Senate Republican Introduces Bill To Eliminate Department Of Education

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) introduced a bill on Thursday that would abolish the Department of Education, a move that has been pushed by President-elect Donald Trump and his allies.

The bill, titled “Returning Education to Our States Act,” would move the critical programs of the department to other federal government agencies, Fox News reported. Rounds argued that local officials should be given more control over education.

“The federal Department of Education has never educated a single student, and it’s long past time to end this bureaucratic Department that causes more harm than good,” Rounds said in a statement. “We all know local control is best when it comes to education. Everyone raised in South Dakota can think of a teacher who played a big part in their educational journey. Local school boards and state Departments of Education know best what their students need, not unelected bureaucrats in Washington, D.C.”

The Department of Education was created in 1979 when President Jimmy Carter signed legislation making it a cabinet-level agency. Rounds’ bill would return the U.S. to pre-1979 practices when other federal government agencies handled education issues.

If signed into law, the “Returning Education to Our States Act” would require the Department of Health and Human Services to take over disability programs, the Department of Labor would become responsible for career programs, the State Department would take over “research and training efforts overseas,” loan and grant programs would fall under the Department of Treasury, and American Indian education programs would become the responsibility of the Department of the Interior.

Trump promised on the campaign trail to “drain the government education swamp and stop the abuse of your taxpayer dollars to indoctrinate America’s youth with all sorts of things that you don’t want to have our youth hearing.” The president-elect tapped Linda McMahon for Education Secretary earlier this week, saying she will “fight tirelessly” to expand school choice in every state and “empower parents to make the best education decisions for their families.”

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“As a strong supporter of school choice and parental rights, there is no one better to expel the woke agenda in our education system and put our children first,” Trump said of McMahon.

Since President Ronald Reagan, Republicans have pledged to eliminate the Department of Education with no results. While Rounds’ bill likely won’t get anywhere under the current Democrat-controlled Senate, Republicans will have a chance to pass the legislation once the party takes over control of the Senate and the White House, along with keeping control of the House, in January.

“For years, I’ve worked toward removing the federal Department of Education. I’m pleased that President-elect Trump shares this vision, and I’m excited to work with him and Republican majorities in the Senate and House to make this a reality,” Rounds said. “This legislation is a roadmap to eliminating the federal Department of Education by practically rehoming these federal programs in the departments where they belong, which will be critical as we move into next year.”