the production that happens outside of the united states they could actually never exist physically so therefore we do not have a customs record that would allow us to crosscheck with the company is reporting. it is credible the critical to license or joint venture are producing these chips and how it works. this is set up for analysis. unfortunately it's not set up for analyzing how to clean up value chains. >> if a company takes the position or posture of the cartoon character, i don't know if you are familiar with sergeant scholz, it may have predated your knowledge but his favorite mantra was i see nothing. of the company chooses to see

nothing or hear nothing the difficulty of tracing and stopping this kind of violation of rights is all the higher. >> it's extraordinarily difficult. when there are no internal processes we will get the not clear report on the audit. >> this morning on capitol hill education secretary miguel cardona is set to testify on college campus protests. he's appearing before the committee on his department policy.

>> the committee on education workforce will come to order. without objection the chair is authorized to call recess at any time. mr. secretary, i was truly excited when your named

secretary with your background. you know i have told you that. however, you have not lived up to your potential. the educational decline is not without warning. upon your confirmation i issued a press release saying, the teachers union and left-wing special interest groups are keeping our schools closed despite the serious consequences for students academic success and mental health. serious consequences may have been the understatement of the century. since the last time you testified, the national assessment of educational progress released its 2022 math and reading scores. the results were disturbing. reading scores plummeted to the lowest level in the history of the testing. across all subjects, american k-

12 students saw a steep drop in educational attainment thanks in large part to the biden administration lockdown policies. the negative consequences of learning loss with the this generations future employment and earnings will be devon stated. if i were to rate your tenure on the state of k-12 schools i would give you enough -- and asked. failing scores are not the only negative development in education since our last oversight hearing. over the past seven months colleges across the nation have seen an unprecedented regression in moral and institutional legitimacy as anti-semitism and pro-hamas protests have engulfed campuses. turn on the news and universities such as columbia and ucla look like unrecognizable war zones. from the beginning i urged a

firm hand in dealing with anti- semitism on campus and i have led by example. you on the other hand refused even to say that the from the river to the sea chant is anti- semitic. i saw this as a failure of moral clarity deeming you unfit for public office and call for your resignation. with the outbreak of campus riots i'm even more resolute so i will say it again. you must resign. if i were to rate your time as secretary based on the state of post secondary education i would also give you an f. the final report is based on your tenure as an administrator. again, i will warn of the potential pitfalls of mismanaging programs such as the fast rollout. the department managed to bungle both. the simplification has been the

law for the entirety of your administration. last year was filled with delays and excuses. in march 2023 after months of refusing to communicate a release date, the department announced it would push the implementation of the simplification act back from october 1 to what ended up being december 30, 2023. the october deadline should have come as no surprise. congress had already granted the department an additional year and you still cannot get the job done. then the december 30 soft launch was filled with glitches. prospective college students fought through random crashes and lengthy waiting rooms to submit their completed fafsa application only to be met with uncertainty.

for the applications that did make it through, large percentages contained errors, were unable to be corrected, or both. in some cases they took months to fix. the financial aid administrator surveyed schools just last week found that over 30% of schools have still not even begun to package eight offers thanks to your delays. the delays and uncertainty have crushed students and universities. fafsa completion rates have fallen 30% nationally with declines even higher among low income students. universities are expecting decreased enrollment in the fall. it could be even worse than the pandemic. attending college is one of the most consequential choices some may ever make. for many students with limited means who depend on the fafsa that choice has been denied. some will inevitably put

education on the back burner for life. that is what troubles me the most on this. may 1 should have been college decision day but instead students were still stuck waiting for financial information, paralyzed by your ineptitude. fafsa should have been a top priority. instead, your actions proved time and again that it wasn't. when the department should've been putting time and resources into fafsa it was pouring time and resources into the latest student debt scheme. this latest scheme could cost taxpayers up to $1 trillion. for perspective, these actions are more expensive than all postsecondary education spending before 2020. the higher education act passed in 1965, yet you are projected to spend more on just the biden

student loan debt scheme than all other secretaries spent since 1965 i have completely lost faith in this administration to govern. your radicalism has alienated loan servicers and force the administration to bungle the return to repayment. nine million borrowers missed their first repayment. i'm not sure this administration ever wanted the payment. i think you see it as politically advantageous to kick the can down the road so you did. therefore, if i were to grain your -- grade your tenure as an administrator i would give you an f. on all the broad strokes you have a failing grade. there are plenty of other specific issues to discuss today. the department has failed to protect young women with the title ix rewrite. failed to return to the office to work in person and failed to pass the 2023 financial audit.

i see each of these failures as a result of the original failure that the federal government inserted itself into education in the first place. there are good reasons why the word education does not appear in the constitution. education is done best when it is handled at the local level. the solution is not more of the same which is what the presidents budget represents, but less of what has sidetracked our country's educational system and the department of education itself. as president ronald reagan once famously said, the nine most terrifying words of the english language are i'm from the government and i'm here to help. with that, i yield to the ranking member for an opening statement. >> thank you and good morning mr. secretary. thank you for being with us today. 70 years ago chief justice earl

warren wrote the majority opinion, unanimous opinion of brown be board of education. any child may reasonably be expected denied the opportunity of education such an opportunity the state has undertaken to provide it is a right which must be made available to all on equal terms. the court went on to say that segregation of students by race denies the children of the minority race of an equal education and opportunity because segregated schools are inherently unable. regrettably today we must acknowledge that in 2024, public schools are segregated by race and class as they were in the late 1960s. today we have a chance to hear from the secretary about how the biden and harris administration is working to fulfill this promise and bolster support for students

and teachers while also tackling systemic inequities in our public school system. for example president biden enacted to pass the american rescue plan act without the support of a single republican vote. the largest one-time federal investment in k-12 education in the nation's history. the investment was allocated using the title i a formula meaning that the greatest resources went to the communities with the greatest need. these resources also allowed the school districts to make up for missed time in the classroom, respond to mental and social emotional needs and support educators. the research shows that the federal investments resulted in marked improvement in schoolchildren in chicago, birmingham, nashville and other cities and counties around the country. additionally, the department of education has also taken

