Republican Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie has reintroduced H.R. 899 for the 118th Congress, which seeks to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education.
“I have introduced a bill to terminate the Department of Education. There is no Constitutional authority for this federal bureaucracy to exist,” Massie wrote Feb. 14 on Twitter.
Massie previously introduced H.R. 899 during the 117th Congress in February 2021. The bill ran a single sentence: “The Department of Education shall terminate on December 31, 2022.” (RELATED: Biden’s Latest Student Loan Gambit Will Cost More Than Twice The Amount His Admin Estimated, Study Finds)
I have introduced a bill to terminate the Department of Education.
There is no Constitutional authority for this federal bureaucracy to exist. pic.twitter.com/xKWHgPfVnq
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) February 14, 2023
“Unelected bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. should not be in charge of our children’s intellectual and moral development,” Massie said in a press release for the bill’s introduction in 2021. “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 also introduced H.R. 899 in February 2017, on the same day former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos was scheduled to be confirmed.
“Neither Congress nor the President, through his appointees, has the constitutional authority to dictate how and what our children must learn,” the representative said in a press release at the time.
Reps. Andy Biggs, Lauren Boebert, Dan Bishop and Chip Roy are among the eight Republican cosponsors of the legislation in the 118th Congress.