Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise as leader of the Republicans on the Education and Labor Committee, which had a referral on H.R. 1 that did not even have a hearing, much less a markup on the provisions that fall within our jurisdiction. Mr. Speaker, as you know, a referral means a bill should be debated by a committee of jurisdiction, but that did not happen. It appears that every corner of American life would be touched by this overreaching, politically-motivated bill. Even colleges and universities did not manage to escape its reach. We fully recognize the opportunity colleges and universities can provide for traditional 18- to 24-year-old students to register to vote. That is why we have always been supportive of voter registration efforts on campuses. But mandating voter registration efforts on campus doesn't show good intentions for student engagement. Instead, it reveals the true motive behind this unnecessary tinkering with the Higher Education Act. Colleges and universities have not, do not, and must not ever exist to serve the Federal Government. The provisions in H.R. 1 take institutions of higher learning and put them in the same category as your local DMV. It is bad enough that colleges and universities barely resemble the free marketplace of ideas they once were. This bill turns them into full-fledged government offices, with all of the customer service and freedom of thought for which government offices are known. The reasons to oppose H.R.…”