historic steps to relieve student borrowers from mountains of unaffordable debt. this administration has forgiven more than $160 billion in student loan debt for 4.6 million borrowers, including some who were duped by their universities, enhancing the income driven repayment plans and public service loan forgiveness program, future borrowers now have a clear path to repayment. i look forward to hearing from the secretary about how the department, what the statuses and getting the free application for federal student aid, the fafsa rollout back on track. as you know the committee has communicated with you our concerns about the impact of the many delays for student college decisions. we have pressed for policies to ensure every student has access to a quality education. at the same time republicans have prioritized divisive culture war issues and

politicized classrooms, pushed legislation and were consumed with who uses which bathroom. moreover, my colleagues frequently speak about the commitment to fighting campus discrimination yet their actions tell a different story. republicans have advocated significant cuts to the department of education office of civil rights funding which would inevitably hinder its ability to investigate and prosecute campus related discrimination claims. unfortunately this seems to be where the colleagues are on the other side of the aisle. we have come to an impasse because complaining about a problem is not a solution. at the end of the day, if we want to reduce rising tensions on college campuses, we need to advance meaningful legislation to address the problem. passing meaningless resolutions week after week and turning the

committee room into a spectacle only seems to have exacerbated the problems instead of defusing them. our students deserve more than political ponds and fundraising schemes. i want to thank you for your testimony. i look forward to what i hope to be a productive discussion. thank you, madam chair. >> thank you. pursuant to committee rolls, all members who wish to insert statements into the record may do so by submitting them to the committee clerk electronically in microsoft word format by 5:00 p.m. 14 days after the date of the hearing which is may 22, 2024. without objection the hearing record will remain open to allow such statements and other extraneous material referenced during the hearing to be submitted for the official hearing record.

i now turn to the introduction of our witness. we have as our witness secretary miguel cardona from the u.s. department of education located in washington, d.c.. we thank you for being here today and look forward to your testimony. i remind the witness that we have read your written statement which will appear in full in the hearing record pursuant to committee rolls and practice, i ask that you limit your oral presentation to a five minute summary of your written statement. i also remind the witness to be aware of his responsibility to provide accurate information to the committee. i now recognize mr. secretary for five minutes. >> thank you. chairwoman, ranking member, distinguished members of the

committee. thank you for the opportunity to testify on president biden's fiscal year 2025 to request for the department of education. my purpose here today is to propose a budget that helps protect and support our nations students. to be clear it's not to create a spectacle for the benefit of the media or promote divisions that promote culture wars and political sideshows but do nothing to help our young people succeed. our nations parents and students are looking for us to recognize that we have common ground and build on that by making responsible choices together to invest in education as the foundation for american opportunity. it is a responsible choice to sustain our academic recovery from the impact of the pandemic through $82.4 billion in calculated investments to accelerate learning and success . it is a responsible choice to invest in a stronger future for

all americans by boosting funding to close opportunity and achieve an act gaps in low income communities through title i, support students with disabilities through ide a. support learners and recruit, prepare, retain, and develop great teachers. it is the responsible choice to invest in safer schools. the mental health of our students by making more funding available for school counselors and mental health professionals. it's the responsible choice to give more young people access to the american dream by building more pathways to rewarding careers and opening doors to higher education by improving college affordability, retention, and completion including through free community college and increased student support. it is the responsible choice to fully honor the caps under the

bipartisan fiscal responsibility act as this budget does. let me emphasize. when we get beyond the noise and efforts by self decree division, there is so much common ground about what matters most for our nations students. such as getting all students to read by third grade. dividing mental health support in the midst of a youth mental health crisis. opening up college and career pathways so students have more options for rewarding lives and careers and making higher education more affordable and more accessible for those who choose that path. i know that we have common ground when it comes to our horror at the appalling anti- semitism we are seeing on some college campuses. as the president said last week there should be no place on any

campus, no place in america for symmetry -- anti-semitism or threats of violence. there is no place for hate speech. the biden and harris administration including the department of education is taking action each and every day to help ensure that schools and colleges are free from discrimination and safer jewish students and all students and will continue to do so. make no mistake. anti-semitism is discrimination and is prohibited by title vi of the civil rights act of 1964. dissent is essential to democracy. will it must never lead to disorder or denying the rights of others so they may finish their college education. hate has no place on college campuses. every student deserves to learn

in an environment where they feel free to be themselves without discrimination or fear for their safety. that is why the budget provides for more resources for the office of civil rights to continuance strong response. i hope to work with you in partnership and constructive dialogue. we can raise the bar for our students and we can do it together. i look forward to working with you to do so. thank you. >> thank you, mr. secretary. under committee role nine we will now question the witness under the five-minute role. i ask members to keep your questions succinct so the witness has time to answer. i now recognize myself for five minutes of questioning. mr. secretary, you have been proudly volunteering the taxpayers to take on the student loan debt of largely wealthy college graduates. do you believe the students who spend their time in college calling for the destruction of

an ethnic religious group or spend their time preventing students of perfect -- particular ethnic religious groups from walking freely deserve to have their education paid for by taxpayers? >> i could not your you that well but if you are making reference to the student debt relief plan we have done i am really proud of the work we are doing to provide a lifeline for students who chose to go to college and are living -- >> i'm talking about the students who are being anti- semitic and stopping jewish students from being able to go to class and threatening them. do you want the taxpayers to pay their loans off? >> i believe that students that are breaking the law and are disrupting the educational environment should be held to account. i believe it is important that all students have access to their higher education classes

and graduation. >> will you commit to ensuring that no student that has harassed other students or prevented other students from going to class or breaking laws receives any form of student loan forgiveness. >> we are committed to making sure campuses are safe. i condemn any form of hate or any violence on campus. i have spoken to students and educators who have experienced that. >> we would like you to follow through on those who do break the law and make sure they do not receive student loan forgiveness. mr. secretary, the coo at fsa needs to have a deep and fast lawn -- knowledge of how loan operations were given that fsa is to factor the largest consumer bank in the country. indeed, the performance-based organization statute contemplates high expectations of the coo. the coo needs to be an operational and lending expert and have a keen

