Warren, Murray, Baldwin, Sanders, Schumer, Colleagues Slam McMahon’s Latest Illegal Efforts to Dismantle the Department of Education

Warren, Murray, Baldwin, Sanders, Schumer, Colleagues Slam McMahon's Latest Illegal Efforts to Dismantle the Department of Education

"Your brazen attempt to dismantle the Department by transferring to other federal agencies complex and foundational responsibilities that Congress specifically charged to the Department [w]ill undermine public education."

"We urge you to immediately reverse course and to focus your time and attention on actions that actually help states, school districts and educational institutions improve educational outcomes and support for students."

Text of Letter (PDF)

Washington, D.C. - Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) joined Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee; Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies; Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP); Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.); and their colleagues in a letter slamming Secretary Linda McMahon following the recent announcement that the Department of Education has signed interagency agreements (IAAs) to illegally outsource core functions that students and their families rely on. The senators are demanding Secretary McMahon reverse these latest steps to dismantle the Department of Education.

"Let's be very clear: You are choosing to create even more bureaucracy that states, school districts, and educational institutions across America will have to expend time and resources navigating at the expense of students and families," wrote the senators.

In the letter, the Senators make clear that, as McMahon has previously acknowledged, dismantling the Department would require an act of Congress, which has not been proposed-or even seriously pursued-by the administration. Appropriations law prohibits the transfer of funds to another federal agency unless expressly authorized in appropriations law.

The senators detail how the myriad departmental responsibilities McMahon is now seeking to spin off to other agencies that lack the expertise, capacity, and legal mandate to successfully administer key programs will risk support, funding, and oversight that our laws provide to students and families across America. They note, in particular, that there have been negative consequences for states, schools, colleges, and students as these IAAs roll out. The first IAA inked earlier this year between the Department and DOL on career and technical education and adult education has been plagued with serious challenges.

"We once again demand that you reverse these detrimental plans and refocus your efforts on supporting state and local efforts by properly implementing federal laws intended to improve educational opportunities and outcomes for all students, especially those who count on the Department doing its job most," concluded the senators.

In addition to Senators Warren, Murray, Baldwin, Sanders, and Schumer, the letter was signed by Senators Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Angus King (I-Me.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), and John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.).

Senator Warren has led the fight to make our higher education system more affordable, cancel student loan debt, and hold student loan servicers accountable for incompetence and malfeasance. She launched the Save Our Schools campaign in a coordinated effort to fight back against President Trump's attempts to abolish the Department of Education

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