[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 20 (Monday, February 6, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S707-S714]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Nomination of Neil Gorsuch
Mr. President, I would say this to the Presiding Officer, since he
and I are both from Oklahoma, which is in the Tenth Circuit: Last week
President Trump announced that he was nominating Judge Neil Gorsuch of
the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals to be a U.S. Supreme Court Justice.
As someone who had been following the news and rumors of who the pick
would be--I had been looking into potential nominees for weeks--I was
pleased to see Judge Gorsuch's name come up because we know something
about him.
After the untimely death of Justice Scalia a year ago, it was clear
that the Presidential election would be about the direction of the
Supreme Court for the next generation or maybe even generations. With
the results of the election--the Republican President and Republican
Congress--the American people have entrusted us to confirm a Supreme
Court Justice who will adhere to the rule of law and will not try to
read between the lines when interpreting legislation or the
Constitution. With the selection of Judge Gorsuch, I believe President
Trump has picked such a Justice. The President might not know or
remember, but George W. Bush nominated Judge Gorsuch to his current
position, and the Senate confirmed him unanimously by voice vote. We
went back and looked at the record, and no one voted against him.
There is no question that Judge Gorsuch is qualified for the Supreme
Court. He is a graduate of Columbia University, Harvard Law School, and
Oxford. He clerked for Judge Sentelle of the U.S. court of appeals for
the DC Circuit. He clerked for Supreme Court Justices Byron White and
Anthony Kennedy, so he knows the job. There is no need for on-the-job
training for him.
He has been in private practice. He has been a principal deputy to
the Associate Attorney General and Acting Attorney General at the U.S.
Department of Justice.
Much like the Justice he has been nominated to replace, Judge Gorsuch
has become known for his writing style. One of his former law clerks
said that his ``favorite aspect of the judge's writing is his ability
to humanize disputes.''
It appears that Gorsuch has more in common with the late Justice
Scalia than just writing abilities. He has said that ``assiduous focus
on text, structure, and history is essential to the proper exercise of
the judicial function.'' That judicial philosophy has been borne out in
his record on the Tenth Circuit.
My home State of Oklahoma is within the Tenth Circuit jurisdiction,
so we know him very well. Oklahoma is the home of Hobby Lobby. Everyone
is familiar with what Hobby Lobby is. A lot of people don't realize
this, but it started out when I was in the State legislature. The
Greens, who have Hobby Lobby, started out in their garage. At that
time, they were putting together things that they could frame--
miniature picture frames and that type of thing. With a loan of $600,
David and Barbara Green began making miniature picture frames.
Today, Hobby Lobby is the largest privately owned arts and crafts
store in the world, with over 700 stores in all but three States. They
are people of faith, and when they were facing fines under ObamaCare
for not providing certain insurance coverage that violated their faith,
they were faced with an impossible choice. They took it to court,
risking millions of personal dollars in doing so.
In siding with Hobby Lobby against ObamaCare's contraceptive mandate,
Judge Gorsuch stressed the point that it is not for a court to decide
whether the owners' religious convictions are correct or consistent,
but instead the court's role is ``only to protect the exercise of
faith,'' and the Supreme Court agreed.
Again, Judge Gorsuch defended the religious beliefs of the Little
Sisters of the Poor in his dissent of the Tenth Circuit's refusal to
rehear their case against the Obama administration regarding the same
mandate that Hobby Lobby was contesting.
Time and again, Judge Gorsuch has defended religious expressions in
public space. In addition to defending the First Amendment protections
regarding the free exercise of religion, he is also skeptical of the
idea that agencies should be given a wide latitude when interpreting
statutory language. In a recent opinion, Judge Gorsuch suggested that
the precedent of the judiciary to give deference to agencies on
statutory interpretations limits the courts when reviewing the legality
of agency actions. Gorsuch believes it is for Congress to write the
laws, the executive to carry them out, and the judiciary to interpret
them, just as our Founding Fathers intended.
I look forward to working with my colleagues to move Judge Gorsuch's
nomination forward. He is going to be confirmed, and he will make a
great Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
With that, Mr. President, I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Michigan.
Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, before my colleague from Oklahoma leaves
the floor, while we disagree on this current debate in terms of voting,
I just have to say when I see him that I constantly thank him for his
efforts last year to work with us for the community of Flint. We are
finding some hope in terms of replacing and addressing the lead
contamination, and without the distinguished Senator from Oklahoma,
that literally would not have happened. We have things we disagree on
and agree on, and this one--coming together with the families of Flint,
particularly with the children and the water impacts--he will always
have a warm place in the hearts of all of us who care deeply about that
issue. I thank my colleague very much.
Mr. President, I want to speak today about the nomination of Betsy
DeVos. Betsy DeVos's nomination is very personal to many people who
live in Michigan because Betsy DeVos is from Michigan, and her vision
of education and her actions have unfortunately played a major role in
undermining our public schools.
Families all across our State can tell the story of her work with
Michigan
[[Page S708]]
schools firsthand because they have seen it firsthand. They have lived
it firsthand. They all say the same thing. Democrats, Republicans,
Independents, people who live in cities that are big and small, parents
and teachers, principals, and community leaders from across the State--
overwhelmingly, they have told me that Betsy DeVos should not be our
next Secretary of Education.
Everywhere I go, I can't believe how people will stop me about this
and how strongly people feel in Michigan about this. They are saying
this because, among other things, she has pushed for policies that have
made charter schools in Michigan less accountable and has taken dollars
away from public schools where the vast majority of children get their
education. These are policies that have hurt our children and put their
futures at risk.
I have received so many emails and phone calls from people involved
every which way; at the grocery store, out at public events, people
come up to me. I just want to share a couple of e-mails.
