 
child labor law violations.
    We are responsible for receiving input and ideas from 
Members of Congress representing all parts of this diverse 
nation. Today's hearing provides us with an opportunity to hear 
from members not on this Committee on the work they believe 
remains to be done to support our communities further. Thank 
you, Madam Chair, and I want to thank the members for being 
with us today.
    We welcome your input and look forward to working together 
to ensure that America is a country where everyone can succeed. 
Thank you, Madam Chairwoman.
    [The prepared statement of Ranking Member Scott follows:]
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    [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] T6138.003
    

    Chairwoman Foxx. Thank you, Mr. Scott. Before I dispense 
with the legal aspects, as you all know, votes are going to be 
called fairly soon and we would like very much to get this done 
before we have to leave to go to vote.
    Pursuant to Committee Rule 8C, all members who wish to 
insert statements into the record may do so by submitting them 
to the Committee Clerk electronically in Microsoft Word format 
by 5, after the date of this hearing, which is December 15, 
2023. Without objection, the hearing record will remain open 
for 14 days to allow such statements and other extraneous 
material referenced during the hearing to be submitted for the 
official hearing record.
    Members will have 5 minutes to discuss their education and 
workforce related priorities. I remind those members that they 
are also able to submit written testimony in support of their 
legislation. I now recognize Representative Brad Finstad from 
Minnesota.

    STATEMENT OF THE HON. BRAD FINSTAD, A REPRESENTATIVE IN 
              CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF MINNESOTA

    Mr. Finstad. Thank you, Chairwoman Foxx and Ranking Member 
Scott, for the opportunity to present an important issue to the 
Education and Workforce Committee. I am proud to represent 
Minnesota's First congressional District, and advocate on 
issues that are top of mind for southern Minnesotans. As you 
both know, the largest COVID-19 fraud in the Nation Feeding our 
Future took place in Minnesota.
    Feeding our Future exploited USDA child nutrition programs 
to steal over 250 million dollars from taxpayer money meant to 
feed hungry children. Indictments later revealed that 
fraudsters purchased luxury homes, vacations, cars, and even 
private jets on the taxpayer's dime.
    To date, 60 individuals have been charged by the U.S. 
Department of Justice in connection with this fraud scheme. I 
have been proud to work with Chairwoman Foxx, Chairman Comer, 
Chairman Thompson, and the rest of the Minnesota republican 
delegation in conducting oversight of the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture and the Minnesota Department of Education, and 
their oversight of improper payments to Feeding our Future.
    I look forward to continuing this work until all 
responsible parties are held accountable, and we get to the 
bottom of how these agencies allowed this fraud to happen. 
Unfortunately, USDA and the Minnesota Department of Education 
have not fully complied with this Committee's oversight 
efforts. It is time to take further action to ensure 
accountability and identify the bureaucratic failures that led 
to this massive fraud scheme.
    I urge you to consider H.R. 4786, the Feeding Children Not 
Fraudsters Act, which would audit any cases of COVID-related 
fraud committed through USDA's child nutrition programs, to 
provide Congress the information necessary to fix any 
bureaucratic failures and hold those responsible accountable.
    I look forward to working with members on both sides of the 
aisle to advance this legislation, and I hope the Committee 
will strongly consider this important step to conduct proper 
oversight of this massive fraud scheme. Thank you again for 
convening this hearing, and for the opportunity to list my 
priorities. I yield back.
    [The prepared statement of Rep. Finstad follows:]
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    Chairwoman Foxx. Thank you very much, Mr. Finstad. 
Representative Kilmer, you are recognized for 5 minutes.

    STATEMENT OF THE HON. DEREK KILMER, A REPRESENTATIVE IN 
             CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF WASHINGTON

