Virginia Foxx

Ms. FOXX

Ms. FOXX. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, over the last five decades, the Federal Government's role in elementary and secondary education has increased dramatically. The Department of Education currently runs more than 80--more than 80-- K-12 education programs, many of which are duplicative or ineffective. As a school board member, I saw that the vast reporting requirements for these Federal programs tie the hands of State and local school leaders to make the best education available to their students. Since 1965, Federal education funding has tripled, yet student achievement remains flat. More money clearly is not going to solve the challenges we face in education. Unfortunately, the Obama administration has refused to work with Congress to address these challenges and has, instead, taken unprecedented action to further expand its authority over America's schools. Through the President's waivers scheme and pet programs, such as Race to the Top, the Secretary of Education has granted himself complete discretion to use taxpayer dollars to coerce States into enacting the President's preferred education reforms. Adding insult to injury, President Obama continues to push for more Federal education spending, requesting a staggering $70.7 billion in discretionary funding alone for the Department of Education in his fiscal year 2016 budget. Our children deserve better. It is time to acknowledge more taxpayer dollars and more Federal intrusion cannot address the challenges facing schools. H.R. 5, the Student Success Act, will streamline the Nation's education system by eliminating more than 65 duplicative and ineffective Federal education programs, cutting through the bureaucratic red tape that is stifling education in the classroom, and granting States and school districts the authority to use Federal education funds to meet the unique needs of their students. The bill also requires the Secretary of Education to identify the bureaucrats in Washington who run the programs which will be eliminated in H.R. 5 and to eliminate their positions, ensuring that the bureaucracy shrinks with the programs. Additionally, this legislation will take definitive steps to limit the Secretary's authority by prohibiting him or her from coercing States into adopting academic standards like the Common Core. It also halts the executive overreach in the waiver process by prohibiting the Secretary from imposing extraneous conditions on States and local districts in exchange for a waiver. The Student Success Act protects State and local autonomy over decisions in the classroom by removing the Secretary's authority to add new requirements to Federal programs. H.R. 5 recognizes that local communities know their needs better than any bureaucrat in Washington and empowers States and districts to develop accountability and school improvement systems that align with their local priorities. It also repeals Federal funding requirements that arbitrarily restrict State and local policymakers' ability to set their own budget priorities. Mr. Speaker, Federal policies should not tie the hands of local educators to make the best decisions for their students and communities. H.R. 5 is a step in that direction, and I urge my colleagues to support the rule and the underlying bill. I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. FOXX. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, while current Federal policy started with good intentions, burdensome and prescriptive regulations have created confusion for school districts and limited school participation and tutoring services and public school choice. Parents know their children best, and any efforts to provide a high-quality education must include engaged parents. Parental involvement can help drive innovation, competition, and school improvement. The Student Success Act builds on the importance of parental involvement by ensuring that parents have access to meaningful information about local school quality, and it empowers local communities to hold students accountable. It also maintains longstanding parental notification and consent provisions in current law. H.R. 5 continues the charter school, magnet school, and tutoring programs to provide parents with more choices in educating their children. Along with parental involvement, encouraging and supporting effective teachers in the classroom is critical to student success and high quality education. Mr. Speaker, many Americans can regale you with stories of their favorite teachers who made a lasting impact on their lives. Federal policies should not hinder innovation in the classroom. That is why the underlying bill repeals Federal ``highly qualified teachers'' requirements which restrict State and local school districts' ability to reward and maintain good teachers by rewarding education level over effective teaching. H.R. 5 also supports the development and implementation of teacher evaluation systems that are designed by States and school districts with input from parents, teachers, school leaders, and other stakeholders. In addition to evaluation systems, the Student Success Act reduces confusion and duplication by consolidating teacher quality programs into a single flexible grant program to be used by States and school districts to support creative approaches to recruit and retain effective educators. The recurring theme throughout this legislation is empowering the people closest to students to make decisions for their communities and ensuring that the law is flexible to meet the needs of diverse States, regions, and student populations. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Duncan).