Chris is a teacher from Harper Woods and worked as a teacher in the
Detroit public schools for over 20 years. He wrote: Betsy DeVos
believes in school privatization and vouchers. She has worked to
undermine efforts to regulate Michigan charters, even when they clearly
fail. The marketplace solutions of DeVos will destroy our
democratically governed community schools. Her hostility toward public
education disqualifies her.
Those were Chris's comments.
In Michigan last year, State legislators put together a bipartisan
plan, and our State legislature--House and Senate--majority is
Republican. They put together a bipartisan plan to increase both
funding and accountability for Detroit public schools.
There are a lot of wonderful things happening in Detroit. Businesses
are coming back to Detroit, and economic development is also, but we
have major work to do for our children and their schools. So there was
a huge bipartisan effort that came together to increase funding and
accountability for the public schools, including charter schools. It
was a commonsense proposal. Betsy DeVos led the effort to stop it,
particularly the part that brought critically needed public
accountability for for-profit and nonprofit charter schools.
Unfortunately, right now in Michigan we have a system where anyone
can apply to open a charter school. There are no statewide standards
for revoking the charter, and taxpayer money is sent to them with
virtually no public disclosure requirement. For example, we have for-
profit charter management companies that say they are private
businesses; therefore, even though they are getting public money, they
say they are private businesses, and they should not have to comply
with a series of disclosure requirements regarding teachers and other
information that, frankly, parents would want to know and taxpayers
have a right to know.
Thirty-eight percent of charters in Michigan are at the bottom 25
percent of the schools in our State. When you look at the bottom one-
fourth, 38 percent of the charters are in that category, and there is
unfortunately very little accountability for their performance.
Sadly, precious taxpayer dollars have been taken away from public
schools--neighborhood schools--to fund these charters. When it comes to
funding for public schools, she will not commit to protecting the
critical Federal dollars that serve our children.
One mom, Hillary Young from Detroit, came to Washington to watch the
confirmation hearing on Betsy DeVos in the HELP Committee. She wrote to
me. She said that she was not impressed and told a group of parents
afterwards: As a parent I can't stand silently and watch other children
be subject to similar circumstances to my child in Detroit. My sixth
grader was without a math teacher for over half the year last year
because of funding reductions. The effect of DeVos's policies is not
parents voting with their feet to go to better schools; it is children
bearing the burden for fixing the education system they are supposed to
be served by.
She goes on to say: DeVos's free market school choice system has left
our city's education landscape in chaos, leaving less choice, less
quality, and even more government bureaucracy.
We have seen parents get involved and speak out all across Michigan
and, frankly, all across the country. I have received more mail, more
emails, more phone calls on this nominee than any other, and I have
received a lot on a lot of nominees, but there is a broad outcry.
People like Kathleen, who is a farmer and a grandmother from
Farmington Hills, wrote to me: We have 15 grandchildren who are in the
public school system, and we are terrified that there will be no more
public schools and that the quality will be far inferior to charter and
other private schools. I am writing you to respectfully ask that you do
not vote to confirm Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education.
I am deeply concerned about what we heard in committee about her
views on special education. In the HELP Committee hearing last week,
she suggested that States should decide on whether or not to enforce
IDEA, the Individuals with Disabilities Act that has been such a
landmark, opening doors of schools in every neighborhood across our
country, for children with disabilities. This law was enacted in 1975,
and makes sure that children with disabilities have the same
educational opportunities as other children.
My nephew Barry, who has now gone through the special education
system in Michigan, is a wonderful young man with Down syndrome. And I
have seen personally how important that was for him, to be able to go
on and be successful in the community as a part of the community. It is
a very important civil right, frankly, for children with disabilities,
as well as an essential part of our educational system.
Betsy DeVos, after her hearing, when she was asked about special
education, followed up with a letter days later and wrote about
expanding the conversation about school choice opportunities for
parents of children with disabilities, but she didn't say anything
about helping those in traditional public schools or helping students
in the schools they are in now.
For me, this is not about politics or partisan messaging or even
charters or private schools versus traditional public schools; it
really is about what is best for our children and for our country.
Families in Michigan and all across the country know this. Tens of
thousands of people have called me over the last few weeks and sent
emails and letters. Who we choose to be the Secretary of Education
doesn't just affect the over 50 million children who attend public
elementary and secondary schools, it affects the future of our country,
and it is a fundamental difference in views. A competitive free market
system, with winners and losers, works in the private marketplace. I
support that. Business is open. They compete, and if they don't do
well, they close, or they do very well and they go on and they grow.
That is a strength in our country. But it doesn't work for educating
our children because we can't afford losers. We can't afford losers
when it comes to something as basic as fundamental education and
creating opportunity for our children in the future. We need to provide
every opportunity for every child to work hard and succeed.
I support having choices. I support magnet schools and public
charters--I did that as a State Senator--as well as other choices that
are great opportunities for children, if there are equal standards and
public accountability for taxpayers' dollars so that parents can have
confidence in that accountability, and if it is part of the public
school system, the public process, and only if they are in addition to
quality neighborhood schools in every neighborhood and in every ZIP
Code. It is not just a slogan to say it shouldn't matter where you
live, what kind of opportunity you get or that your child has, and that
is becoming more and more true. It certainly is in Michigan, where this
philosophy has been a test case, and we are seeing it across the
country. We can't afford losers. A winners-and-losers system is not
good enough for our kids.
Betsy DeVos has a record of working against the vision of
accountability and standards and choice within a system where every
child has a quality neighborhood school in their neighborhood in every
ZIP Code. She has worked against that vision. She doesn't believe in
it. We have fundamental differences in what will help our children
[[Page S709]]
for the future. That is why I will be voting no on her confirmation.
Thank you.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Virginia.
Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, first of all, I wish to thank my friend
the Senator from Michigan for her comments and her views on this
nominee.
