Give you a front row seat to democracy. Told house lawmakers that hate has no place on College Campuses. He testified on the departments departmentspolicies and prioritn capitol hill. Made the comment response recent acts of antisemitism pro palestinian demonstrations secretary also acknowledge delays student aid application process. The hearing is three and half hours. [background noises] clicks committee at Education Workforce will come to order. I note a quorum is present. Authorize call to recess at any time. Mr. Secretary is truly excited that a person with your personal and educational background was named secretary of education. And you know i have told you that. However, you have not lived up to your potential. The educational decline was not without warning. Upon your confirmation i issued a press release saying the teachers unions and leftwing special Interest Groups are keeping our schools closed despite the serious consequences forle students, academic success and Mental Health. Serious consequencesre may have been the understatement of the century. Since the last time you testifiedem the National Assessment of educational progress released 2022 math and reading scores. The results wered, disturbing. Reading scores and plummeted to the lowest level in the history of the testing. Across allll subjects american kate 12 student saw a steep drop in Educational Attainment thanks in large part to the Biden Administration lockdown policies. The negative consequences of learning loss for this generation future employment and earnings will be devastating. By which a greater tenure based on the state of k12 schools, i would give you an f. Failing scores are not the only negative development and education since her last oversight hearing. Our the past seven months colleges across the nation have seen an unprecedented regression and moral and institutional legitimacy isou antisemitism ad pro hamas protests have engulfed campuses. Turn on the nose and news anduniversities such as coa and ucla look like on a recognizable war zones a bit from the beginning i urged a firm hand in dealing with the explosion of antisemitism on campus. I have lead by example. You, on the other hand refused to even say from the river to the seat chant is antisemitic. I saw this as a demon you unfit for Public Office and call for your resignation in february. With the outbreak of campus riots and more resolute so i will say itt again. You must resign. Though to greater time is secretary based on the state of post secondary education ill also give you an f. Our final report card grade is based on your tenure as an administrator. Again i warned of the potential pitfalls of mismanaging programs such as the fafsa rollout and the student loan repayment. The department managed to bungle both pass the fastest implication in that lot for the entirety of your administration but last year it was filled with delays and excuses in march of 2023 after months of refusing to communicate a fafsa release date the department announced it would implementation of the fafsa simplification act fax from october 12 ended up being december 30, 2023. The october deadline should have come as no surprise. Congress had already granted the department an additional year. You still cannot get the job done. Then, december 30 soft launch was filled with glitches. Respective College Students fought the random crashes and lengthy waiting rooms to submit their completed fafsa application only to be met with uncertainty. The applications that did make it through, larger percentages contain errors or unable to be corrected or both. In some cases these errors took months to fix. Financial aid administrator survey of schools just last week found that over 30 of schools have still not even begun to package aid offers. Thanks to your delays. The delays and uncertainty have crushed students and universities. Fafsa Completion Rates have fallen 30 nationally we declined likely even higher among low income students. Universities are expecting decreased enrollment in the fall. They could be even worse than the pandemic. Attending college is one of the most consequential choices that has been denied to them. Some will put on the outside for life. Thats what troubles me the most about this. May 1 should have been College Decision day. But instead students are still stuck waiting for financial information. Paralyzed by your ineptitude. Fafsa should have been a top priority instead your Actions Prove time and again it wasnt. The department should have been putting time and resources into fafsas pouring time and resources adds to your Department Action that could cost taxpayers up to 1 trillion. For perspective these actions are more expensive than all post secondary spending before 2020. Higher education act passed in 1965. Yet you are projected to spent more on just the Biden Student loan debtre scheme than all othr secretaries spent since 1965. Ive completely lost faith in this administration to govern your radicalism has alienated Loan Services and because the administration to bungle the return to repayment. 