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I like my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, but saying that we are politicizing some issues is a little bit just stretching the issue, it seems to me. The question before the House is: Should the House now consider H. Res. 125? This has nothing to do with UMRA. CBO estimates that H.R. 5 contains no intergovernmental or private sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act, or UMRA. This is a dilatory tactic and, I might add, a bit of a political tactic, which is what we are accused of. As the gentleman from Colorado is aware, we are currently waiting on a bill from the Senate. We currently have a rule before us that provides for consideration of over 40 amendments, including two from the gentleman from Colorado, to an important education bill. There is no reason to prevent consideration of this rule while we wait for the Senate to do its work. In order to allow the House to continue its scheduled business for the day, I urge Members to vote ``yes'' on the question of consideration of the resolution. I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I was going to remark on the fact that our colleague from Colorado has given us some levity, but it has been so long since the levity occurred, I am not sure anybody would remember it. However, I do think it is important to point out that our colleagues on the other side of the aisle continually tell us how our legislation falls short of the ideal that they would like to see. I would like to remind our colleagues that, for 2 years, the Democrats were in control of the House and the Senate. Two years, they had the House and the Senate and the White House. If they had been so interested in reauthorizing this legislation and lots of other legislation that they criticize us about, they should have brought that ideal legislation forward at that time and passed it. I would also like to point out, despite what our colleague says about no hearings on this bill, that since we returned to the majority in the House in 2011, we have held 20 hearings on the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The committee considered five reauthorization bills in four markups in the 112th Congress, in addition to a markup and the favorably reporting of H.R. 5 in 2013 and again this month. With that, Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to my colleague from Georgia (Mr. Allen).

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I claim the time in opposition to the point of order and in favor of consideration of the resolution.

Ms. FOXX. I yield the gentleman an additional minute.

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. FOXX

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I believe in an opportunity society where hard work, education, innovation, and risk are rewarded and we empower individuals, not government. Unfortunately, Washington's broken reflex these days is: when in doubt, regulate. That type of thinking must cease if we are to reach this Nation's full potential. One of the clearest examples of unnecessary and unsuccessful Federal intervention is the law currently governing our K-12 education system. This week, the House will consider the Student Success Act, which empowers the people closest to students with the authority to make education choices in their respective States and communities. Local control always delivers programs and services more efficiently and effectively. By scaling back Washington's one-size-fits-all micromanagement of classrooms, this legislation takes positive steps toward ensuring local educators have the flexibility required to meet the diverse needs of their students.

Ms. FOXX

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 1, rule I, I demand a vote on agreeing to the Speaker's approval of the Journal.

Ms. FOXX

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Ms. FOXX

Ms. FOXX. By reversing the top-down policies of recent decades, the Student Success Act offers conservative solutions to repair a broken education system. It would finally get Washington out of the way and allow parents, teachers, and State and local education leaders the flexibility to provide every child in every school a high-quality education.