    Mr. Kilmer. Thank you, Madam Chair, and Mr. Ranking Member. 
I appreciate you having this Member Day hearing. I know we 
submitted a written testimony to you, so I am just going to 
talk a little bit about one of my priorities, and tell you the 
genesis of it.
    A few years ago, I got invited to a YMCA in my district, 
thinking they were going to talk to me about gymnasiums losing 
money during the pandemic. That is not what they wanted to talk 
to me about. They wanted to talk to me about fights breaking 
out in their YMCA over politics. Over the t-shirt someone was 
wearing, the hat someone was wearing, the cable news channel 
they were watching on the elliptical. They literally had fights 
breaking out.
    They said it has become so bad we cannot ignore it anymore. 
We have actually hired a consultant that is training our staff, 
training our Board in conflict resolution. We are going to host 
some events to try to bridge some of the differences in our 
community so that the Y does not turn into the Jerry Springer 
show.
    They said just out of curiosity any Federal support for 
that? I said no, not that I know of. A few months later I got--
we had some bad news in my district. We had a series of attacks 
on religious institutions. The Islamic Center was burned to the 
ground. We had a church vandalized, we had two Buddhist faith 
leaders assaulted outside of their temple.
    In the spirit of something good coming out of something bad 
they held an interfaith solidarity event. It was awesome. It 
was powerful. People saying, you know, that is not what we are 
about, a part of living in a religiously and otherwise diverse 
pluralistic democracies. You are going to live next to people 
who think and look and pray differently than you do, and it 
cannot come to violence and conflict.
    Afterwards, one of the faith leaders came up to me and said 
you know that was a pretty powerful--90 minutes. If we are 
going to do this right, we are going to do this in an ongoing 
way. They said any Federal support for something like that. I 
said not that I know of, at least not currently. I looked into 
it.
    The United States actually does spend tens of millions of 
dollars trying to build bridges and foster social cohesion as a 
means of strengthening democracy in other countries through the 
National Endowment for Democracy. We do not do that here in 
America. I introduced a bill called the Building Civic Bridges 
Act.
    When we introduced it, we introduced it with 12. In the 
last Congress, there were 12 democratic sponsors and 12 
republican sponsors, who would set up a pilot program through 
AmeriCorps to support some of these hyper local efforts in our 
communities to try to bridge some of these differences across 
lines of difference.
    We chose AmeriCorps in part because they have footprints in 
most of our communities, and under their authorization they are 
able to do some of that grant making. One of the other things 
in the bill is to actually provide training to AmeriCorps 
members so that they learn these skills related to bridge 
building, so that we can actually have people on the ground 
trying to bridge some of the differences in our community.
    This bill has received the support of civic bridge building 
organizations of faith leaders and faith groups, the business 
community, groups like the U.S. Chamber and the Business 
Roundtable have endorsed it, and institutions of higher 
education who just want to see us overcome some of this toxic 
polarization in our country.
    We hope to introduce this bill again, and I would ask as 
you know, certainly as someone who has announced that I will be 
leaving Congress next year, this is something I would love to 
see us actually make some progress on. I think this is 
something we have got to--I do not want us to just accept this 
level of dysfunction--and polarization in our communities as 
just something to get accustomed to.
    I will just quickly mention because I know we are short on 
time. I was heartened when we met earlier. You were working on 
WIOA reauthorization as we met--the new democrat coalition has 
a number of priorities in that space. My Investing in Digital 
Skills Act was previously included in WIOA in the last 
Congress. I am hoping that it can be included again.
    The New Dems are also advocating for new ways for Americans 
to be introduced to STEM and trades, both in K-12 and in 
community partnerships. There is a bipartisan bill called the 
Creating Opportunities to Thrive and Advance Act that I co-lead 
that would expand career counseling and allow for public 
outreach so more folks can learn about those opportunities.
    Those are some of the priorities that I know when we met 
with you, Madam Chair, through the New Dems, that we are hoping 
that this Committee can consider. With that, I know you are 
short on time, so I will yield back the remaining 50 seconds 
and thank you again for your consideration.
    [The prepared statement of Rep. Kilmer follows:]
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    Chairwoman Foxx. Thank you, Mr. Kilmer. Representative 
Yakym, you are recognized for 5 minutes.

STATEMENT OF THE HON. RUDY YAKYM, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS 
                   FROM THE STATE OF INDIANA