9 million borrowers missed the first repayment. I am not sure this administration ever wanted repayment i think you see it as a politically advantageous to kick the can down the road so you did. Therefore if i were to greater tenure as an administrator i will give you an f. On all of the Broad Strokes you have a failing grade there plenty of other specific issues to discuss today. The department is failed to protect young women with its title ix rewrites. Failed to return employees to the office to work in person and failed to pass its 2023 financial audit. I see each of these failures as a result of the original failure the federal government inserted itself into education in the first place. Theres good reasons why the word education does not appear in the constitution. Education has done best when its handled at the local level. The solution is not more of the same which is what the president s budget represents. But less of what his side tracked our countrys educational system, the department of education itself. President Ronald Reagan famously once said nine most terrifying words of the english language are i am from the government and i am here to help. With that i yield to the Ranking Member for an opening statement, mr. Scotts very quick thank you doctor fox and good morning mr. Secretary. Thank you for being with us today. Seventy years ago this month chief Justice Earl Warren wrote the majority opinion in the unanimous opinion of brown versus board of education part of these days its doubtful every child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life the opportunity with it education for at such an opportunity when the state is undertaken to provide it is a right which must be made available to all on equal terms. The court went on to say segregation of students by race denies the children of the minority race of an equal education opportunity because segregated schools are inherently unequal but regrettably today we must acknowledge in 2024 americas Public Schools are a segregated by race and class as they were in the late 1960s. Today we have a chance to hear from secretary cardona how the is working to finally fill the promise of brown and bolsters support for students and teachers while also tackling the systemic inequities present in our Public School system. For example, at last Congress Democrats and President Biden and acted to pass the American Rescue plan act. Without the support of a single republican vote the largest onetime federal investment in k12 education in our nations history. The investment is allocated using the title i a formula meeting the greatest resources went to the communities with the greatest need. These resources also allowed the School Districts to make up for missed time in the classroom, respond to students and mental and social emotional needs and support educators. What the Research Shows as a alfederal investments resulted n a marked improvement in school children, and chicago, birmingham and nashville and other cities and counties around the country. Additionally the department of education is also taken historic steps to route relieve the student borrowers of mountains unaffordable debt. This administration has forgiven more than 160 billion in Student Loan Debt 4. 6 million borrowers including some who were duped by theirs universities. Enhancing income driven repayment plans in the Public ServiceLoan Forgiveness Program future borrowers have a clear path to repayment. Today i look forward to hearing from the secretary about how the department with the present status is in the free application First Federal student aid, the fafsa rollout back on track the community has communicated with you our concerns about the impact of the many delays on the students College Decisions made democrats suppressed policies to ensure every student has access to quality education the same time republicans have prioritized divisive culture war issues and have politicized classrooms, pushed book banning legislation and were consumed who uses which bathroom. Moreover my colleagues frequently speak about the commemorative fighting campus discrimination. At their actions tell a different story. Congressionalom republicans have significant cuts the department of Education Office of civil rights funding. Which would inevitably hinder its ability to investigate and prosecute campus related discrimination claims. Unfortunately this seems to be aware my colleagues are on the other side of the aisle when we often come to an impasse. Because complaining about a problem is not a solution. At the end of the day if we want to reduce rising tensions on College Campuses made to advance meaningful legislation to actually address the problem. Meaning less resolutions week after week turning the Committee Room into a political spectacle only seems to have exacerbated the problems instead of diffusing them. Our students deserve more than to be used as ponds and political names and fundraising schemes. Too that and i want to thank you mr. Secretary for your testimony look forward to what i hope to be a productive discussion. Thank you madam chair and i yield back. Thinkca it mr. Scotts. Pursuant to Committee Rule all members who wish to insert written statement since the record may do so by submitting them to the Committee Clerk electronically and microsoft ant word format by 5 00 p. M. 14 days after the date of the hearing which is may 22, 2024 without objection the hearing record will remain open for 14 days to allow such statements other extraneous material reference during the hearing to be submitted for the official hearing record. I now turn to the introduction of our witness. We have as our witness secretary at Miguel Cardona from the u. S. Department of education located in washington d. C. We thank you