Withheld Education Funds
Floor Speech
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Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to demand answers, answers from the Department of Education and the Office of Management and Budget. Today, it is July 22, and the Trump administration continues to withhold more than $5 billion in critical K-12 and adult education funding that should have been released by the July 1 deadline.
More than 150 Democratic Members of the House of Representatives joined a group of 42 Senators, including 10 Republican Senators, in calling on Secretary McMahon and Director Vought to release the funds by July 15. That date has obviously passed, but we have received no answers.
Although the administration did release the 21st Century Community Learning Center grants yesterday, they are a small percentage of the outstanding funding, and there is still no word on any of the other grants.
School districts across the country are scrambling to make decisions, but they have unclear information and severely constrained budgets. Many districts have already been forced to lay off educators and staff who will not be paid without the Federal funding.
For many students across the country, the new school year starts in a few weeks, and schools are now in an all-out crisis. As one administrator told me, it is a ``five-alarm fire.''
Funds authorized under the Every Student Succeeds Act are not a luxury. They are part of what closes opportunity gaps. They are a critical part of our effort to provide students across the country, regardless of income or ZIP Code, with a world-class education. Yes, this is about civil rights. Every single dollar is a good investment in students and in our future.
State administered title I, part C grants, which have been around since the 1960s, support migrant students. These grants help children of mobile farmworkers and fishers, people who are harvesting our crops and putting food on our tables, meet academic standards and graduate from high school, preparing them to become responsible citizens and productive employees.
Title II grants provide essential support to recruit, prepare, and retain high-quality teachers and school leaders. These grants address the growing educator workforce shortage and provide professional development for educators to improve teaching and student outcomes.
Title III grants provide English language learners with the integrated academic support they need to learn English and meet State standards.
Title IV, part A grants are designed to give students access to a well-rounded education. That is what students need: to improve school safety and to create better conditions for student learning and engagement. These grants fund critical music and arts programs and integrate technology into the classrooms so students can develop digital literacy skills.
Finally, Adult Basic and Literacy Education grants help provide integrated education and training services that promote essential skills for the 21st century workforce.
These are all programs that Congress authorized. Again, these are programs that Congress authorized, yet the Trump administration is refusing to release the funds.
Mr. Speaker, 10 Republican Senators were brave enough and principled enough to request with the Democrats that the administration release these funds for their intended purposes, yet we have heard nothing, nothing, from House Republicans about the illegal and unconstitutional withholding of these congressionally appropriated dollars.
Is there a fear of President Trump keeping them from their commitment to the millions of students in the school districts that they were elected to represent?
I tell my colleagues that everyone can show that they care about the kids in their districts, that they care about education. Everyone should join us in demanding answers.
Secretary McMahon and Director Vought must release these funds immediately. This is about our Nation's children, our students, and our future leaders. They deserve better.
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