    Mr. Yakym. Thank you, Chairman Foxx and Ranking Member 
Scott. I appreciate you giving those of us who are not on the 
Education and Workforce Committee an opportunity to present our 
priorities. I also want to thank you for calling a hearing next 
week to examine a topic that I would like to introduce today: 
the outburst of antisemitism that has gripped college campuses 
in the wake of the October 7th attack on Israel.
    Madam Chair, in the nearly 2 months since October 7th, we 
as House members have met with the families of hostages and 
victims. We have borne witness to the utter inhumanity 
inflicted by Hamas terrorists on innocent men, women, children 
and babies. We have seen the images and video footage that will 
forever haunt us. Closer to home we have also heard disturbing 
accounts from Jewish and Israeli college students, and faculty 
who have faced threats, intimidation, vandalism, and even 
physical violence.
    They say they do not feel comfortable wearing symbols of 
their faith. Hillel Houses, are hiring extra security. Such a 
climate of fear and intimidation on our campuses is 
unacceptable. It is baffling that so many of these institutions 
who police the most micro of microaggressions seem to be 
meeting this actual wave of antisemitism, this actual wave of 
aggression with nothing more than a yawn.
    They will throw the book at someone who uses the wrong 
pronouns. They will spend time compiling a 13-page handbook of 
banned words including American, immigrant and grandfather. 
Yet, elimination of chants of ``From the river to the sea 
Palestine will be free.'' ``Globalize the intifada.'' Ring out 
among groups marching across the quad. Signs are raised that 
show a star of David in a trashcan with the caption that reads, 
``Keep the world clean.''
    A sign at a recent protest at Reed College even read, 
``Hitler would be proud.'' Madam Chair, what is going on on 
these campuses? Some university leaders have stepped up with 
forceful words and actions, and they should be commended. Too 
many have not.
    As this Committee knows well, most colleges and 
universities these days seem to have offices for diversity, 
equity and inclusion, or DEI. I was curious to know what 
exactly is happening with the I in DEI in the wake of October 
7th, and that is why on November 6th I sent a letter to the top 
DEI officials at 110 colleges and universities asking some 
simple questions.
    Does the DEI office maintain an official written definition 
of antisemitism? Does it consider things such as slogans and 
signs that I described earlier to be antisemitic? Does it have 
any employees dedicated to educating or raising awareness about 
antisemitism, handling the allegations of antisemitism and/or 
promoting inclusion of Israeli and Jewish students and faculty?
    What actions have been taken, and what resources provided 
since October 7th to promote an environment of inclusion for 
Jewish and Israeli faculty and students? These 110 schools were 
not chosen at random, they were chosen because of at least one 
verified incidence that could be considered antisemitic. It 
could have been chants or signs, it could have been something 
worse like Jewish students being forced to barricade themselves 
for safety.
    It could have been statements from Jewish and Israeli 
students and faculty expressing unease with their campus 
environment. Some campuses have obviously been worse than 
others, but it is sadly proved easy to find at least one 
example in all 110. In fact, I have taken this opportunity to 
announce that my office today will be sending an additional 16 
letters to DEI officials.
    Let me be clear. One incident, one action by a few students 
does not damn a whole university, but it also does not make any 
of these questions less valid. If a DEI office is proud of its 
response and feels that it has got a good story to tell, I want 
to know. These letters represent an opportunity to confront or 
confirm the skepticism that many have about DEI offices.
    Madam Chair, it has become clear that October 7th revealed 
an antisemitic rot in the floor boards of our institutions of 
higher education. A recent Anti-Defamation League survey found 
that only 38.6 percent of students feel very or extremely 
comfortable on campuses in the wake of October 7th.
    That is compared with 63.7 percent before October 7th. I 
applaud your efforts to examine this important topic, and I 
hope we can work together moving forward to ensure that 
antisemitism has no place on our college campuses. Thank you, 
Madam Chair, and I yield back.
    [The prepared statement of Rep. Yakym follows:]
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    Chairwoman Foxx. Thank you, Mr. Yakym. Representative 
Castro, you are recognized for 5 minutes.

   STATEMENT OF THE HON. JOAQUIN CASTRO, A REPRESENTATIVE IN 
                CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF TEXAS

