What we just learned from Betsy DeVos’s painful appearance before Congress
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said Tuesday on Capitol Hill that she won’t offer protections to ensure that public money is not used by for-profit education companies to make their owners rich.
She also said that private schools accepting federal funds in a voucher program would have to follow federal laws but would not promise to protect LGBTQ or other students from discrimination if the law on the issue is foggy.
These were just some of the things DeVos said in defense of the Trump administration’s proposed 2018 Education Department budget, which cuts more than 13 percent, including programs favored by both Democrats and Republicans. After appearing May 24 before a House appropriations panel to talk about the proposed budget, this time she went beforethe SenateSubcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies.
And this time, DeVos was put on notice at the very start of the hearing that it was going to be a painful appearance. Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri, the Republican chairman, told her that the proposed budget proposalwas unacceptable to his committee, saying:
And Democrats went after her hard. Sen. Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont called the budget proposal “abysmal.” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said that DeVos was throwing students “out into a market-driven system that seems mostly about enriching the salaries of the CEOs who run” for-profit education companies. And Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the top Democrat on the panel, accused DeVos of refusing to compromise or “work with us in good faith,” allowing potential conflicts of interest and ethics “to exist in your
What we just learned from Betsy DeVos’s painful appearance before Congress - The Washington Post:
“This is a difficult budget request to defend. I think it’s likely that the kinds of cuts that are proposed in this budget will not occur, so we need to fully understand your priorities and why they are your priorities.”
Republicans challenged her priorities, too, with some of them criticizing the budget for halving the work study program that helps students get through college, cutting a popular college preparation program called TRIO, and slashing funds for career and technical education. Blunt also cited “the outright elimination of several large formula grant programs — like the 21st Century Learning Centers — I think will be all but impossible to get through this committee.”
And Democrats went after her hard. Sen. Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont called the budget proposal “abysmal.” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said that DeVos was throwing students “out into a market-driven system that seems mostly about enriching the salaries of the CEOs who run” for-profit education companies. And Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the top Democrat on the panel, accused DeVos of refusing to compromise or “work with us in good faith,” allowing potential conflicts of interest and ethics “to exist in your
What we just learned from Betsy DeVos’s painful appearance before Congress - The Washington Post:
