On the recordSeptember 16, 2020
As you have heard throughout this debate, Republicans agree that discrimination and segregation are repugnant and immoral. Unfortunately, this bill does nothing to address these problems. Instead, Democrats are trying to sneak in a radical partisan rewrite of civil rights law under the guise of an education bill. However, before the House takes action on this legislation, we have one final opportunity to address one particular flaw in this bill. On September 11, 2019, President Trump issued an executive order establishing the policy of the executive branch to consider discrimination against Jews to be illegal discrimination under title VI when such discrimination is based on an individual's race, color, or national origin. If this House is going to radically rewrite title VI, as this bill does, we should use this opportunity to show commitment to combating anti-Semitism. With anti-Semitism on the rise around the world, the need for this amendment is clear. In fact, here in the United States, we have seen horrific acts of violence against our Jewish friends over the last few years. In October 2018, 11 congregants lost their lives at a synagogue in Pittsburgh, the worst killing of Jews in American history. In December of last year, a gunman targeted a Jewish kosher deli, leaving six dead. This motion does one simple thing. The underlying bill requires recipients of funding from the Department of Education to designate title VI compliance coordinators.…