    Mr. Castro. Thank you, Chairwoman Foxx, Ranking Member 
Scott. Good to be with you all again. Thank you for holding 
this hearing and allowing me to share some of my constituent's 
priorities with the Committee today.
    Despite gains in educational attainment since the original 
Higher Education Act was passed in 1965, Hispanic adults are 
less likely to hold a college degree compared to their peers. 
Hispanic students constitute a significant and growing portion 
of the United States student population. It is imperative that 
we address the gaps of educational success in college degree 
attainment.
    There are more low-income students and students of color 
enrolling in college than ever before because a college degree 
remains the most certain path to upward mobility in the United 
States. However, these students face many obstacles to 
completing their education, including high school course work 
that fails to prepare them for college, and additional barriers 
to enrollment, financial aid and other processes.
    These students may also face unique challenges with 
reliability transportation and child care, unstable housing, 
and limited on campus support. To address these issues, 
Congress must take greater steps to ensure the historically 
underserved students have the resources they need to succeed in 
college. This means investments in K through 12 education 
programs that fund America's public schools.
    Investments in teacher training, support and compensation, 
investments in retention and completion, and investments in 
research and development at Hispanic serving institutions or 
HSIs. I urge this Committee to take up two bills I have 
introduced this Congress to address these issues.
    The Hispanic Educational Resources and Empowerment, or HEAR 
Act, I introduced with Senator Alex Padilla would authorize 
grants to fund partnerships between HSIs and school districts 
that serve a large percentage of low-income and Latino 
students, fostering a college going culture and preparing 
students for college success.
    Together with Senator Cory Booker, I also introduced the 
Advanced Coursework Equity Act, which would increase the 
enrollment and performance of under-represented students in 
advanced courses, including eighth grade algebra, advanced 
placement, international Baccalaureate and dual programs and 
more.
    When I got to college in the fall of 1992, I met students 
who had earned dozens of college credits through advanced 
course work before they even got to campus, accelerating their 
path to graduation and preparing them for the rigors of a tough 
school. At my Title I public high school in San Antonio, there 
were only three AP courses available, and very few students had 
the same opportunities as my future classmates at Stanford.
    I think my time may have run out, and so I want to thank 
you all for having us today, and urge you to consider these two 
pieces of legislation.
    Chairwoman Foxx. Two minutes remaining, but if you want to 
yield back, we will----
    Mr. Castro. Well, the timer went out. I am sorry. No. I 
will just finish up real quick. Across the country the story is 
the same for millions of students. A 2020-2021 Department of 
Education Civil Rights data collection showed that 39 percent 
of more than 31,000 public middle schools did not offer algebra 
I. Of the more than 26,000 public high schools across the 
country, only 75 percent offered chemistry.
    67 percent advanced mathematics, 61 percent offered 
physics, 49 percent offered computer science and 48 percent 
offered calculus. Disparities and access to advanced courses 
for under-represented students, including black and Latino 
students is particularly concerning.
    For example, approximately 35 percent of schools with high 
enrollments of black and Latino students offered calculus, 
compared to 54 percent of schools with low enrollments of black 
and Latino students. Latino students represented 27 percent of 
total high school student enrollment, but account for 20 
percent of students enrolled in AP science and AP computer 
science courses, and 19 percent of students enrolled in AP 
mathematics courses.
    Talent is distributed across every American community. I 
think we would all agree on that, but equal opportunity is not, 
so thank you for your consideration, and I urge consideration 
of these bills.
    [The prepared statement of Rep. Castro follows:]
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    Chairwoman Foxx. Thank you very much. Representative 
Fitzpatrick, you are recognized--Fitzgerald.

 STATEMENT OF THE HON. BRIAN FITZPATRICK, A REPRESENTATIVE IN 
            CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA

    Mr. Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick. You had it right the first 
time.
    Chairwoman Foxx. I had it right the first time. 
Fitzpatrick, you are recognized for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Fitzpatrick. Thank you, Chairwoman Foxx, Ranking Member 
Scott, and members of the Committee. Thank you for allowing us 
to advocate on behalf of our constituents here today before 
your committee. The mental health crisis facing our Nation, 
specifically amongst our kids throughout this country requires 
immediate action by this Congress.
    Over the last decade cases of anxiety, depression and other 
mental health challenges have dramatically increased amongst 
our youth. In fact, it is estimated that over 40 percent of our 
school students throughout this country do not have adequate 
access to comprehensive mental health resources.
    Madam Chair, Ranking Member, the combination of these 
increased needs for mental health resources at our schools, and 
the national shortage of professionals in this field have 
exacerbated this crisis, and as Co-Chair of the bipartisan 
Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Task Force, the 
largest bipartisan task force in this body, I am proud to 
support the efforts that will directly address the needs of our 
students.
    That is why I introduced H.R. 3228, the Mental Health in 
Schools Excellence Program Act. This bipartisan bill will 
authorize the Department of Education to partner with higher 
education institutions across America to assist in covering the 
costs of students pursuing careers as school psychologists, 
school counselors, and school social workers.
    Strengthening the workforce pipeline will increase access 
to comprehensive mental health resources for students to ensure 
that our kids have the resources they need to succeed. I 
encourage all of our colleagues, particularly those on this 
Committee, to join us in addressing this mental health crisis 
amongst our school students by working to provide sufficient 
resources to ensure that no student is left behind in their 
fight to succeed in this country.
    I would also like to address the importance of 
strengthening and modernizing our Nation's nutrition programs, 
supporting our children, specifically the special supplemental 
nutrition program for women, infants and children. The WIC 
program is a crucial source of nutrition for low-income women, 
nursing mothers, infants and children, and one of the most 
successful and impactful initiatives the Federal Government 
operates.
    As a result of the global pandemic, the WIC program had to 
find new ways to offer services to ensure that participant 
needs were met. In this new remote environment, it became clear 
that there had to be ways to modernize this program, and I am 
proud to lead H.R. 2424, the Modern WIC Act, which will 
streamline access to WIC benefits.
    This bipartisan bill will provide remote service options 
for WIC applicants and participants. Madam Chair, Ranking 
Member Scott, modernizing this program will allow more families 
to receive and utilize benefits and ensure that our children 
have a healthy start to their lives.
    I urge my colleagues to continue to support these 
commonsense initiatives that will modernize our bureaucracy in 
an effort to support American families, and particularly 
America's youth. Finally, I would like to address the issue of 
increasing educational opportunities in schools and 
prioritizing out of school time programs.
    Investing in a robust, skilled workforce begins with 
investing in our kids. H.R. 3416, the Youth Workforce Readiness 
Act would establish a grant program for eligible after-school 
programs to equip our students with the skills they need to 
succeed in today's very complex workforce environment.
    Expanding leadership development programs, expanding 
financial literacy lessons, and expanding mentorship 
opportunities are all essential parts of many OST programs. 
These will better prepare our next generation of students. I 
would like to insert, Madam Chair, for the record a letter from 
the Boys and Girls Club of America regarding their support for 
the Youth Workforce Readiness Act.
    Chairwoman Foxx. Without objection.
    Mr. Fitzpatrick. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman, and the 
Ranking Member. Thank you for the opportunity to address these 
critical issues, not just from my constituents, but for women 
and children across America, and with that, I yield back.
    [The prepared statement of Rep. Fitzpatrick follows:]
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    [The information of Rep. Fitzpatrick follows:]

