Senators on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee approved a bipartisan bill Thursday aimed at blocking the U.S. Department of Education from moving its postsecondary office to other federal agencies. The legislation, identified as S. 5046, passed the committee by a 13-9 vote and now moves forward for a full Senate vote. The bill would also stop the department from outsourcing offices that oversee special education, elementary and secondary education, and Native American education programs.
Democrats on the committee pushed for an amendment that would have also blocked the transfer of the Office for Civil Rights. The amendment failed in a 12-11 vote. The committee rejected the move despite ongoing concerns about civil rights protections within the education system. The bill’s co-sponsor, Susan Collins, R-Maine, argued that the targeted interagency agreements are misaligned with their program purposes. Collins specifically pointed to the agreement between the Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services. She said this agreement fundamentally misunderstands the history and intent of the special education program, which was created in 1975 to ensure that children with disabilities receive a free and appropriate public education.
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Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., introduced S. 5046 to maintain really core components of the agency. He noted that there were other services and responsibilities he wanted to include, but could not yet in order to quickly reach bipartisan consensus. Collins added that S. 5046 keeps the implementation of landmark education programs at the Education Department. The committee also approved an amendment requiring the department to report on the cost of its interagency agreements. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., proposed the amendment to force the Education Department to prove whether its goal of efficiency is being met. To implement one of its agreements with the Department of Labor, the Education Department has paid over a million dollars, Murray said.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., the committee chairman, said he would not vote in favor of S. 5046 because he does not oppose all of the Education Department’s interagency agreements that would be impacted by the bill. Cassidy stated that he thinks the administration should be allowed to pilot how to address inefficiencies and the potential for efficiencies by operationalizing these interagency agreements. He did, however, emphasize that he is against the agreement between HHS and OSERS. Cassidy had proposed a bill for the markup focused exclusively on that agreement, but he said the committee would no longer consider it for a final vote given that it was already included in S. 5046.
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Despite the legislative hurdles, the administration continues to push forward with the agreements. In a letter sent to Congressional leaders, U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon asked the House and Senate to support the Education Department’s 14 interagency agreements. She claimed that misconceptions have circulated and that the agreements have demonstrated measurable results by driving stronger grant competitions, streamlining government operations, and producing better outcomes for Americans.