I rise today to add my voice to those expressing concern about the
nomination of Betsy DeVos to serve as U.S. Secretary of Education. The
chorus of concerns not only comes from those colleagues who have
already come to the floor last week or earlier today or throughout the
evening and into tomorrow morning, but it also comes from literally
tens of thousands of my constituents who have contacted me about Mrs.
DeVos. I have been flooded with phone calls, emails, and social media
messages from Virginians all across the Commonwealth, in many ways, in
numbers that I haven't seen since the debate about the ACA. These
Virginians worry about Mrs. DeVos's confirmation. They worry about what
it would mean for our children, our students, and for progress toward
improving and providing every child with a quality public education
regardless of their ZIP Code.
Like many of my colleagues, I bring to the debate some direct
experience as both a State and local elected official. I had the great
honor of serving as Governor of Virginia. I was responsible in that job
for how we were preparing our students for success in college and in
the workforce. I took that responsibility very personally.
As somebody who attended good public schools all of my life, as
somebody who was lucky enough to be the first in my family to graduate
from college, I realized that I wouldn't have been able to have been
Governor or, for that matter, obviously, Senator without that
foundation I received from my education. Those public schools--and I
had the opportunity to go to public schools in three different States
growing up, and many of those public school teachers were the folks who
framed my views about government, about our system, about how we
actually get through in life.
I believe in many ways public schools and the whole notion of public
education really form the cornerstone of what is the social contract in
America--that getting that basic public education is the right of all
individuals. When I think back on everything I was able to accomplish
as Virginia's Governor, the validation I valued the most was that when
I left the Governor's office in 2006, Virginia was consistently
recognized by independent validators as the Nation's best State for a
lifetime of educational opportunity from pre-K to college and beyond.
So as someone who is committed to reforming and looking at how we can
make sure our public education can work for all, as someone who spent a
career before in business and tried working in a philanthropic sense on
how we could expand educational opportunities, I believe I bring some
experience to this debate. That is why I stand here today unable to
support the nomination of Betsy DeVos to serve as Secretary of
Education.
To put it simply, Mrs. DeVos's single-minded focus on charter
schools, on vouchers, and on converting Federal education dollars into
a different program is simply out of step with the education climate in
the Commonwealth of Virginia. Let me make clear that I have supported
public charter schools. I believe they are a tool that ought to be in
the toolkit. I have taken on those forces who stand for simply no
reform in education. But I am unconvinced that Mrs. DeVos's complete
setting of different priorities at the Federal level is in the best
interest of our students, our teachers, or our public schools. That is
exactly what I have been hearing from constituents all over the State,
and I would like to very briefly share some of those concerns I have
heard.
Laura from my hometown of Alexandria writes this:
While many of our . . . President's cabinet picks worry me,
none worry me more than Betsy DeVos for Secretary of
Education.
She says:
I come from rural Appalachia, where [I] worked my way
through public school in one of the poorest counties in the
country, but that didn't stop me from ending up here in
Northern Virginia working for the intelligence community.
In areas like my hometown, where public schools are the
only option, they become the lifeblood of a community. . . .
On limited resources, our high school had to get creative
about how to provide for the students, often partnering with
the local university. But shutting the school down in favor
of charters, or adding a for-profit alternative, definitely
wasn't an option in my low-income area.
Another letter from a school administrator from the Shenandoah Valley
says this:
At her confirmation hearing it was quite clear she had no
knowledge of instruction, curriculum, federal programs and--
most disturbing--had no understanding of the federal laws
that are in place to protect children with disabilities.
It is a serious business to educate children, and the
consequences are huge if we do it wrong.
Another comment--and again, these are just samples of thousands--is
from Olivia, a teacher in Williamsburg, who shared this:
I see so much potential in my students every day, and I
feel very energetic as a young teacher about the
opportunities that I know our public schools are providing
already--and are capable of providing in the future.
She said:
I am concerned for my LGBT students, low-income students,
and for the future of myself and my colleagues as public
school educators trying to do good for our students.
I have received thousands of similar heartfelt messages from every
corner of Virginia. I welcome this level of public attention and
citizen engagement.
Sometimes, as the President's nominees have come forward, I voted for
many of them, much to the consternation of some folks. But it is my job
to weigh, regardless of that public opinion, what I think is best for
students in Virginia and, for that matter, students across the country.
With this outpouring from teachers, parents, students,
administrators, civil rights groups, charter school proponents and
opponents, and from both sides of the political aisle, I believe it
does weigh. That is what I have done. I have listened to my
constituents, but more importantly, I have listened to Mrs. DeVos's own
words before the Senate HELP Committee, and let me say that I still
have a lot of unresolved questions after reviewing Mrs. DeVos's
testimony.
For starters, Mrs. DeVos did not demonstrate that she understood the
Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, IDEA. She didn't
understand that it is actually a Federal law passed by Congress and
signed by President George H.W. Bush, contrary to the impression Mrs.
DeVos seemed to have at her confirmation hearing, saying that somehow
complying with IDEA was simply a voluntary measure. That is not right,
it is not the law, and, boy oh boy, did that frighten a whole lot of
parents whose kids have special needs and without IDEA, would not have
those needs met. They are concerned that Mrs. DeVos's seeming lack of
familiarity with IDEA is indicative of how, if confirmed, her
Department of Education would fail to protect the rights of these
children--and every child--toward a free and appropriate public
education that allows even kids with special needs to flourish.
Another area under the Department of Education's jurisdiction where I
have concerns about Mrs. DeVos's commitment and level of understanding
is campus sexual assault compliance and enforcement. Since 2014, I have
been proud to support bipartisan legislation led by my colleagues,
Senator Gillibrand and Senator McCaskill, the Campus Accountability and
Safety Act. At the end of last Congress, this legislation had the
support of more than one-third of the U.S. Senate, as well as a broad
coalition of advocacy groups, law enforcement organizations, and many
of our leading colleges and universities. The Department of Education's
own Office of Civil Rights has also played a very important role in
initiating and in conducting title IX investigations. So you can
understand why so many folks, including myself, were concerned when
Mrs. DeVos did not demonstrate any depth of knowledge about the
difference of opinion surrounding particular policy issues related to
campus sexual assault.
