[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 79 (Tuesday, May 15, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2661-S2662]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                           EXECUTIVE CALENDAR

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will 
proceed to the consideration of the following nomination, which the 
clerk will report.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read the nomination of 
Mitchell Zais, of South Carolina, to be Deputy Secretary of Education.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. There will now be 10 hours of debate equally 
divided in the usual form.
  The Senator from Washington.
  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I have come to the floor this afternoon 
to oppose the nomination of GEN Mitchell Zais, who has been nominated 
to serve as Secretary DeVos's Deputy Secretary at the Department of 
Education. I am opposing this nomination because those who work at the 
top of the Department of Education should be committed to its top 
priority, which is helping educate our next generation of students. 
They should not be focused on demonizing teachers or public schools or 
the Federal Government's role in public education, and they should not 
be promoting their extreme ideological agendas at the expense of our 
students.
  We need a Department of Education with a positive vision for our 
neighborhood public schools that believes that everyone has the right 
to a high-quality public education no matter where they live or how 
they learn or how much money their parents make. That is what millions 
of parents and teachers and students stood up for during Secretary 
DeVos's confirmation hearing.
  Despite the public rejection of her extreme ideology and her 
unprecedented tie-breaking confirmation vote by Vice President Pence, 
it is clear Secretary DeVos has led the Department of Education in the 
opposite direction. She has continued to push her privatization agenda, 
trying to siphon taxpayer funds away from our public schools. She has 
ignored key parts of our Nation's K-12 laws, refusing to hold States 
accountable for the success of our most vulnerable students. She has 
made it easier for predatory, for-profit companies to take advantage of 
students, rolling back protections for students and dismantling the 
unit that investigates claims of fraud and abuse. Time and again, she 
has failed to protect students' civil rights. She tried to shrink the 
Office of Civil Rights. She rolled back protections for transgender 
students. She rescinded guidance for schools on how to investigate 
claims of campus sexual assault.
  With Secretary DeVos's ideological agenda steering this ship, it is 
clear to me that the Department of Education needs a strong and 
independent Deputy Secretary of Education to once again start putting 
students first. Unfortunately, General Zais made it clear that he would 
be proud to be Secretary DeVos's right-hand man and shares her position 
on a number of concerning issues. He agrees with Secretary DeVos's 
extreme privatization agenda to siphon taxpayer funds from our public 
schools. He largely opposes the Federal role in education and, like 
Secretary DeVos, seems to lack even an understanding of key issues 
important to public schools.
  As the State superintendent of education, General Zais allowed his 
partisan ideology to hurt South Carolina students. He refused Federal 
funding that could have saved teachers' jobs--the only State to do 
that--and he objected to plans to expand access to universal pre-K, 
calling 5-year-olds ``too young to learn.'' That is a particularly 
shocking comment to those of us who understand the importance of the 
first 5 years for children's development.
  I come to the floor today on behalf of millions of parents and 
students and teachers who so loudly objected to Secretary DeVos's 
agenda during her confirmation, and I ask my colleagues to vote against 
this nomination and not allow another DeVos-like nominee into the 
Department of Education.
  Thank you, Mr. President.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. President, 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.

[[Page S2662]]

  

  Mr. KING. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.