for being here today and look forward to your testimony. I remind the witness we have read your written statement which will appear in full in the hearing record. Pursuant to Committee Rule 8d and Committee Practice i ask that you limit your oral presentation to a five minute fe summary of your written statement. I also remind the witness to be aware of his responsibility to provide Accurate Information to the committee. I now recognize mr. Secretary for five minutes. Thank you chairwoman fox, Ranking Member scott, distinguished members of the committee. Thank you for the opportunity today to testify on President Bidens fiscal year 2025 budget request for the United States department of education. My purpose here today is to propose a budget that helps protect insubordination students. To be clear is not to create a spectacle for the benefit of the media or to provoke divisions and affluent culture wars and political sideshows but do nothing to help our young people succeed. Our nations parents and students are looking for us to recognize we have Common Ground and to buildt that as a foundation for american opportunity. It is a responsible choice it is a responsible choice to invest in a stronger future for all americans in achievement gaps and low income communities through title i. Support students with disabilities through ida. Simple multilingual learners through title iii recruit, prepare, retain and develop great teachers. It is a responsible choice to invest in safer schools and Mental Health of our students. To make more funding available for School Counselors and Mental Health professionals. It is a responsible choice to give more young people access to the american dreamki by building by improving college affordability, retention and completion. Including through Free Community college and increase student support. And it is they responsible choice to fully honor nick caps under the bipartisan fiscal responsibility act as this budget does. Let me emphasize, would we get beyond the noise and effort by some to create division, there is in fact so much Common Ground about what matters most our nation students. Such as getting all students to read by third grade. Providing Mental Health support in the midst of a Mental Health crisis. Opening up college and Career Pathways and rewarding careers. Making more accessible nursing on College Campuses that should be no place or threats of violence against jewish students. There is no place for hate speech or violence of any kind. The Biden Harris Administration the department of ed is taking action each and every day to help ensure schools and colleges are free from discrimination and safe for jewish students at all students and will continue to do so. Make no mistake. It is discrimination and is prohibited by title vi of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Dissent is essential to democracy. Dissent must never lead to disorder or denying the right of others so students cant finish their semester and their college education. Hate has no place on College Campuses. Every student deserves to lure it in an environment where they feel free to be themselves. Without discrimination or fear for their safety. That is why our budget provides for more resources for office for civil rights. To continue its strong response. I hope to work with you in partnership and constructive dialogue. We cant raise the bar for a nation students and we could do together. Look for to doing so, thank you. Thank you mr. Secretary. Under Committee Rule nine will without question the witness under the five minute rule. I asked members to keep your question sis synced so the witness has time to answer. I not recognize myself for five minutes of questioning. Mr. Secretary youve probably been volunteering the taxpayer to take on the student loan that ofmy largely wealthy College Graduates. Do you believe students who spend their time in college calling for the destruction ofto it ethnic or religious group or spend their time preventing students of a particular ethnic or religious group from walking on campus freely or spend their time occupying campus buildings deserve to have their education paid for by taxpayers . Cox i could not hear that well. If youre making reference to the Student Debt Relief plant we have done, im really proud of the work we are doing to provide a lifeline for students who chose to go to college. I am talking about the students who are being antisemitic and stomping backstopping jewish units from going to class and threatening them. Do you want to have the taxpayers pay their loans off . I believe students are breaking the law and are disrupting the educational environment should be held to account. To Higher Education. Then will you commit to ensuring no student is harassed, other students are prevented other students are going to class or broken laws receives any student loan forgiveness . We are committed to making sure campuses are safe. I condemn any form of hate or any violence on campus. I have spoken to students and educators who have experienced that. We would like it on those who do break the law and make sure they do not receive student loan forgiveness. Mr. Secretary, fsa needs to have a deep and vast knowledge of how loan operation works giving fs a is de facto the Largest Consumer bank in the country. Indeed the performance statute contemplates High Expectations of the coo. Coo needs to be an operational and lending