Similarly, when asked about a basic principle of education policy
related to measuring student achievement, Mrs. DeVos was not able to
articulate an understanding of the difference between growth and
proficiency.
[[Page S710]]
In the same vein--and while this has become the subject of late night
comedy, I think it is a very serious matter--Mrs. DeVos was not able to
clearly express her understanding or her commitment to enforcing the
Gun-Free School Zones Act, which, again, is Federal legislation, also
signed by President Bush, where compliance is not optional.
These are fundamental tenets of Federal education policy, not some
obscure metrics, not small bills that languish in committee or small
compromises. These are the principles and cornerstones of Federal
education civil rights policy, and they cannot be more central to the
Secretary of Education's core responsibilities of safeguarding
students' civil rights and safety.
For all of those reasons and others, I am not able to support Mrs.
DeVos's nomination to be Secretary of Education.
I know the Presiding Officer has had to hear a number of these
comments. I hope that if she is not confirmed, the President will send
down an Education Secretary nominee who brings more mainstream views to
this very important issue. There are those of us, like me, who are all
for education reform, but it has to be led by someone who will always
put the needs of our kids first, and making sure they get a fair and
appropriate education is guaranteed.
With that, I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico.
Mr. HEINRICH. Mr. President, I am deeply disappointed by the
qualifications of President Trump's nominee to be the leader of our
Department of Education. Betsy DeVos has clearly shown a disregard--
even a hostility--for the public school system. So I stand with the
thousands of parents, teachers, and students of New Mexico in fighting
to stop her confirmation.
Simply put, education is too important to New Mexico children and our
State's economy to have a Secretary of Education not fully invested in
the success of our public schools.
As someone who grew up going to public school, who is sending my own
kids to public schools, I am deeply troubled by Betsy DeVos's record on
privatization, which goes well beyond simply voicing support for
vouchers and private school. Mrs. DeVos has been a key player in the
well-moneyed effort to privatize and siphon funds away from public
education, and she has time and again undermined the teachers we all
rely upon.
It appears as though Betsy DeVos's most notable experience in
education is spending her career and her fortune advocating for
policies that divert public tax dollars away from public schools and
into private schools. I cannot support a nominee who wants to weaken
the kinds of public schools that so many New Mexicans rely on.
The privatization policies pushed by Mrs. DeVos would be especially
damaging to rural New Mexico, where there are few options to begin
with. It is not uncommon for students to travel more than an hour to
get to and from school in those parts of the State. School
administrators often wear multiple hats, sometimes running the after-
school program or driving the local schoolbus. In rural areas in my
home State, the public school is often the only choice, and there
simply aren't enough students to support the kinds of for-profit
private schools that Mrs. DeVos wants to replace them with.
Having a Secretary of Education who has spent her entire career
pushing a privatization agenda is not reassuring to New Mexicans and is
at odds with the needs of the students and families across my State.
Further, I do not believe that Mrs. DeVos understands the Federal
Government's trust responsibility in serving Native American students.
Given Mrs. DeVos's rushed nomination hearing in the HELP Committee,
Senators were given very little opportunity to question her about her
understanding of tribal issues and impact aid. So I am concerned that
she will push her privatization agenda in these areas as well.
For example, the Zuni Public School District is a small rural
district in Western New Mexico. Earlier this week, their school board
sent me a letter asking that I oppose Mrs. DeVos's nomination. I want
to take a moment and read a few passage from this letter:
The beauty of the United States public school system,
unlike many in the rest of the world, is that we take
everyone who walks through our doors and love every child who
sits in our desks, without question.
This Board therefore stands by all of our students, no
matter what color or ethnicity, regardless of their creed;
every child who identifies on the spectrum of L,G,B,T, or Q;
every child with either a physical or learning disability, or
both . . . every child who speaks a second language; every
immigrant child as well as every Native American child who
can trace their lineage in this land back thousands of years;
every child who sees their education as the bridge between
their most ardent dreams and their most hopeful futures.
These are powerful words that I fully support, and I thank the Zuni
Public School District for speaking out on this matter. We should all
be this concerned.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the entire letter from
the Zuni Public School District be printed in the Record at the
conclusion of my remarks.
During her nomination hearing, Mrs. DeVos demonstrated over and over
that she is unfamiliar with even basic education issues, and she failed
to commit to uphold the responsibilities of the Secretary of Education
to support public schools. Given that Mrs. DeVos has no relevant
experience as a teacher or school administrator, we should be very
concerned with entrusting her to enforce key protections under title
IX, under IDEA, and under other civil rights laws. In particular, Mrs.
DeVos's lack of commitment to the Office of Civil Rights within the
Department of Education, combined with the fact that she and her family
have donated enormous sums of money to organizations that are anti-
LGBTQ, anti-women's rights, and anti-Muslim, is simply troubling.
The mission of the Office of Civil Rights is to ensure equal access
to education and to promote educational excellence throughout the
Nation with vigorous enforcement of civil rights. During her nomination
hearing, Mrs. DeVos would not commit to continuing the Office's
policies that are making our college campuses safer by focusing on
prevention and response to sexual assault. In fact, she has donated
money to organizations that actually make it harder to prosecute sexual
assault on our college campuses. As amazing as that sounds, it is true.
If my Republican colleagues rubberstamp this nominee, they will
confirm a Secretary of Education who doesn't believe in public schools,
who will unravel rural education, and who has even worked to make it
harder to protect women against sexual assault on college campuses. I
believe that we have a moral imperative to ensure that all students
have equal protections while attending school. Mrs. DeVos will be a
massive step in the wrong direction.