understanding of massive lending operations. do you commit to finding a replacement that has real-world experience leading a massive lending operation so we can be assured the financial interest of the taxpayers are protected. >> thank you for the question. i'm committed to making sure we have a chief operating officer with experience. i look forward to working with you on the process to select. >> thank you. in a similar vein i have been asking for the performance bonus of the coo and fy 23 for senior fsa staff including the coo. this has been met with delay after delay after delay. this should not be hard as these bonuses are required to be made public. if i do not receive the information requested by noon on the 14th you will be facing a subpoena. as i mentioned earlier, fsa is a performance-

based organization and have the ability to award bonuses to select of ploys -- employees including the chief operating officer. did the errors that were found in fy 2022 and fy 2023 and conducting the dip -- department financial audits result in a reduction or elimination to bonuses paid to senior staff. simple question yes or no. >> thank you for the question. i take responding to your request very seriously and will continue to share information with you. i will make sure that we are communicating on your team for a timeline for providing you that information. >> did the audit have an impact on the bonuses? yes or no? >> within the communication i will make sure the answer to your question is there. i can tell you that we take the

audit information that we receive very seriously. >> what are the practical consequences of the department's failure to obtain a clean audit for each of the last two years? >> we recognize working with our auditors and have gotten disclaimers of opinions of the past. we are continuing to work with auditors to ensure the information they provide us is used as we continue to improve practices every year. >> on march 6 i transmitted a letter to you voicing my concerns about the departments 16% occupancy rate. it's been two months since i wrote to you and 3 1/2 months since the chief of staff requested you and other federal department leaders submit a return to office action plan. will you commit today to provide the information and documents that are requested no later than may 17. >> i absolutely commit to

providing you that information as quickly as possible. i hope before may 17. i know that we have increased those numbers significantly. i am proud of the progress we are making. >> thank you i recognize mr. courtney for five minutes. >> thank you, madam chairwoman and secretary, thank you for your service and your presence here today. last friday the u.s. department of labor issued the monthly jobs report showing that the u.s. economy added 175,000 new jobs defying all of the skeptics and naysayers. we are now at a place where for 27 consecutive months the u.s. unemployment rate has been below 4%. that has never happened in the history of this country. even with those numbers we still have 8.5 million job openings. one of the things i think is so unique about your

life experience and what you bring to the job is that you are a graduate of a career and technical school in connecticut who today along with career technical schools all over the country are on fire in terms of making sure that people are able to take advantage of these record number of job openings. one of your initiatives at the department of education has been the career connected high school program which again is about getting not just trade schools but comprehensive high schools into the act as far as connecting young people to the right skills and closing the skills gap. can you talk about progress with that program? i have certainly seen it in my district. >> thank you very much. i talk about common ground in my remarks. this is something we should really be coming together. for far too long in this

country we've had a four year college or bust mentality that i believe has underserved our students, communities and country. i am unapologetically in support of making sure that all of our high schools not just technical schools have a pathway program for students to explore careers, apprenticeships, internships, toolkit -- dual credit programs they can get credentials they need to pursue a four year degree or go into the workforce or get a credential for a high school, high paying career. we are committed to that at the department of education. i office in talk about evolution of our schools. the career connected learning grant which is something we are proposing a $57 million increase would do just that. i have visited schools that have done a really good job. k-12 schools that are connected

with two year colleges and often times four year colleges and industry and labor partners for better access earlier to the trades and careers that exist. this is something i believe there's a lot of common ground on. the budget reflects interest in that and we are committed to supporting it. >> i completely agree. i visited a high school in thompson, connecticut. again, because of the career pathways approach which your program encourages employers are getting into the game for helping fund particularly in the healthcare sector. these job openings are probably one of the most acute shortfalls that exist. these kids are getting a chance to get certified along with their diploma when they graduate from high school. some will go right into work. others will go to nursing programs.

it's not an either/or for higher education or going into the workforce. either way you are getting a meaningful stimulus to students in terms of showing up for school, which again helps attendance which is something we should be encouraging. for the last minute i want to talk about the fact that when he took office the department of education was under numerous court orders for failing to obey the law. the prior administration had denied 98% of the applications for loan discharge under the program which was created with a bipartisan vote in the house in 2007. i was there. remember when president bush signed the into law. as we are going back into recovery mode, we talk about that and the progress you have made. >> thank you for that question. broadly speaking, the public service loan forgiveness

program was one of the programs that was not being implemented the way it was intended to be. 7000 people got it in the last administration. 98% denial rate. in three years we have provided 875,000 borrowers. these are teachers, nurses, veterans with almost $62 billion in debt relief. i will bring attention to a teacher that i spoke to who took out a loan for $30,000 and ended up having to pay $60,000 because of interest. she received debt relief and is now able to purchase a home. these are the stories that are happening. >> because you are obeying the law. i yield back. >> thank you. mr. wilson you are recognized for five minutes. >> mr. secretary, my wife is a teacher. i have such a high regard for the profession. i believe in local elected school boards.

i did not favor the creation of the department of education. we have a great superintendent in my home state of south carolina. sending it back to elected school boards is what should be done. every school board is different. communities are different in the school districts of the federal government cannot possibly understand or address the issues properly. with that in mind, another issue you just referenced with section 117 of the higher education act requires institutions to disclose semi annually to the u.s. department of education any gifts received and any contracts of a foreign source that alone or combined value $250,000 or more. your administration has decided to remove this section 117 enforcement to the federal student office. it is already overworked.

what is the status of these reports? this is really critical because we have dictatorships today whether it be more criminal put nor the chinese communist party. we know the regime and to ron -- tehran trying to destroy our country. so what is being done to try to stop any disinformation >> happy teacher appreciation week to your wife and all the teachers across the country section 117 is very important. we reported close to 39,000 foreign gifts worth $21 billion already. we believe transparency is critical and having it move under fsa allows us to do that more succinctly. as we know we are a member of

the fbi counterintelligence task force. we communicate regularly to ensure that law enforcement investigation arms have the information that we have. the system is working well and i agree that we need to protect our schools. >> you don't have to do this right now but a question i would like for the record, is what is the status of maintaining these reports? this is critically important. it is said yale, stanford, and harvard have countless examples of raging anti-semitism on campus. they also have investigations under the investigation. again, it looks like they cannot impact the american people as they try to promote their totalitarian authoritarian

view of the world. we have to be prepared. you coordinating the investigation with the open title six investigations, -- >> thank you for that question. as you know we have a significant increase in these investigations since october 7 attacks on over 100 new cases which is why we are asking for an increase to make sure we have enough investigators for these cases. we take into account depending on the investigation request, we take into account many different factors. while not speaking generically, i can tell you that the office for civil rights does take into account several factors when requests come in for investigation. >> i am very concerned. the sdi -- fbi director has indicated that attacks are imminent across the country and

can be facilitated by not acting against these anti- semites. from the river to the sea, that is a code for murder of the people of israel. we know that the hamas covenant provides section 7 that you chase every jew until you find the last jew behind a rock . -- let me restate and make clear because all of god's children should know. that is that section 7 of the hamas covenant calls for chasing every jew behind a rock or tree until you find the last jew behind a rock and kill him. it should be known by all

americans that this should not be misunderstood. with that i yield back. >> thank you. >> thank you, madam chair. secretary cardona, welcome. thank you for your service. i appreciate it. thank you for continuing the pl ss student loan program. you have been giving testimony on mental health for schools. as you know, may is mental health awareness month which provides an opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of access to mental health services especially for students and cool -- school communities. every month we raise mental

health concerns. i have heard first hand from parents, teachers administrators and students themselves concern for their well-being and i share this concern. one transformational step towards addressing this growing need was the bipartisan safer communities act. may i ask you, mr. secretary, can you tell me the status of different programs , of grant program school based mental health services? how do these programs help to meet the mental health needs of today's students. >> you are absolutely right. we are in a youth mental health crisis. if we go back to the schools we had in 2019 we are failing our

children and need to do better. i am proud that the bipartisan safer communities act provided and $2 billion a mental health support for staff, for stronger connections to help ensure that school safety plans are appropriate and up to date. those dollars have made a significant difference. we've seen a 40% increase during that time of school social worker availability. we've seen close to 30% more school nurses available to students and schools. it is sad to hear that we have normalized schools not having nurses and we have to do better. the current budget asks for $40 million in mental health support for schools knowing that students are six times more likely to access mental health support if they are provided in our schools work we are proud of that work and ask you to support that. >> thank you very much. mr. secretary, an item that

looms large in my district. the department implementation of the fafsa simplification has regrettably created uncertainties for students in my district. they have faced numerous obstacles through the application cycle. it must have been when they were designing and engineering the system because you kept the one place in the united states out of the system. my district. the only place in the united states that cannot access the fafsa unless they declare themselves as performers -- foreign students. >> the issue remains, you have provided a workaround, but i

hope -- i know this is unacceptable even for you. can you tell me what the department needs to ensure the application process for the next cycle? what would you do differently? >> thank you very much. i can assure you we will follow up to make sure the students you represent get the best support and make sure they have what they need. let me just tell you, 30 years ago i did not fill it out. it was an intimidating process. i did not want to give it to my parents to fill it out. i knew that the system is broken. when i filled it out for my son it was an hour long process. i can see why we are hovering around 60% completion rate before the simplification. rolling out the plan has been a challenge. >> it is 100% in my district. no student can complete the application. i understand it's one of the

items of outstanding issues. i am just asking. can i please have your commitment this will be resolved before the next school year. >> absolutely. thank you very much for your service. this will be my last time before you on this panel hearing but i know you will be back. thank you. >> thank you. mr. thompson, you are recognized. >> thank you. secretary, a lot of my questions have to do with learning. as you know i'm a strong advocate for career technical education york i am immensely proud of these programs through the country but especially those in my district like these secondary programs i had the privilege of visiting a few weeks ago. were you aware that the overall high school graduation rate around the country is 87%,

secondary cte programs graduate at least 96% of their students according to the budget justification for fiscal year 2025. >> yes. >> are you aware that postsecondary programs on average have higher completion and placement rates than non-ct and secondary programs? as you know they gain individuals and in demand sectors. the most recent program nearly 1.8 million post secondary cte concentrators. over a quarter of those enrolled in ct programs within the health science cluster. we are keenly aware of the shortage of workers through the country. do you agree that ct programs particularly in the wake of the pandemic have aligned with local labor markets, responded to employers and met global demands. >> yes. >> i know you have visited a

number of programs in your time of secretary. do you agree that the expansion of programs have been a major success? >> i believe that including ct is where we need to go and has been successful to get states to look at it differently. >> when congress passed perkins with unanimous support of the chambers, we included language stipulating the department of education may only issue regulations to the extent, quote, passed with unanimous support in both chambers, we included language to be leading that the department of education the only issue regulations to the extent, quote, the extent necessary to administer and ensure compliance with the specific requirements,", of the law. perkins five has been successful for both years and both of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle have -- on

students. but with this in mind, what exactly is your department planning to regulate regarding perkins v and why is this administration deciding it's critical to do so at this particular time, despite the law having been implemented successfully for six years and states currently submitting new, four year plans this month? >> thank you for the question, congressman. i agree with you wholeheartedly that earning while you learn is not only good for students to stay engaged, but it's better pedagogy, and students learn better. i visited across the country, programs that, hearing from students directly, i feel like they have an opportunity to be successful. so i'm totally agree with you. this is one of those areas where we feel we have a lot of ground. as a former principal, commissioner of education, i think the perkins is underutilized. i think we need to do a better job, making that the rule, not

the exception that we provide pathways for students and i look forward to working with you on how we can do that and because i know we have common ground, we can move the needle on this and make sure that all stool -- schools take advantage of that. >> and i appreciate that wholeheartedly, but your department has perkins regulation on the regulatory agenda with a noticeable proposal to be issued in august of this year. can you explain what aspect of the law your department has suddenly not able to administer after six years of successful enactment and having never issued regulations on perkins prior? >> thank you. so again, this process of making sure the perkins grant is being utilized for what the intention was, and opening access to earn to learn programs and apprenticeships is more readily available is what we i think collaboratively want to do across the country.

