[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 211 (Monday, December 15, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H5893-H5896]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
DISMANTLING THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
(Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 3, 2025, Mrs. Hayes
of Connecticut was recognized for 30 minutes.)
General Leave
Mrs. HAYES. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include
extraneous material on the subject of the Special Order.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from Connecticut?
There was no objection.
Mrs. HAYES. Mr. Speaker, I rise today as a member of the Committee on
Education and Workforce, a teacher, and a parent to lead this Special
Order hour on the systemic dismantling of the Department of Education.
From the beginning, the Trump administration and Secretary Linda
McMahon have been ruthless in attacking the Department that is
dedicated to ensuring equal access to quality education, promoting
student achievement, preparing students for global competitiveness,
administering Federal funds, enforcing civil rights, collecting data,
conducting research, and supporting educational programs from early
childhood to higher education.
On March 11, the Department of Education initiated a reduction in
force affecting nearly 50 percent of its workforce. Only 2,200
employees of the 4,000 employees that used to work at the Department
remain to protect the civil rights of students, to support students
from low-income backgrounds, to develop and prepare educators, and to
provide resources for English language learners.
President Trump also signed an executive order directing the
Secretary of Education to facilitate the closure of the Department of
Education. This action by the President is illegal.
The Department of Education was created by an act of Congress, and
only Congress has the authority to close that agency or any other
Federal agency it creates. Yet, the executive order was one of many
attacks by the President to collapse Federal agencies and end necessary
services to the American people.
Last month, the Department of Education announced six new interagency
agreements to shift the day-to-day functions to four other agencies.
This, I have to say, is one of the most devastating actions yet.
This agreement sends the American Indian and Tribal colleges to the
Department of the Interior. It sends TRIO programs to the Department of
Labor. It sends the Child Care Access Means Parents in School program
to the Department of Health and Human Services and International
Education and Foreign Language Studies to the Department of State.
These Departments do not have the expertise or appropriate staff to
administer these programs, and our students will eventually suffer.
Since its creation in 1979, the Department of Education has been
committed to ensuring high-quality education for the 49 million
children who attend public schools across the country.
The Department of Education also collects and publishes data on
student enrollment, school staffing, and crime in schools, and
distributes Federal funds to support programs for 7.5 million students
with special needs. We haven't heard any examples or any information on
how these programs will run when being administered across several
different agencies.
When my Republican colleagues say they want to dismantle the
Department, what they are really saying is they want to eliminate the
sole Federal agency that protects the civil rights of students, the
sole Federal agency that supports students from low-income backgrounds
and develops and prepares educators. For postsecondary students, the
Department administers Pell grants and $1.6 million in Federal student
aid programs to support those trying to afford college.
This Department has long been a target of Republican lawmakers who
make the false claims about the role of the Department of Education. I
know with fidelity that the Department of
[[Page H5894]]
Education does not handle school curriculum, instruction, or
instructional materials. Those decisions have been and will remain at
the local level. What the Department does is support title I districts
and low-income communities that rely on Federal funding.
Abolishing the Department of Education would place the burden for
continuing vital services on States and local communities that would
either be forced to cut programs or raise their local taxes.
Every student deserves access to a free and appropriate public
education. As a teacher serving in Congress, this issue is deeply
personal to me. I introduced the Department of Education Protection Act
to shield the Department of Education from efforts by the Trump
administration to dismantle the agency without the consent of Congress.
Specifically, my legislation would prohibit the use of appropriated
funds to decentralize, reduce staffing levels, or alter the
responsibilities, structure, authority, or functionality of the
Department of Education.
If this administration wants to make a proposal that the Department
of Education should be abolished, they must come before Congress and
lay out a plan for how that looks, how it will work, and how it will
impact students and families.
I will continue to advocate for the Department of Education to work
to find commonsense solutions to address education issues, not just
tear it down with no plan to support students.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Virginia (Ms.
McClellan).
{time} 1950
Ms. McCLELLAN. Mr. Speaker, education is personal to my family. In
the 1880s, my great-grandfather founded a school in a rural community
because the State of Alabama did not think it important to educate
Black children. As he explained in his autobiography, he wanted to
teach the children, whose parents and grandparents had been enslaved on
the plantations nearby, to be of better service to themselves, to their
employers, and to the community in which they lived.
In the 1930s, my father and his sisters attended that school because
the State of Tennessee didn't provide a good education to Black
children. Like his father and grandfather, my dad became an educator
himself, ultimately teaching the next generation of educators at
Virginia State University, which I now represent in Congress.
In the 1950s, my mother moved away from her hometown because the
State of Mississippi did not provide a good education to Black
children. The only school that did was run by the Catholic church but
only to the eighth grade. The third youngest of 14 children, she wanted
more than the domestic and laborer jobs available to her grandparents,
her parents, her brothers, and her sisters.