As the members of the Zuni Pueblo wrote to me in their letter, ``our
children are our most sacred gifts.'' This is what we are voting on
with this confirmation.
We need an Education Secretary who is committed to upholding these
principles. We need an Education Secretary who is committed to ensuring
that every student has access to quality education, regardless of their
background or their ZIP code, regardless of their ethnicity or their
religion, and regardless of their gender or sexual orientation.
In the last few weeks, my office has fielded thousands of calls and
letters asking me to oppose this nomination. I have heard from more
than 8,000 constituents on this one topic alone, many of whom called as
parents, teachers, and some as students. That is more than any other
Trump nominee whom we have considered to date. Never has an Education
Secretary nomination received so much attention and opposition.
I stand with the thousands of parents, teachers, and students across
the country, and in my home State of New Mexico, fighting to stop this
nomination. I urge my colleagues to join me in voting no.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Zuni Public School District #89,
12 Twin Buttes Dr., Zuni, NM,
January 30, 2017.
To our Honorable Senators and Representatives: We, the
Board of Education of Zuni Public School District, ask you to
add
[[Page S711]]
your support as we stand in opposition to the appointment of
Betsy DeVos as United States Secretary of Education on the
following grounds:
During her confirmation hearing, Mrs. DeVos demonstrated
that she was woefully ill-equipped to head the Department of
Education. She has never attended a public school, never
taught or administered in a public school, and her children
have never attended a public school. She does not hold any
degree in the field of education, either in theory,
administration, or practice. She has a documented history of
promoting a charter and voucher based system that she
supported in her home state of Michigan, diverting funding
and support away from public education and deserving
children. Furthermore, when questioned in her hearing, Mrs.
DeVos was unable to explain the difference between growth and
proficiency, nor was she familiar with the federal law behind
IDEA, two essential and basic aspects of education. As well,
Mrs. DeVos advocated in her hearing to allow the presence of
guns in schools during an era of rampant mass violence based
primarily on the use of guns in schools. Mrs. DeVos has also
publicly stated that she sees education as a way to further
proselytize for the Christian faith, which would constitute a
violation of the Constitutional separation of Church and
State in public schools as it would in all federal
institutions.
Our pueblo of Zuni is a small community in a western pocket
of rural New Mexico. We are neither a rich district nor one
that wields a great deal of political influence. What this
Board does represent is a rich, Indigenous tradition and
culture that holds high the ideals of hard-work, humility,
and integrity. We are an agricultural, peace-loving society
that has lived in this land since time immemorial.
Yet our memory is long. We remember the era during which
education was combined with religion to be used as a weapon
against the Native peoples of this great nation. We know the
trauma such action has caused to reverberate through
generations of good, decent Americans We also know the
resilience of those same people who, despite the infliction
of weaponized education, have come today to see literacy as
their American birthright, and to crave that sacred American
Dream for which we are all Constitutionally entitled to
strive. This is a living medicine and healing that must not
be undone through the dissolution of the separation of church
and state, one that we must nurture and safeguard for all
American children.
We are reminded during this time that, as you do, we hold
publicly-elected positions designed to represent a broad
spectrum of constituent. The beauty of the United States
public school system, unlike many in the rest of the world,
is that we take everyone who walks through our doors and love
every child who sits in our desks, without question. This
Board therefore stands by all of our students, no matter what
color or ethnicity, regardless of their creed; every child
who identifies on the spectrum of L,G,B,T,or Q; every child
with either a physical or learning disability, or both; every
child who speaks a second language; every immigrant child as
well as every Native American child who can trace their
lineage in this land back thousands of years; every child who
sees their education as the bridge between their most ardent
dreams and their most hopeful futures.
We further stand by each parent, guardian, grandparent,
sibling, aunt, uncle; every member of kin that builds and
holds strong the dream of education for each of our children,
knowing as we have always known in Zuni that our children are
our most sacred gifts.
And we, the Board of Education in Zuni Public School
District, stand by the teachers, aides, administrators,
counselors, liaisons, nurses, secretaries, custodians, cooks,
and bus drivers who as their daily work participate in the
painstaking and deeply patriotic act of ensuring equitable
access to education for all of our students. It is through
the diligence and action of just such citizens that this
nation is able to deliver unto each new generation of
American a passport to the possibility of American success.
The children, families and hard-working faculties and staff
of the American public school system deserve a Secretary of
the Department of Education who is most eminently qualified,
through both education and experience, to advocate for all
Americans: diverse, complex, and brilliant citizens; to work
toward the most equitable education for all; and to uphold
this cornerstone of our democratic republic.
It is for these reasons that the Zuni Public School
District Board of Education respectfully requests your most
passionate and vocal support in opposing the appointment of
Mrs. Betsy DeVos. We also ask that you look toward the
experienced and qualified education professionals working
within the public school system to fill this highest position
in the field.
E:lah'kwa (Thank you) for your representation,
Zuni Board of Education:
Mr. Jerome Haskie,
Board President
Ms. Stephanie Vicenti,
Vice Board President
Ms. Masika Sweetwyne,
Secretary
Ms. Bernadette Panteah,
Member
Ms. Shelly Chimoni,
Member.
Mr. HEINRICH. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. MANCHIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. MANCHIN. Mr. President, I rise to express my concern with the
nomination of Betsy DeVos as the Secretary of Education.
The State of West Virginia is a State made up of a lot of small
towns. We don't have any what you call large metropolitan areas. We are
an urban rural State. For many communities in West Virginia, our
schools are more than just classrooms, teachers, and textbooks. Our
children in West Virginia learn more in their public school than
reading, writing, and arithmetic. They are the heart of the community
and a home away from home for most of them. They are a safe place to
stay after school where no harm will come to them. They are a place
where nutritional meals are served and health care services are
provided by trusted school nurses.