we believe that we have an opportunity here to make sure that the perkins grant does that. unfortunately, in many districts, is regulated to very small programming and it doesn't really touch the mainstream programming of our high schools so the goal here is really to get to what you and i are both agreeing is necessary for our country which is more access to career and technical education programs. >> it will soon be time for reauthorization so i would encourage any thoughts that the department may have on aspects of the law that can be updated based on the six years of implementation feedback from ct programs, as it seems you all do will, and i would hope you'll provide these recommendations to the committee so they can be considered on that legislative process. >> thank you. >> so thank you. >> thank you, mr. thompson. you are recognized for five minutes. >> thank you. and thank you, secretary cardona. i want to join my cte -- a priority. also, support so many of the budget priorities including title i, i.d.a. , you even have a demonstration

program to incentivize high- quality public preschools, really very much appreciate that. i also want to say thank you to the department for the work that you've done updating the title ix rule. the updated rule is going to better protect and empower students and employees who are victimized by discrimination, including lgbtq individuals who have often been excluded from protection in the past. thank you for that work. i also appreciate the departments -- as student loan repayments resume following the covid cause. as of january, the share of borrowers making them return to the same repayment level of 2020, prior to the pandemic, however, i also remain concerned about vulnerable borrowers who may be at risk at default or delinquency. so i reintroduce my simple act of streamlining income driven management payments to

automatically -- and income driven borrowers and income driven repayment plans. mr. secretary, can you please talk about what steps the department is taking to help borrowers, as they restart payments, including committee getting with borrowers about the repayment options, and also, connected with that, we've heard some allegations that loan forgiveness is essentially a free ride for students? would you please sort of in general numbers, what percentage of borrowers who qualify for loan forgiveness have actually been making payments on their loans? >> thank you for that question. just want to preface this by saying we have a broken higher education system. everything we have done from day one is intended to make higher education affordable and more accessible. from providing debt relief that was passed in a bipartisan fashion here to going after institutions that are taking advantage of first-generation students, we introduce the safe plan, which is an affordable

income -- often times it's interest that cause people to default. we must remember that we've had over million people going into default every year and we are fixing that. even the better fafsa, which is , as frustrating and as challenging as it's been, and i apologize to the students and families that have had to deal with delays. i know how frustrating that is. this is all intended to fix a system that for too long, has kept people out. with regard to repayment, we had the fresh start program, which allows folks to get back on without hurting their credit. i mentioned the safe program, which allows you to pay, based on your income. we have teachers, i mentioned before, teachers who are starting salary at $38,000 a year, having to pay $700 a month on their old loan plans.

but if they sign up for s.a.f.e., it's going to be more affordable. specifically, with regard to your question, i would love to have my team get back to you on that but i can tell you right now, the folks who are, and i would not call it a scheme, i would call it a lifetime -- lifeline. for millions of americans were trying to get back on the fee, we are proud that we are helping them getting back on their feet but we are opening the door to higher education. >> trying to get another question in but you are absolutely right. the people who have had their bounce forgiven actually owed more than they borrowed originally. so just on fafsa, we appreciate your apology, but it has really been struggling, our families have really been struggling. we know that the number of high school seniors who have completed the form is down significantly, particularly with committees -- communities

of color. how are you informing students and families about the process? do you have any strategies to quickly increase fafsa deletion? especially as many high school students lack access to counselors? >> sure. think the question. giving you a quick update. we have over 9 million processed applications. if a student applies today and we are encouraging students to fill it out, if you apply today by friday, the colleges will have the information. two thirds of the colleges have communicated with us that letters have gone out already. the system, while delayed, is working, we have a strategy, a nationwide strategy to get students to fill it out. we are working with superintendents, teachers, school principals, ymcas, boys and girls club, to have an all hands on deck approach, we just used, we have moved to $50 million to help accelerate that process to make sure that we are giving students and families the support that really need. >> and are you seeing the applications increase with that push? >> sure. keep up that work. >> u. mr. wahlberg, you are recognized for five minutes. >> thank you, madam chairwoman, and thank you, secretary, for being here. the title of this hearing is examining the policies and priorities, and i have to say,

deeply concerned about how the department is choosing to prioritize its efforts. the department has since 2020 two prepare for the new fafsa rollout, get the political leadership shows it spent its time canceling -- rewriting title ix, and i would say to the detriment and endangerment of female athletes and females in general, and making it harder for proprietary schools to exist, schools that are preparing individuals for real- world jobs with tremendous success. and now we are witnessing an explosion of anti-semitic incidents on college campuses and i'm concerned the department is not living up to its obligation of upholding title vi of the civil rights act. so, secretary cardona, as of this morning, the department of education's website listed 145

open investigations based on shared ancestry under title vi of the civil rights act. on average, let me ask this question. on average, how long does it take the office of civil rights to conclude title vi shared ancestry investigations on average? >> thank you. so the anti-semitism and shared ancestry cases have in greece. we've had over 100 since the attacks on october 7th. >> hundred 55 as this morning. >> but just since october 7th, on average, is hard given average because every case is different but roughly 6 to 8 months. >> currently, how many investigators does the department of education have on columbia's campus?

