DeVos defends cuts in education spending of billions of dollars for skeptical Democrats in the House

State Secretary for Education, Betsy DeVos, defended Tuesday his request to cut billions of dollars from the agency's budget, while Democrats have criticized his project as outrageous and unwelcome. detrimental to students who need help the most.

Democrats also feared DeVos' plan to use the federal tax code to fund scholarships in private schools, hinting that the secretary's priorities will face another tough year in Congress.

"I believe this budget is cruel and reckless," said Representative Rosa L. DeLauro (D-Conn.), Chair of the Education Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee and chairing the House of Commons. Tuesday's hearing. "I still have a really serious question to ask you: how can you support this budget? I really think so.

Legislators have cited various programs to be reduced or eliminated by the Trump administration, such as the $ 17.6 million allocated to the Special Olympics.

"I still do not understand why you would like disabled children to be in your budget. It's appalling, "said Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.).

The Republican Representative of the Committee, Tom Cole (Okla.), Stated that while some proposed cuts make sense, others are "a bit short-sighted".

DeVos responded that she was forced to make difficult decisions to control her expenses, but seemed to be realistic about her chances.

"This reduction is similar to the demand last year and the year before. I acknowledge that you rejected these recommendations, "she said.

Overall, the budget plan removes more than $ 8.5 billion, about 12%, from the Department of Education. Programs likely to experience reductions include a program that supports extracurricular activities for children in poor communities, as well as a grant program for textbooks, materials, counseling and other school-related needs. . This cash pool – the Student Assistance and School Enrichment Program – also supports school safety efforts, including mental health services and safety equipment.

"We proposed the elimination of this particular program because it was very dispersed and was not as effective on something in particular," said DeVos.

[Trump seeks to slash $8.5 billion from Education Department budget]

DeVos was more enthusiastic in promoting his own main cause: a $ 5 billion tax credit plan to help children attend private schools. She calls this initiative "freedom of education".

The proposal still needs to be approved, especially in the House, where Democrats have control.

DeLauro rejected the idea as a "tax system" and "unregulated and unregulated effort" to fund coupons in private schools.

The proposal would give individuals and businesses a 100% tax credit for contributions to state-sanctioned scholarship funds, which means that donors could recover their entire donation through federal taxes. The money would be given to students to help pay tuition in private schools and other expenses.

[Betsy DeVos pitches new tax credit to support school choice programs]

The Democrats also urged DeVos on a report by the Network for Public Education advocacy group that revealed that the federal government had squandered up to $ 1 billion for charter schools that have never opened or that were subsequently closed for reasons of mismanagement.

DeVos responded that there was a need for more school options, including charters.

"When you experiment, you will always have schools that are not successful and that is what should happen," she said.

DeVos has also had to deal with questions regarding his decision to remove the Obama era guidelines to schools regarding discipline. The guides had warned school systems that they might be in violation of federal civil rights law if they punished students of color at a disproportionate rate compared to white students.

"Are you saying that the problem is that black children are more of a discipline issue?" Asked Representative Katherine M. Clark (D-Mass.).

DeVos dismissed the discussion of why discipline rates often differ among races, but said the previous recommendations were a quota system for disciplinary action.

"No child should be treated or punished differently based on race or color," said DeVos.

In another exchange, DeVos declined to say whether she thought schools should be allowed to discriminate against students based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) Relied on the question.

DeVos said: "We have laws that cover discriminatory efforts, and our Civil Rights Bureau has continued to exercise the utmost diligence in investigating allegations of discrimination and will continue to do so."

Pocan answered, "So, is it a yes or no?"

DeVos said, "We respect the law as defined."

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