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    Foxx. Thank you, Mr. Fitzpatrick. Representative Wenstrup, 
you are recognized for 5 minutes.

   STATEMENT OF THE HON. BRAD WENSTRUP, A REPRESENTATIVE IN 
                CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF OHIO

    Mr. Wenstrup. Well thank you, Chairwoman Foxx and Ranking 
Member Scott for hosting this Member Day hearing, and for the 
opportunity to speak this morning. I appreciate it. The 
Education and Workforce ittee is vital to advancing policies 
that help students learn, workers succeed, and job creators to 
thrive.
    As a physician who serves in Congress, I am focused on ways 
that we as Members of Congress can enact policies to make 
America the healthiest nation on the planet. When we talk about 
health in general, we should be discussing things that make 
Americans healthy, and this Committee plays a vital role in 
that effort by overseeing programs that affect all Americans 
from early learning and well beyond that.
    I appreciate the role this Committee plays in education 
policy and look forward to continuing to work with you on all 
ways to improve the education of Americans in an effort to have 
a healthy nation. One of my highest priorities in Congress is 
H.R. 2630, the Safe Step Act, which I have worked on for 
several years with my colleague, Dr. Ruiz from California.
    The Safe Step Act is based on State laws that have passed 
in 38 states, including my home State of Ohio, as well as North 
Carolina and Virginia. This important bill would ensure that 
employer plans offer a medically reasonable and expedient step 
therapy exceptions process.
    Currently health plans, particularly self-insured employer 
plans that are exempt from State laws often require patients to 
try and fail on insurer preferred drugs before the plan will 
cover the treatment initially selected by the patient and their 
provider. The insurer never saw the patient, does not know the 
patient and their medical history.
    When medically inappropriate, such delays in care brought 
about by someone other than the patient's doctor, it can lead 
to severe or irreversible consequences. Earlier this year I was 
proud to see the Safe Step Act favorably reported out of the 
Senate Help Committee, as one of the only patient driven bills 
under consideration.
    In a nation that makes unprecedented investments in 
innovative treatments and cures and has the potential to offer 
the best healthcare in the world, these delays in care are 
regressive. Step therapy, when used inappropriately, disrupts 
the doctor patient relationship by making it more difficult for 
a physician to prescribe the care their patient needs.
    The Safe Step Act allows plans to continue to apply step 
therapy to drug decisions, yet it ensures that plans allow 
patients and providers to access a quick exceptions process if 
a step therapy protocol is inappropriate for that patient. I 
commend the Committee for their support in addressing this 
bill, and the continued work of your committee staff as well as 
all of my colleagues on the Committee who have joined as co-
sponsors, and I look forward to seeing the Safe Step Act pass 
out of this Committee.
    I thank you for your time and consideration today. Thank 
you once again for holding this Member Day hearing, and I yield 
back.
    [The prepared statement of Rep. Wenstrup follows:]
    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT] 

    

    Chairwoman Foxx. Thank you, Dr. Wenstrup, for your 
testimony, and again, thank you again Mr. Kilmer for your 
testimony. Under Committee Rule 9, we would now question 
witnesses under the 5-minute rule. Are there any witnesses, or 
any members who wish to ask questions of our colleagues who 
testified?
    Hearing none, I would like to thank you again for taking 
the time to testify before the Committee today. Without 
objection, there being no further business, the Committee 
stands adjourned.
    [Whereupon, at 10:30 a.m., the hearing was adjourned.]