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Chairman, I thank the chairman of the committee. Mr. Chairman, the current K-12 education system is failing our students, and State and local attempts to make it better have been hampered by an enormous Federal footprint. Parents and education leaders have lost much of their decisionmaking authority to Washington bureaucrats, and the Secretary of Education has bullied States into adopting the Obama administration's pet projects. Unsurprisingly, student achievement levels remain worrisome. Just 36 percent of eighth grade students read at grade level, and only 35 percent are proficient in math. For far too long, our schools have been governed by a top-down approach that stymies State and local efforts to meet the unique needs of their student populations. We can't continue to make the same mistakes and expect better results. America's students deserve change. Fortunately, this week, the House of Representatives has an opportunity to chart a new course with the Student Success Act, legislation that reduces the Federal footprint in the Nation's classrooms and restores control to the people who know their students best: parents, teachers, and local leaders. The Student Success Act gets Washington out of the business of running schools. It protects State and local autonomy by prohibiting the Secretary of Education from coercing States into adopting Common Core or other standards or assessments and by preventing the Secretary from creating additional burdens on States and school districts. The bill reduces the size of the Federal education bureaucracy. Currently, the Department of Education oversees more than 80 programs geared towards primary and secondary education, most of which are duplicative and fail to deliver adequate results for students. The bill eliminates over 65 of these programs and requires the Secretary of Education to reduce the Department's workforce accordingly. The Student Success Act repeals onerous, one-size-fits-all mandates that dictate accountability, teacher quality, and local spending that have done more to tie up States and school districts in red tape than to support education efforts. It returns responsibility for classroom decisions to parents, teachers, administrators, and education officials. The bill also provides States and school districts the funding flexibility to efficiently and effectively invest limited taxpayer dollars to boost student achievement by creating a local academic flexible grant. It provides the public with greater transparency and accountability over the development of new rules affecting K-12 schools. Education is a deeply personal issue. After years of the Secretary of Education running schools through executive fiat, we understand that people are concerned about what a new K-12 education law will do. That is why a number of key principles have guided our efforts to replace the law since we began the process more than 4 years ago: reducing the Federal footprint, restoring local control, and empowering parents and education leaders. Those principles are reflected throughout the legislation, including specific safeguards that protect the right of States to opt out of the law, as well as the autonomy of home schools, religious schools, and private schools. Organizations such as the Council for American Private Education, the Home School Legal Defense Association, and Committee on Catholic Education of U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops have expressed support for the Student Success Act because they know it will keep the Federal Government out of their business and preserve their cherished rights. A host of administration bureaucrats is attempting to defeat these much-needed changes. They know each reform that returns flexibility and choice to parents and school boards represent a loss of power in D.C. It is time we put the interests of America's students above the desires of Washington politicians.

Ms. FOXX

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize a pioneering school in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. Established in 2009, Wilkes Early College High School is a partnership between Wilkes County Schools and Wilkes Community College. The school provides a small learning community of students the opportunity to earn both a high school diploma and an associate degree. It is a 5-year school which enrolls approximately 60 ninth graders each year and is located on the campus of Wilkes Community College where students are enrolled in both honors-level high school classes and college courses. The mission of Wilkes Early College High School is to provide a personalized program of study that will empower students to be lifelong, community-oriented learners who possess the technical and leadership skills needed for personal and professional success in a global community. The $40 annual fee, which covers textbooks and enrollment, is an extremely affordable way to help students reach their education goals, especially when you consider that the average tuition and fees was $2,305 for a public 2-year institution in North Carolina this year and $6,677 for a public 4-year institution. And those costs have increased 30 percent over the last 5 years. Many of the students who attend Wilkes Early College High School are the first in their family to attend college. As a result, Principal Dion Stocks and his staff are working hard to outline expectations and guide students through the process of applying to a 4-year institution. Seminar classes are provided to assist students with understanding college expectations, the application process, and financial aid. Last year, 21 students earned their associate degree in the school's first official graduating class, and 20 students are expected to earn their degree this year. Wilkes Early College High School provides an advanced educational experience that equips students for success in college, career, and life. America needs more of this type of innovative learning.

Ms. FOXX

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, on February 7, the State of North Carolina lost a legend both on and off the court when former University of North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith passed away. During his 36-year tenure as head coach, Smith led the Tar Heels to 879 wins and 13 ACC tournament championships. His teams reached the Final Four 11 times and won two national titles. He also coached the U.S. men's basketball team to an Olympic Gold Medal in 1976. But Smith was more than just a college basketball icon. He was a deeply religious man who placed a strong emphasis on education. More than 96 percent of his players received their degrees. An unwavering supporter of civil rights, he recruited the first Black scholarship athlete at UNC. While he never sought accolades for his actions, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is the Nation's highest civilian honor, in 2013. Coach Smith was a remarkable man, and North Carolina was lucky to call him one of our own.

Ms. FOXX

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, the first month of the 114th Congress has been a busy one as House Republicans have gotten right to work in tackling the difficult issues facing the Nation. We started off the new year by passing two pieces of bipartisan legislation designed to minimize the consequences caused by ObamaCare. We also approved three bills that will help us on our way to energy independence and that will increase access to affordable North American oil. The House acted swiftly to defund in their entirety the President's executive actions on illegal aliens, and we passed legislation that would ensure that veterans who may be struggling will have access to the mental health care services and support they need. While House Republicans have accomplished a great deal in a relatively short time, there is still much work to do. We are focused on growing our economy from the ground up, not from the top down, to help get people back to work and restore opportunity for everyone.