She moved to go to high school, ultimately becoming an educator
herself. She ran the federally funded TRIO Programs at Virginia State,
which are run by the Department of Education, to ensure that children
like her had the support they needed to go to and graduate college.
Mr. Speaker, my parents saw firsthand how important a good education
was to individual opportunity and a thriving and healthy economy,
community, and democracy. They dedicated their lives to ensuring not
only that their children but every child had a good education.
Not every child is so lucky because the legacy of over 300 years of
slavery and Jim Crow, massive resistance, and chronic underfunding has
created too many obstacles to the ability of States and local
governments to give every child an opportunity for a good education.
For the past 20 years, first as a State legislator and now in
Congress, I have worked to ensure every child in Virginia gets a good
education. As a mother of two children in public schools, even with
bipartisan and Herculean effort, I see every day that there are still
gaps across the country. The Department of Education was created to
fill those gaps.
The Department of Education protects students' civil rights,
particularly those with disabilities. It provides support to attract,
train, and retain the best and brightest teachers, school
administrators, support personnel, counselors, and mental health
professionals.
The Department of Education measures and tracks academic progress
across the country and helps those school divisions that lag behind
address areas of concern. It manages student loan and grant programs
that ensure children without financial means to go college can do so
without incurring more debt than they can ever pay off.
Without the Department of Education, State and local officials in
Virginia and across the country are worried that they do not have the
funding or the staff to handle the workload, especially in the area of
special education, especially in our rural areas.
The block grant funding that the Trump administration keeps promising
comes with little accountability, making it unclear whether those
Federal funds will ever reach the students that need them the most.
Education lays the foundation for a strong future, as well as a
thriving, healthy community; a thriving, healthy economy; and a
thriving, healthy democracy. We owe it to our grandparents, our
children, and our grandchildren to protect that progress for future
generations.
Mrs. HAYES. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr.
Scott), the ranking member of the full Committee on Education and
Workforce.
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from
Connecticut for her relentless attention on this issue.
First, when we talk about protecting the Department of Education, I
think we have to first--when we talk about dismantling the Department
of Education, we keep saying we are going to return education to the
States. Education never left the States. It has always been with the
States.
What the Department of Education has done has been civil rights. The
Department of Education has nothing to do with curriculum, teacher
qualifications, or the courses needed to graduate from high school. All
of those are local and State.
The Department of Education's Federal interests is civil rights
beginning in 1954 when the Supreme Court decreed that we could not
maintain so-called separate but equal schools.
In Brown v. Board of Education, the court said: ``It is doubtful that
any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied
the opportunity of an education. Such an opportunity . . . is a right
which must be made available to all on equal terms.''
The court then concluded that segregation of students by race denies
the students of a minority race of an equal educational opportunity
because separate facilities are inherently unequal.
That is what the Supreme Court did in 1954. They didn't tell the
State what they would teach. They just said students can't be
segregated.
In 1965, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act addressed
inequality in education. Title I addressed it by putting money into
low-income areas. We fund education with the real estate tax,
guaranteeing that low-income areas won't be at a disadvantage, so title
I comes in with money for low-income areas.
Other provisions in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act talk
about students with disabilities and making sure students with
disabilities have a free and appropriate public education. It also
supports those for whom English is a second language. It eliminates
racial achievement gaps. That is what the Federal role in education is,
not what the courses are.
With higher education, Title IX talks about equality of the
activities of men and women. We don't tell colleges what to teach, but
we just make sure we have Pell grants and student loans so that people
can go.
When we dismantle the Department of Education, we are not returning
anything to the States. We are just eliminating civil rights. It is no
surprise that the first victim in the dismantling of the Department has
been the Office of Civil Rights. The Office of Civil Rights enforces
civil rights.
The big, ugly bill that they passed earlier this year cuts back on
student loans and Pell grants so fewer students can attend. Other
actions have been limiting equal opportunity in education.
[[Page H5895]]
That is why the dismantling of the Department of Education is so
reprehensible. It is not because we are so-called returning anything to
the States. It is because we are dismantling civil rights.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Connecticut for all of her
work and for her relentless attention on this issue and making sure
people understand what is going on.
Mrs. HAYES. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Virginia (Mr.
Scott), the ranking member of the full committee, for that history
lesson. It is really important to understand what all of this means.
He is right that I have been relentless on this issue. Not only was I
a high schoolteacher but I have benefited from a high-quality public
education. I understand what it means for a child in a low-income
community who has one shot at getting a good education. If we don't
protect that for every child in every community, it is to the detriment
of our Nation.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano).
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend and Representative,
the gentlewoman from Connecticut, Representative Hayes, for yielding
time. I also thank her for putting together this Special Order hour.
The two of us came to Congress from the classroom. We came from the
classroom to the Halls of Congress. The two of us were also locked out
of the Department of Education earlier this year when we were demanding
answers on when President Trump would illegally try to close the
Department.