After meeting with Mrs. DeVos and watching her answer questions at
her confirmation hearing, I have a hard time believing she has the
qualifications to be the Secretary of Education. I believe in local
control of education and also that strong public schools are vital to
our State's future.
Education is local. Each one of our 55 counties is responsible for
the financing of the schools. If the counties do not have the
sufficient funds, we have what we call a school aid formula that
basically offsets that so that every child in West Virginia will get a
quality education.
In my State, charter schools and school vouchers would pull already
limited public funds and resources from the schools, students, and
teachers who need them the most and could be harmed and would probably
be harmed.
There are some towns in West Virginia with only one school--one
school only--or where students have to travel for more than an hour on
a bus to get to the school that has been consolidated. Voucher policies
would be completely useless in these places. There is no place for them
to attend.
In areas where there are a few private schools in my State, a voucher
program would have devastating effects for public school children. The
limited dollars that we do have, if you deviate that money whatsoever,
then basically you are going to have the strain on the public system
that will not be able to pick it up in the rural areas. There is no
other way for us to have the funding we need.
Vouchers will siphon public funding away from our public schools,
causing them to have to cut resources like teachers, advanced
coursework, and preschool programs. They often do not pay the entire
cost of attendance at a private school, making them unusable by low-
income students and families.
Vouchers also can strip students with disabilities and their families
of their rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
The most troubling part of that hearing, if you watched it or saw any
parts of it, was the lack of understanding that every child deserves
the opportunity for a quality education no matter what his or her
disabilities may be. That is a responsibility we have as Americans.
With that, if you have never been in a public school setting, you
have never attended a public school yourself and have always been
privately schooled, your children have never attended a public school
and have always either been privately schooled or home schooled, you
have probably never been in a setting where you have seen a disabled
child trying to get the opportunities that other children have, with a
special aide who is working with them. You can say that is a waste of
resources. I guess you could say that if it wasn't your child. If it
wasn't somebody you knew, it would be easy to say that, But just the
empathy you would have--it would be hard for a person to understand
that. I believe that is a compelling reason to make me take pause and
say that I believe we need somebody who has had that diversity, who has
had that real classroom experience.
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Another thing--never to be in a PTA meeting where you have problems
with schools. You might have problems with the bus and transportation.
You might have problems with extracurricular activities or lunch
programs or a routine study program, where you can sit down with other
parents and work through these programs. That is something that is hard
for most of us in West Virginia to ever conceive, that you could never
be in that position and never have that experience in life. I believe
communities in West Virginia know our students' needs better than
someone who never attended or worked in the public school system.
Many West Virginians have called and written to me expressing their
concern about Mrs. DeVos. I have a letter I want to read from Diane
from Marion County, my home county. We have hundreds of letters that
have come in. Diane writes:
I am asking you to vote against the confirmation of Mrs.
Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education. As an educator with 44
years of experience in public schools, I recognize we have
many issues, but I also know we do much that is right for
children. Educators no longer simply teach core content. We
know that children can only thrive if their social, emotional
and physical needs are met. The whole child is now the focus
of every teacher, and teaching has become a very difficult
but a very rewarding job.
Educators need and DESERVE a Secretary of Education that
knows and understands the tremendous responsibility each of
us has accepted. We do not have the time to get the leader
``in step'' with us. We need and DESERVE someone who
understands how policies can impact what we are able to do
for our children. . . . We need and DESERVE someone who
understands the value of academic growth versus proficiency.
We need and DESERVE someone who understands how important it
is to send food home in backpacks because our children will
not eat during a weekend or holiday break.
I want to stop there and give you a personal experience. When I was
Governor of the State of West Virginia, I would go around to the
schools. The school would tell me what was going on in the community. I
would always go to the cooks because they really had the pulse of the
school. This was May, and school was getting ready to let out for the
summer. One of the cooks was crying in the kitchen. I couldn't figure
out what was wrong. I went back and tried to console her and talk to
her.
I said: Can you explain why you are so upset? You are just about out
for the summer.
She said: I know these little kids aren't going to eat much this
summer.
She wanted to stay and cook through the summer, have all year so the
kids would have nutrition. That tells you what we are dealing with in
an awful lot of rural settings.
We need and DESERVE a leader who knows that almost every
teacher utilizes his/her own personal funds to buy pencils,
paper, classroom supplies and instructional materials for our
students because the budget for what our children DESERVE is
not given to us. That is the strain we already have on the
system now. If you put any more strain on that by taking
funds away makes it almost impossible.
My request is not politically motivated--my request for you
to vote against Mrs. DeVos is about the teachers I work with
in Marion County and across WV. One of the pillars of a great
civilization is education. Although the American system of
education is not perfect, we are still envied by many
nations.
Education is a hope for children of poverty as well as
those who have economic security. Please encourage President
Trump to seek out a former or current state superintendent of
education or a chancellor of higher education or anyone with
the knowledge to walk in step with us as we make a brighter
future for our children.
During her hearing, Mrs. DeVos demonstrated a lack of knowledge about
the basic issues in public education, including the debate about how
best to measure student progress. She also did not appear to have a
solid understanding about the amount of student loan debt in this
country, which is now the second-largest source of consumer debt in the
United States, surpassed only by home mortgages.
Not only does she lack the institutional knowledge, but she has no
personal or family experience with the student loan system or any
experience running a major loan program like the one she would be in
charge of as Secretary of Education. This leads me to believe that she
would be unable to run the program effectively and efficiently.
What I have said and spoke to other people about--I understand and I
think most of us have been in Washington long enough to understand how
the system works. Even though the person would have the greatest of
intent, the most honorable of intent, wanting to do a balanced job, if
they never had the experience and they are charged with setting up
programs that are supposed to incentivize schools, school districts,
States, those programs are not going to lean to where they have no
knowledge; those programs will go to where they have the most knowledge
and in a direction of the policies they believe in. With that being
said, incentives would go in that direction. When the incentives go in
that direction, it pulls further resources away from a rural public
education system.