>> i can't comment specifically on one case, but i can tell you that we have investigators looking into the cases that we have open, which is why, sir, we are asking for an increase. we have approximately 60 less investigators than we did in 2009 and triple the number of cases. >> that it ought to be easy to tell me how many investigators you have on columbia's campus, on ucla's campus, on george washington's campus. >> i'm sure you know i can't speak on open capos -- cases. what we are doing is we are taking these very -- and we are moving as quickly as we can. your support of our budget proposal, sir, would help us move that along. >> let me go this direction then. how many investigations as the department closed and how many of those investigations have resulted in resolutions and policy changes? we can't comment on the message that are open. how many were closed? >> there have been two cases that have been closed around anti-semitism. >> two cases? >> correct. >> and we are vigorously attending to open cases now.

as you know, when congress passed this regulation here, this law, we have to make sure that we negotiate with universities on a compliance and how they are going to address the issue. >> as i understand it, the office of civil rights case processing manual indicates that the office of civil rights is the authority to launch its own investigations. it can launch that with your own decision-making process. you don't have to wait for specific complaints. have you launched any proactive investigations into anti- semitism? >> what i can tell you is as recently as this morning we have provided guidance to all colleges, not just the ones where we might have issues. so yet, friday, isaac communication to over 5000 university leaders come of this morning, we have a letter. >> so you haven't launched any investigations. >> we have, as i said earlier, i hundred 45 open cases, which are woefully understaffed to handle the existing cases and

i'm asking for a budget increase that we can continue to get to this cases, sir. >> let me put it this way. will you commit to -- within the next 30 days? >> we have a process where we are providing information to campuses. we have done more in the last six or seven months than the previous administration. >> it's not working. it's not working. >> if you fund us, sir. >> i appreciate the fact of the university of michigan did not negotiate, ended up going on with their commencement. speaking broccoli here -- poor oakley here parochial really here. the opportunity that you have to launch these reviews, you have solely. it doesn't take congress or anyone else to ask you. i certainly hope you'll make this a priority because it's for the future and present of students and universities and colleges under your priorities

supervision. i yield back. >> thank you, mr. walberg. >> i have a question for my colleague. is a question, mr. walberg. your concern for the office of civil rights is well taken. would you support a supplemental appropriation and authorization to fund the office of civil rights? >> i think we have, -- >> i yield for questions. yes or no. >> we have a secretary here. >> mr. walberg. i asked you -- >> i would suggest you ask a question. >> on majority sigh, continue try to lower and decrease the funding for office of civil rights and that, as a secretary, you do more if you had more money. is that right? >> yes. >> thank you. mr. secretary, welcome. can you describe the newly finalized timeline rule, what it does, and why your department felt it was important

to create a? >> thank you for that question. for us, it was really important to make sure that we are being very explicit about protecting students. it's about keeping our students safe in school. it strengthens protections for students and sex based harassment, empowers families and students, and requires them -- it doesn't require multiple incidents for a school to respond. >> great. well, thank you. this role represents the most conference of expensive -- expansion of title ix. it specifically bolden's -- but all students are entitled to participate in the educational programs and activities free from all forms of sex this cremation. a lack of exposing protection and enforcement powers have long disputed many -- excluded many women, lgbtq, pregnant, and parenting students from the full freedom to pursue and -- a quality education. so mr. secretary, how will this rule impact students? >> thank you. you mentioned pregnant students.

historically, there have been cases where students who are pregnant were encouraged to leave school or not. accommodations not be made. this protects them. in the past, we've had students who have been afraid to come forward after experiencing sexual violence because the process put them out there in a way that they were vulnerable to more attacks. so what we have done is make the provisions now safer for students to come forward and protect students who have been marginalized or under attack in our country, including lgbtq i students. >> is it fair to say this will protect -- at least one state governor has suggested that his state will simply not follow the rule republicans claim that the rule interpretation of discrimination infringes on a woman's rights. mr. cardona, is that true?

>> that is not true. it does not infringe on rights. it protects more students. >> how is such blatant disregard for a rule put the educational program of such a state in jeopardy? >> federal rules trump estate rules and is unacceptable for leaders to pick and choose which students they choose to protect. that's unacceptable. >> so is unacceptable for them to say they're only going to protect some students but not all students. and you take your role as secretary of education very seriously to make sure that all students have the right to pursue education. >> absolute. >> what tools of implementation has they offered -- and to ensure that they are in compliance successfully? more so with this than any other rule we rolled out. >> we want to support schools in the implementation of this. mr. secretary, thank you.

currently, 83% of the lgbtq+ students face victimization at schools, including bullying and harassment and assault. i would the new rule impact lgbtq students? >> provides protections for the students to have access to programming that all other students will have and prevents schools from discriminating on them because they are lgbtq. >> is it accurate to say a lack of protections could result in a higher rate of absenteeism? >> absolutely. >> well, thank you. as you may be aware, the california riverside, which i represent, became the first school in the university of california system to reach a peaceful resolution with student protesters. students had set up in a minute on monday, april 29th, following negotiations between the college administration and the leadership of the protest, the encampments was dissolved peacefully by that friday that same week without a single arrest. uc riverside -- announce the terms of the agreement in a letter to the ucr community, along with a list of frequently asked questions about to -- about the terms.

i'm thrilled that they are leading by example. secretary cardona, is there anything we might be able to take away from this example? >> yes, thank you. it's critically important that college leaders engage in communication and model by discussing with students how to get to a peaceful resolution. they should preserve the safety on campus and make sure that students are able to go to class without fear. >> i'm sorry, my time is up. i yield back. >> thank you, mr. grossman, you are recognized for five minutes. >> thank you. one of my colleagues had a question on public service loan forgiveness, and you had felt the program was broken because it was, quote, not being implanted the way you and congress intended. by the same logic, you admit that you broke the fafsa, which congress intended to be --

>> we yes, we have had significant delays that we are working tirelessly to implement correctly. >> thank you. >> across the u.s., the number of students who have successfully submitted the fafsa was down 29% from this time last year. has the department owned up and taken responsibly, should any, or i should say she should any employee, political or otherwise, lose her job over the fafsa rule out? >> so let me just clarify, sir the difference is less, we are about 15% reduce the number from 30% to 15%, given our nationwide strategy that we are using, so we are seeing over 9 million students apply the information being processed and students are receiving letters. just wanted to give you that update. >> okay. i don't want to chastise anybody, was there any consequence for the -- >> thank you for that question.