Since then, we have seen Secretary McMahon fire staff from the
building who investigate and protect the civil rights of students. We
have seen her slash funding for minority-serving institutions. We have
seen her move parts of our education infrastructure to unrelated
agencies, creating more hoops for administrators and staff to jump
through to get the funding they need.
Last week, the Department of Education announced they are moving to
end the SAVE program which some 7 million student loan borrowers rely
on to have affordable repayment plans on their student loans.
{time} 2000
Grocery prices are up. Utilities are up. Healthcare is about to jump
for millions of people, and now some student loan borrowers will have
to find money to pay their student loans. The math simply won't work
for millions of Americans and for these students who need to pay off
their loans.
Secretary McMahon has usurped Congress' role by firing staff, holding
up grants that Congress has approved, and running a multimillion-dollar
experiment by shuttering the Department and making six different
Federal agencies do the work of one.
Democrats have worked to conduct oversight for our Nation's students,
but Republicans couldn't care less if title I schools get the funding
they need; if students have their civil rights violated; or if the
promise of a free, quality education is for all students.
Their agenda is one that seeks to privatize and voucherize the public
school system and to make getting degrees and credentials as hard as
possible for those who are not well-off or well-connected.
Students, no matter how complex their needs, how much money they come
from, how much wealth they come from, or the ZIP Code they grew up in,
are entitled to a free, quality education.
Mr. Speaker, if we want to save public education, a free and quality
education for all children, we can't have half of this body ready to
give up their power and conduct no oversight while permanent changes
are being made at the Department of Education.
Secretary McMahon has only appeared before the Education and the
Workforce Committee once this year and has since taken the most extreme
actions and attacks on public education this country has ever seen.
Republicans must join me and my colleagues in conducting oversight
for the students in this country. We are living in a time when more and
more Americans don't feel like the American Dream is in reach. I am
pleading--pleading--with Republicans to join me--to join us--in giving
hope to Americans that the promise of a quality education is still
alive for every child.
We cannot delay or wait until harm is brought to any school district
or teacher or student. This must end. The mission of the Department
must continue. As far as I am concerned and as far as the Democratic
Caucus is concerned, the mission of this Department will continue.
Mrs. HAYES. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California and
comment that the gentleman is exactly right. If this administration or
Secretary McMahon have a different vision for the Department of
Education, then they need to come before Congress and lay that out. We
need to have hearings. That needs to be done in the light of day for
the public to truly understand how this will impact their children.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Bonamici).
Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for organizing
this Special Order hour but also for her leadership. We are so
fortunate to have Representative Hayes on the Committee on Education
and Workforce, National Teacher of the Year, and I will say what an
honor it is to serve with the gentlewoman.
Mr. Speaker, I ran for Congress because I care so much about public
education. Although I haven't been a teacher, I spent a lot of time in
public schools myself, as a parent volunteer, serving on committees,
and advocating for education over the years.
Little did I ever dream that I would come to Congress and have to
fight for the actual existence of the Department of Education. We are
watching--and I condemn in the strongest terms--this illegal and
unconstitutional dismantling of the Department of Education. What
message does it say to our country and around the world that we won't
have a Department of Education? We are going to fight this because we
know that the Department of Education was created by an act of
Congress, and only Congress can eliminate it.
We look at what is happening with all of these programs--the programs
that help low-income students, students with disabilities, and higher
ed.
I got through community college and college and law school because I
had Federal support. Programs like TRIO and GEAR UP that help
underserved students, these are all under attack. It feels like we are
just watching the unfolding of the Project 2025 playbook. Now we are
seeing the Secretary try to outsource all of these things to other
agencies.
Mr. Speaker, I tell you: Poll after poll shows that the majority of
parents across the country support the Department of Education, and
that is especially true with parents of students with disabilities.
They know how important that is. I tell you: Over my years and decades
as an education advocate, I have never had anyone say to me: We need
less money for IDEA.
It is always: Please fully fund IDEA.
People know that public education is an investment. They know that
our students are our future. Yet we are seeing a Congress here where
our colleagues, Representative Hayes, found $170 billion with a b--$170
billion to give to the Department of Homeland Security to carry out an
inhumane mass deportation agenda.
Imagine if we had $170 billion to carry out a mass education agenda.
That would be wonderful for our country and for our economy. I tell
you: Right now, we are seeing this war on public education, but we are
not going to back down.
I think about the education laws. I know Ranking Member Scott talked
about the civil rights obligations of the Department of Education, and
we know that a lot of the education laws that came about were signed by
President Johnson in the civil rights era to expand opportunities and
to close opportunity gaps.
Right now, there are approximately 25,000 pending civil rights
complaints at the Office for Civil Rights, which has been gutted.