Ms. FOXX

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Collins).

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Our colleagues on the other side of the aisle know that Republicans are not opposed to regulations. We just want regulations to be done right. These are modest reforms, supported by Republicans and Democrats alike. Some of these changes merely codify executive orders issued by the last two Democrat Presidents. Mr. Speaker, as proud as I am of this legislation, I realize its passage today won't be front-page news. I understand that ``Lawmakers Band Together to Close Technical Loopholes in UMRA'' isn't exactly a riveting headline. But what we are doing here is important. In Congress, we often focus our energy and attention on those issues that are most divisive and controversial, and I understand that. There are real, substantive disagreements between the two parties and among the American people. But Congress must do the hard things. Every now and then, we get an opportunity to do something easy. This should be easy. Reforms in this bill are low-hanging fruit. Some of my colleagues have suggestions for improvement and have offered amendments to these bills. Great. I welcome their suggestions. Those amendments will be discussed in an open and transparent process. Not a single proposed amendment to either bill, Democrat or Republican, has been excluded by this rule. I hope, Mr. Speaker, that my colleagues will join me in supporting these sensible bills that will enhance transparency, accountability, and awareness of Federal mandates and improve the Federal Government's treatment of small businesses. I urge my colleagues to vote for this rule and the underlying bills.

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to our colleague from Tennessee (Mr. Duncan).

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 78 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 78 provides for a structured rule providing for consideration of H.R. 50, the Unfunded Mandates Information and Transparency Act, and H.R. 527, the Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act. Mr. Speaker, every year bureaucrats in Washington impose thousands of regulatory mandates on local governments and small businesses. Those mandates can be costly, stretching city and State budgets and making it harder for American businesses to hire. The Unfunded Mandates Information and Transparency Act, H.R. 50, will ensure that the people who write these regulations in Washington know exactly what they are asking the American people to pay and whether the cost of compliance might make it harder for family businesses to meet payroll and stay afloat. H.R. 50 will force Washington to think carefully about regulatory costs before it passes them on to Americans. This bill is about transparency and accountability and is something Democrats and Republicans can all support. In 1995, Congress passed the bipartisan Unfunded Mandates Reform Act, UMRA, legislation designed to prevent the Federal Government from imposing unfunded mandates onto State and local governments or private businesses without policymakers or the public knowing the cost of such policies. UMRA's main objective was to force the Federal Government to estimate how much unfunded mandates would cost local governments and businesses and rein in out-of-control mandates. UMRA ensured public awareness of the crushing financial burden of Federal mandates on employers and State and local governments. However, UMRA has not been amended since 1995, and some subtle changes are needed to preserve and improve on the Act's initial purposes. UMRA was a good bill, but over time, some shortcomings became apparent such that the Clinton and, later, Obama administrations issued executive orders to fix the loopholes within it. H.R. 50 has bipartisan DNA, Mr. Speaker. It codifies those administrative fixes championed by Presidents Clinton and Obama and promotes good government, accountability, and transparency. As a testament to this fact, the bill is cosponsored by two of my Democratic colleagues here in the House, Representatives Collin Peterson and Loretta Sanchez. I owe them a debt of gratitude for their efforts in promoting this commonsense bill. The text of H.R. 50 has passed the House on a bipartisan basis three times in the 112th and 113th Congresses. The bill most recently was favorably reported by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. A common refrain in this business is that ``nobody wants to see how the sausage is made,'' meaning that the process of drafting and passing legislation is so ugly that it would repulse people. In this case, I disagree. I am extremely proud of this bill, and I am proud of the process by which it has been advanced in the House. I have had the pleasure of working with colleagues from both sides of the aisle on this measure, and I appreciate their support and counsel. The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 was a model for bipartisanship, and my hope is that this bill leaves a similar legacy. I urge all of my colleagues on both sides of this aisle to support the rule and the underlying bill. I reserve the balance of my time.