On the recordFebruary 6, 2017
Well, I thank the Senator from Hawaii for his question. He is absolutely right. I did ask Betsy DeVos, when she came before our committee, if she would commit to not privatizing our schools or cutting a single penny from public education, and she would not do that. She would not do that. To me, that sends a very clear message, and it did obviously to parents, students, and administrators across this country, that she was not committed to the core principle of public education, that our tax dollars in this country always have and should continue to be to make sure that every student, no matter where they are, will have the opportunity to participate in education. Her answer clearly meant that she was going to take money from our public education system, from our schools--big, small, rural, urban, and suburban--to go to private schools. That would mean a devastation for many communities. So I thank the Senator from Hawaii for his question.