Mr. Speaker, 7 of the 12 regional offices were closed, and 90 percent
of the Office for Civil Rights employees have been issued termination
notices. Now the Department has tried to call some of them back
because they can't handle the backlog. That is government inefficiency,
not government efficiency.
Ms. HAYES. Yes.
Ms. BONAMICI. Look at the interagency agreements, where they are
[[Page H5896]]
trying to outsource all of these programs to other agencies that don't
have the staff, don't have the expertise, and Congress didn't approve
it.
I am here with you today, Representative Hayes, to say: We need the
Department of Education. The Republican majority cannot abolish that.
The Trump administration cannot abolish the Department of Education
without congressional aid.
I wanted to ask Representative Hayes: We have had some conversations,
you and I, where we hear people say: Well, we have to close down the
Department of Education because students aren't doing as well now ever
since the Department of Education existed.
If you will engage in a brief colloquy with me, and let's talk about
why that is an erroneous assumption.
Mrs. HAYES. I will. Well, for many school districts, as the student
population gets larger and they are dealing with all of the issues that
kids come to school with, we have to make sure that kids are on green
and ready to learn. However, the Department of Education provides for
some of those wraparound services, some of those summer programs and
meal programs that kids have at school. These are all of the things
that help kids to learn.
We have to make sure that we fill the gap from decades of
disinvestment. We can't just never have schools adequately resourced
and expect different results, never have teachers properly prepared and
expect different results. We need to, as a nation, make educating our
children a priority, which has not happened.
Ms. BONAMICI. Absolutely.
Mrs. HAYES. In many districts, they are always struggling just to
catch up. In title I low-income districts, they are always--they are
always at a disadvantage. So the answer is not to disinvest. We need to
figure out what is working and amplify those programs. If there are
places where we can become more efficient, then we address those
things.
Ms. BONAMICI. That is why we have Federal education research, which
they are also trying to cut. I tell you: If we could fully fund IDEA,
if we could fully fund title I for low-income schools, fund title II
for professional development, fund title III for English language
learners, and fund title IV-A for well-rounded education that includes
the arts and music, school security, and technology, imagine.
What would that look like, Representative Hayes?
Mrs. HAYES. Well, I just think about my district, and while my State
of Connecticut got approximately $170 billion from the Federal
Government for special education services for students, there is no way
a State can backfill those gaps without support from the Federal
Government.
When communities start to look at the programs that they will have to
cut because they lack funding and understand what those supports mean,
I think we will see an uproar from parents, from educators, from
elected officials, and from leaders around the country because our
children are the ones who will suffer.
I think what is most egregious is that this is all happening, to your
point, against the background of increasing defense budgets, against
the background of cutting healthcare and nutrition assistance programs
for families.
While all the programs that are meant to support the most vulnerable
people are stripped and cut, tax breaks to the wealthiest individuals,
and even more than the Department of Defense asks for, is allocated. At
some point, we have to prioritize the education of our children.
Ms. BONAMICI. Absolutely. Kids can't learn if they are hungry, if
they are homeless, or if they are sick. Those programs really matter.
I thank Representative Hayes for leading this. We must protect the
Department of Education. It is the future of our children.
More than 90 percent of the students in this country attend public
schools. It is a good investment, and that is true from early childhood
to the K-12 system and higher education, as well.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Mrs. Hayes. I am with her in the fight.
{time} 2010
Mrs. HAYES. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time is remaining.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Crank). The gentlewoman from Connecticut
has 2 minutes remaining.
Mrs. HAYES. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues who joined me.
In a statement from my colleague from Connecticut, Congresswoman Rosa
DeLauro, she talks about her support for the Department of Education
and really reminds us that this administration has empowered Russ
Vought, the author of the anti-education, anti-American, pro-
billionaire Project 2025, this manifesto that lays out literally firing
thousands of Federal employees and decimating the Department of
Education.
Congresswoman DeLauro talks about her family, growing up in New
Haven, her parents who immigrated here, working in a garment factory,
and education really being the catalyst for a better life. That story
has not changed in all of these years.
There are so many families and so many students that I taught, and so
many kids that just need accommodations, with parents who are left
wondering what will happen next. If this is the path that we are to
take, I implore my Republican colleagues to not usurp our Article I
authorities, to demand that we have some transparency and clarity for
what this looks like, to demand that the Secretary of Education come
before the Congress and assure parents about what the future of public
education looks like and make sure they know that their children will
not be left behind.
This is something that, again, is near and dear to me, not just
because of the profession that I chose in my adult life, but because
education saved my life. Without public schools, an education,
community college, and teachers who cared about me, my life would have
taken a very different direction. I know that there are so many kids
who are in that situation right now.
I will continue my work to protect the Department of Education and to
protect public education for our children, to make sure that they at
least have a shot at an education to change the trajectory of their
future and their families.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
____________________