>> we take this very seriously and it's concerning to us that there were delays and yes, there will be opportunities for not only accountability but restructure to make sure this doesn't happen again. as a parent of a high school senior and a student in college, i know how important this is for our families and we are committed to getting this right and making sure we open doors to ask as a higher education for more students across the country. >> wisconsin has an impressive tax-cut system and more and more people are going there all the time. as opposed to our traditional university. these colleges with flexible, scheduling options. these are popular among the students. however, due to the obvious inefficiencies within your department, numerous students interested in summer courses this year are unable to access timely financial aid. during my conversations with my local tech schools, in my district, they reveal a lack of

guidance from the department of education on how to proceed and advise students. can you offer immediate guidance to these institutions? >> absolutely. committed to working with you in those institutions to given the need and if necessary, ensure that we are funding those clinics for this students in the community. one thing i want to share, serve, is in wisconsin, there's a 61% completion rate prior to the simplification. together, we are going to do better than that. more students deserve an opportunity to access fafsa and achieve their goals through higher education. >> okay. one of the major goals of president biden has been some of the student loan forgiveness . probably, when i get back in my district, that's one of the major topics. of course, the topic is brought up by people who have paid their student loans. it's not unusual for people to say, do two jobs at one time.

they are going to get that, clear the decks, get the loan paid off. and after, maybe the loan is paid off in four or five years, working extra hard, all of a sudden, they find out that president biden is looking, you would've forgiven him on his own. what would you like me to say to my constituents who have gone through, hardship or maybe they just spend less money on other junk and paid off their student loans that way? what would you say to those folks? >> thank you, congressman. look, i'm one of those people who paid off my loans and i'm recognizing now, as secretary that over million people go into default. what i would say to those folks is we are fixing a broken system

that will allow more access, better return on investment for higher education. so we are fixing broken policies to make it, this is not something that will need to happen every five years. we are addressing it in different ways. >> i will agree with you there. what i'm saying in the past, broken or not, they are people who paid off their loans, maybe even pay them off prematurely because they didn't like being in debt. okay, maybe they work extra hard, maybe they gave up other things, but they pay them off early and now they feel like suckers for being responsible. how would you respond to that individual person? if i ran into a guy or a parent of somebody who says, you know, my son worked two jobs, he paid off his loan, why in the world of these other people getting it paid off for nothing? >> i think it's important to recognize where we are right now. a similar case could be made for people who receive -- and got debt forgiveness for small businesses. they were given help at a time when it was tough. right now, the higher education loan system is broken, we've introduced this plan and quite frankly, people going into default on their community doesn't help the local economy. for the teacher that i spoke to

who is now able to buy a home, that's helping the community, and if you look at our programs, its public servants. it's people who are defrauded by the colleges. so we are taking an interest off of loan that have gone on for over 20 years. >> thank you. that wasn't really an answer to my question, but thanks. >> thank you, mr. grossman. dr. adams, you're recognized for five minutes. >> thank you, madam chair and ranking members. and thank you. thank you for your leadership. thank you for being here and certainly, i appreciate your visits in my district. we would love to have you come back. i'm just reintroducing -- i guess we are calling it reigniting, we are reigniting it, which attempts to codify some of the same efforts and the presidents budget proposal requested an increase for the msi's and other underserved communities. these institutions

of course to play a vital role in educating this country's use, especially as higher education grapples with ongoing attacks to diversity, inclusion -- so you speak briefly with the work of the department is undertaking to ensure that sufficient funds are -- who have title iii or title v designations under the higher education? >> thank you very much for that question and i enjoyed visiting your district and i have to tell you, in my visits to hbc you, jackson state, louis state, you know, i always speak of the black excellence that i see there. the entrepreneurship and the sense of punching above your weight, as hbc you as. but i also have heard from hbc you -- decades of underinvestment have put us behind the eight ball. so i'm proud that the president and his budget has also, in an additional -- of 93 million but

also hundred million dollars to expand research and development. they need the labs to be able to compete for the contracts. so, you know, we recognize, because we work closely with them, the additional need that they have and how they are working really hard to make it happen so this budget does reflect the conversations and the work that we have seen. >> thank you very much. i just returned from oklahoma to visit langston university and the commencement there. and since january of this year, roughly one institution per week on average has announced its closure or intent to merge, follow include teachers, many students struggle to continue their higher education journey. one study shows that fewer than half of students -- have closed , transferred to other institutions and of those students, fewer than half end up receiving their degrees. i had a situation in my

district that when i first came to congress much, but how has the department enhanced its oversight of institutions at risk of closure since the start of the biden administration, and can you share more about the efforts to improve the closed school discharge process to support a borrower whose institution specifically have closed? >> thank you for that. we have done a lot there. we've seen students who were left out in the cold and left with debt and no degree. no earning potential to pay off that debt. so we are acutely aware that this is a challenge. we worked closely with universities on communication strategies. holding them accountable for recouping where that's possible and we are tightening up our oversight, especially if these are institutions that have historically taken advantage of students. one last thing, and i think it's really appropriate. we are also working very closely and i remember having -- and my office of secretary to make sure that credits

transfer. we've help those students land well in another institution. >> okay. great. so the federal pell grant program is the cornerstone of federal student aid. and it has expanded access to millions of low income students since its inception. can you share a little bit more about the economic significance of the pell grant program? >> absolutely. for many students, it is that opportunity, it is that door to higher education. we know that college graduates on average make $1 million over the course of their career, more than high school students. so we recognize the importance of pell. they have been pushing for an increase of pell and a $900 increase has already been pushed for and we recognize that it's up to like $7400 for a student per year. that is significant. we are going to continue push for that. we are going to continue to supply the process, make sure

it works for our students. >> in terms of the programmatic cuts and the harm to future pell grant recipients, can you speak briefly about that? >> can you repeat the last one? >> the cuts, the programmatic cuts that harm current pell programs. >> well, the implementation of not only better fafsa, but returned to repayment, the usgs servicing took place as last year with flat funding last year. we are requesting additional -- so we can do a better job delivering for the american people. >> thank you so much. madam chair, and you'll back my time. >> thank you. i would like to recognize mr. allen. >> thank you, mr. chairman, and secretary, five minutes, we have to get this pretty quick. you continue to hear a lot of frustration with your department of education has neglected its congressional mandated priorities for a partisan political agenda. i've heard from constituents in