At her hearing, Mrs. DeVos failed to recognize that the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act is a Federal law protecting access for
individuals with disabilities to a decent public education and that she
would be in charge of ensuring that the school implemented the act. No
child should ever be denied access to the same public education because
they suffer from a disability. As both a Governor and a father, I can
never look a parent in the eyes and tell them their child cannot get
the same education as another child simply because they suffer from a
disability and it would be too costly for us to do.
West Virginians need an Education Secretary who has an understanding
of the needs of all children, including those with disabilities, and is
committed to ensuring they receive a quality education. A strong
education is the building block for success for every child and the
foundation for our country's long-term economic strength. We need an
Education Secretary that understands the challenges that students,
teachers, and schools in rural areas face.
Betsy DeVos has spent her career working in the private school
system, not investing in and improving the public school system. Much
of the policies that Mrs. DeVos supports would divert public funds to
private schools--whether it was intentional or not--strip
accountability from these schools, and significantly harm the public
school system in my little State of West Virginia, which is all we
have.
It is difficult to speak--and I try not to make it personal because I
don't believe in the toxic rhetoric that goes on sometimes in this
room, and it shouldn't in this great Senate Chamber of ours and on the
Hill. So I know this is probably a good lady who is well-intentioned.
She just doesn't have that personal experience it takes to grab this
entire country and understand that we are different. States are
different. We depend on it. We can't always go in one direction, and
that is the flexibility. They are saying: Well, we will give you
flexibility. We need the support from Washington to have the
flexibility to make sure the children of West Virginia have the same
opportunities that a child in Pittsburgh, PA, might have in a larger
school district, one in a metropolitan area that could afford--because
you don't have all the travel and everything else that is involved--to
have a charter school.
In my State, even the legislature couldn't. They looked at charter
and voucher systems, and they couldn't find a pathway forward because
of the limited funding and knowing that it would divert. If there is no
more funding going into it, that means you have to cut the pie more.
They were concerned about even going in this direction. My legislature,
in the last 2 years, has flipped completely to a Republican majority in
both the House and Senate. They are all good people, well-intended.
They are looking at all these different avenues, but at the end of the
day, you have to take care of those whom you are responsible for. In
rural West Virginia, that is a child who might have to ride 1 hour just
to go to school. I don't know where you would put a charter school. I
don't know where, with the voucher system, you could send him.
If we have a problem in deficiencies, that is basically the
responsibility of the county and the community. It is the
responsibility of the parents and guardians to be involved. It is a
responsibility for all of us to speak up. I guess what we are going to
end up with is all the children with disabilities or children who
basically do not have the means or a person in their family who
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is able to drive them or take them to a special school; they are all
going to be left, so-called, behind.
It is just not who we are in West Virginia. I ask for your
consideration that maybe we can find a Secretary who has the experience
and understanding and has the real-life experience--they might have
attended a public school themselves. I am a product--I am sure you are
a product of public schools. We are a product of the public school
system, probably, more than likely, rural public school systems. We did
pretty well with them. People cared. We had to give a little bit and
make some sacrifices, and we did that. The bottom line was that there
were no options. We made the best out of what we had. These kids aren't
going to have options. The majority of kids in West Virginia or
Oklahoma will not have those options. You better make sure that school
system you have, a public school in a rural setting, is giving that
child every opportunity that he and she can excel. Who knows, maybe one
day they will be sitting in my seat or your seat. I hope so.
With that, I say I must oppose her achieving the Secretary position
that President Trump has nominated her for, with all due respect. I
think I stated my reasons for that. I would hope that people understand
our rural public schools truly need a champion. We need that champion
to really step forward and lift us all up.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Massachusetts.
Mr. MARKEY. Mr. President, I am here this afternoon to stand up to
one of the most dangerous nominees in President Trump's Cabinet of Big
Oil, big banks and big billionaires who are going to be populating the
Cabinet of the United States.
The Secretary of Education is responsible for a budget that includes
$36 billion for elementary and secondary education, $150 billion for
higher education each year. On top of that, the Secretary of Education
is responsible for more than $1.2 trillion in outstanding Federal
loans.
This nominee, Betsy DeVos, would shape the policies and programs that
affect more than 50 million students across our country. Young people
may be 16 percent of our population, but young people represent 100
percent of the future of the United States.
We need a Secretary of Education who believes that all children
deserve access to a quality public education, regardless of income,
race, ethnicity, neighborhood, or disability status. Betsy DeVos does
not share this commitment to equal opportunity, and she is unqualified
to serve as Secretary of Education.
Betsy DeVos has a long and well-documented record of opposing public
school systems. She has implemented school choice voucher programs. She
has simultaneously expanded and deregulated charter schools. In
Massachusetts, we recognize that education is a passport to the job
opportunities of the 21st century. Massachusetts students at the 4th,
8th, and 10th grades are No. 1 in America in math, verbal, and science.
We are No. 1 in math, verbal, and science, 4th, 8th, and 10th grades.
If Massachusetts were a country, we would be second behind Singapore in
reading for the whole planet. That is Massachusetts.
We have a very high percentage of our students who are minorities in
our home State. I live in Malden. Malden is a city of 60,000 people.
Malden High School, 2016 graduation class, 28 percent White, 25 percent
Asian, 24 percent Latino, 23 percent Black, 1 percent Pacific Islander.
What is our goal? Our goal in Malden--our goal in Massachusetts--is to
be No. 1. No. 1, not just in the United States but No. 1 in the world.
We know you can do it if you make a commitment to these kids.
It is not just our traditional public schools. It is our public
charter schools, our private schools, our preparatory schools that are
enormously successful. Many of them are world famous, these high
schools. People send their children from around the country to go to a
school in Massachusetts.
The success of our public charter schools is largely due to very
strong accountability measures brought about through State regulations
and rigorous oversight. That is the key to our charter school system.
