On Tuesday, Congressman Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) introduced a bill to ‘terminate’ the federal Department of Education.
As the Daily Caller reports, Massie first announced on Twitter his introduction of H.R. 899, which would “terminate the Department of Education.”
“There is no Constitutional authority for this federal bureaucracy to exist,” Massie continued in his statement. He had previously introduced the same bill in the previous session of Congress, in February of 2021, with the bill only consisting of one single sentence: “The Department of Education shall terminate on December 31, 2022.”
“Unelected bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. should not be in charge of our children’s intellectual and moral development,” said Massie in a press release for the introduction of the original bill two years ago. “States and local communities are best positioned to shape curricula that meet the needs of their students. Schools should be accountable. Parents have the right to choose the most appropriate educational opportunity for their children, including home school, public school, or private school.”
Massie had introduced the same bill once before, in the 115th Congress, in February of 2017. That bill was proposed on the same day that President Donald Trump’s nominee for Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos, was confirmed to the position.
The latest version of Massie’s bill has eight co-sponsors, including Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Chip Roy (R-Texas), and Dan Bishop (R-N.C.).