It is accountability. It is oversight. It should not be draining money
out of the charter school system for profits for private corporations.
It has to be invested in the kids, but Betsy DeVos wants charter
schools to have less accountability and has fought to keep charter
schools unregulated across Michigan.
When the Michigan State Legislature introduced a bipartisan bill that
would have expanded oversight of charter schools, Betsy DeVos stepped
in. She and her family donated $1.45 million to State legislators in
order to strip the helpful oversight accountability language out of the
bill. That works out to $25,000 a day over the 7-week period the bill
was being debated. Betsy DeVos and her unlimited funding ultimately
succeeded in blocking the commonsense accountability legislation. The
students and families of Detroit were denied the key protections in
oversight that their schools needed.
Betsy DeVos's school choice priorities go beyond expanding and
deregulating charter schools. She has pushed for voucher programs that
would use taxpayer money, your money, to pay for a child's private
school tuition. Under a national voucher system, the funding that would
normally go to local school districts would instead be diverted away
from public schools toward for-profit, private institutions. In
addition to the private schools that benefit from a voucher system, 80
percent of the charter schools in Michigan are run by for-profit
companies, a much higher percentage than any other State. These
companies are focused first and foremost on making money. We don't
allow this to happen in Massachusetts. We have only one goal, and that
is to be No. 1.
That money must stay in the school system, especially if you are
trying to educate a minority population, which is the future workforce
of our country. That is key. They don't come from the traditional
backgrounds in many circumstances. The Secretary of Education must
fight for all children and families, not promote companies seeking to
profit off the backs of our students. Not even Michigan--the State
where DeVos and her family money have tried to exert the most influence
over education policy--has implemented a statewide voucher system.
Despite spending $5.6 million on a campaign to promote school vouchers,
the DeVos family failed to amend the Michigan State constitution. If
Betsy DeVos is allowed to expand her school choice policies across the
United States, it would be devastating for our students and for the
future of our country. Her ideas are too extreme. They will not work
for our students or for school districts in our Nation.
I also share serious doubts that Betsy DeVos will support all
students in America. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is
the primary Federal law that ensures that all students in every State
have access to a free and appropriate public education, regardless of
physical or mental handicaps, learning or attention disorders. This law
covers students who are blind, deaf, vocally or mobility impaired, and
those with autism or ADHD. Congress passed the original form of IDEA in
1975. It is a bedrock law in our country. Yet when Betsy DeVos was
asked about it during her nomination hearing before the HELP Committee,
she stated that States should be responsible for determining how, and
even if, to enforce IDEA.
Remember, IDEA goes right to the heart of what we are going to do for
those kids with disabilities. That is a bedrock law in our Nation.
States must abide by it. We need a Secretary of Education who
understands longstanding Federal education law and will commit to
protecting every student in America because every student deserves the
guarantee that they can and they will receive a free and appropriate
public education that is promised and protected by law.
If this laundry list of efforts to undermine public education wasn't
enough to cause skepticism about Betsy DeVos's qualifications to be
Secretary of Education, in her confirmation hearing, Betsy DeVos would
not commit to keeping guns out of our schools. Her response when asked
about the issue was: ``I think that is best left to locals and States
to decide.'' Guns do not belong anywhere near our schools or our
students and teachers, not in public or private schools, not in
elementary schools, and
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not in our high schools. I am proud to have stood with Senators Chris
Murphy and Richard Blumenthal on the floor of the Senate for 15 hours
calling for congressional action on commonsense gun safety legislation.
As a Senator, the safety and security of Massachusetts' schools,
neighborhoods, and communities are my top priority.
Our Secretary of Education has the safety of every student in every
State in his or her hands, and I do not believe Betsy DeVos is up to
that job. I do not stand alone in this conclusion that Betsy DeVos is
unfit to be Secretary of Education. I received tens of thousands of
letters and phone calls from constituents all across Massachusetts
urging me to reject her nomination. These come from teachers and
administrators, the people who work on these issues every day. I have a
letter here from Todd Simendinger, the principal of Rockport Elementary
School in Rockport, MA.
He wrote to me last week and said:
Senator Markey, as a strong supporter of public education,
I ask that you oppose the confirmation of Betsy DeVos as
Secretary of Education. We must have a secretary who can
commit to supporting every student in all public schools and
provide leadership that will help our neighborhood schools
succeed. Betsy DeVos's record in education and her
performance at the recent confirmation hearing prove that she
is the wrong candidate for the job. As a principal, I have
spoken with teachers, parents, students, and community
members who agree that America's future depends on a strong
investment in our Nation's public schools.
The offices of so many of my colleagues who have spoken on the floor
already have, like me, received these kinds of letters and messages
literally on a minute-by-minute basis from our constituents. Their
passion is born of a deep commitment to ensuring that the very best
education for all of the children of the Commonwealth can only be
provided if the standard for that education is high. I commend them,
and I agree with their concerns. All children deserve that standard.
So, from my perspective, you cannot have a more fundamental issue
before us, this privatization of the public school system in America,
the voucherization of our public school system in America. There is a
model. It is Massachusetts. We do it right now. We are No. 1 in the
country. We look over our shoulders at those who are behind us. But it
is a standard that basically says: We are going to invest in the public
schools and the charter schools. We are going to make sure they have
the highest possible standards.
That is a recipe for ensuring that every child, regardless of their
national nationality or their income, gets the education they need for
a portable passport to a global economy for the rest of their lives.
That has to be our goal. What is happening using the philosophy of
Betsy DeVos is a failure. It is a proven failure. We already see the
results. What is happening in Massachusetts, what happens in
implementing the standards of the laws that we already have on the
books across our country--it points us in the correct direction.
So with that, I urge a ``no'' vote on Betsy DeVos and her nomination
as Secretary of the Education Department.
I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. MARKEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.