colleges in my district in georgia and who have been let down by the departments inability to meet fafsa's deadlines. we have not had all hands on deck. instead, you march forward these past few months, and using these resources that propose another set of time- consuming regulations. parents, universities, -- teachers, were not happy. the cost for escalating has experienced about bad behavior in this meeting today. very deeply divided country. and i know debt is a problem. but, you know, how do you explain to young people that they owe $100,000 the day they are born in this country? $100,000 the day they are born. what shot have they got? do you

believe it was in the immediate best interest of students and families to assign department staff to your negotiating priorities since january? >> the negotiated rulemaking process does require staff and we do believe -- >> that the yes. >> we are fixing a broken system, sir. >> districts -- post secondary education for all types of students, including helping adults connect to credential programs in demand fields such as cybersecurity and many technology careers or economy -- do you support allowing students to have access to distance education that is a flexible option for working students? >> i do recognize that online institutions -- >> okay. you believe that colleges of all size should be ale to provide distance education programs that meet the standards of the students in the workforce? >> i could hear your -- i could

not hear your question, i was responding to the last question. >> do you think that they -- meet the needs of the students of the workforce. >> if they can do it in a high- quality way, i would not make a blanket statement that all school needed. >> so why has -- enrolled more than 500 students in a distance education program from being authorized by a state through a -- agreement. >> we recognize the importance of giving students an opportunity to have online learning and even with institutions that are not in their stay, but we want to make sure we are doing is make sure we are protecting students also in of a school closes or if there's a challenge with their program, that they would be protected from paying loans and an education that they didn't receive. >> with all due respect, let me tell you what this proposal would do. georgia tech offers one of the lowest cost online master programs in the country. prestigious university in my state. less than 10,000 -- for cybersecurity, computer science, and data analytics

careers. georgia leads the nation in development of cyber talent in research with 10 of our colleges and university is focused on cyber. u.s. army cyber command has -- and professional degrees the should not be stopped by arbitrary regulations that will only stifle cost-effective education. why is 500 and magic number -- the magic number? did you believe that 501 students are somehow not worthy of an innovative approval process and they must jump through more burdensome hoops to be offered? >> i agree with you. georgia has some amazing institutions and i want to make sure i work with you and my team works with you to identify the concerns there and work with you to make sure the georgia schools have the opportunities. >> mr. secretary avenue about a minute less -- i have about a minute left, i have to move on. 10 to 15 billion over the next decade because the colleges will

raise tuition rates since they know taxpayers will forgive loans as a result of your student loan agenda. some -- so, mr. secretary, yes or no, are you still committed to making hard-working georgians with no student loan debt pay for the student loans of terrorist supporting columbia university students who have over 100,000 in debt? >> we are committed to fixing a broken higher education systems are, we get a lot further if we work together to make sure that the students in your district can benefit from it. >> well, the campuses have been thrown into chaos, america is waking up as a result of radical progressive agenda. americans don't like it. this includes radical debt cancellation and i yield back. >> i would like to now recognize -- >> thank you, mr. chairman. welcome, secretary cardona. thank you for your dedication to our students throughout your life and here in this position. since taking office, the biden

administration has worked to raise the burden of student debt. this includes canceling debt for 876,000 people, including teachers and firefighters through the public service loan forgiveness program. it includes canceling debt for homeless to million -- almost 1 million people through income driven repayment, and almost 6 million for defrauded students and just last week, students were scanned by the now defunct art institute of seattle, who i met with in my district, finally sought relief after more than a decade, or the previous a ministration made the process so unworkable that congress rebuked it on a bipartisan basis. together, these steps have canceled -- 4.6 million borrowers. this is financial breathing room

for students and families who are just trying to get a higher education and improve their skills so they can contribute to our communities, our economy, and our country. all borrowers turn to loans as a step towards economic prosperity, but student debt made it so impossible for many. i it's important to remember that more than 80% of borrowers report that it holds them back from being able to become homeowners, something you were talking about just in previous answer. additionally, 56% of borrowers have to choose between repaying and affording rent and groceries. rent and groceries. no one should be stuck with these kinds of payments that they can't afford. secretary cardona, your department released its first of two proposed rules to provide additional student debt relief. what type of borrowers will benefit the most and how will this improve their financial well-being? >> well, thank you for that. the borrowers that would

benefit the most are those who have had runaway interest and i mentioned the teacher who had $30,000 just in interest. that prevented her from being able to even attack the principal of the loan. so that's one. i mentioned public servants. you know, you mention teachers and firefighters. bipartisan bill. we want to make sure that you don't have to jump through hoops to apply for that. if you work for 10 years in public service, if you paid your loans, it should be automatically discharged. we have a teacher shortage, we have a nurse shortage and we wonder why. we are trying to make it simpler to have access to a bipartisan bill that will pass in 2007. >> thank you. textbooks have minute an enormous strain on student finances. they can cost up to $1200 annually and textbook costs are on track to double every 11 years. students can save by buying used books or renting or borrowing from their library, but some institutions actually automatically bill students for their books. what is your

department doing to prevent students from spending more than needed on their books or on other hidden fees that are really preventing students from accessing the kinds of supports they need for quality education? >> thank you for that question as you know, this is in negotiated rulemaking, so i can't really comment on specifically where we think we are going to end up, but we are taking a very close look at what students are payment for -- paying for. i have two in college next year. i reckon isa different fees and what they had up to, we want to make sure that our students are, the information is transparent and they are getting what they are paying for and it's not something that is assumed that they are going to need. >> thank you. i want to discuss federal k-12 education for children experiencing homelessness. your department's guidance for american rescue plan homeless use funding has really been incredible lifeline for those families. for example, it helps provide

gas cards and cover car repairs in an emergency to increase attendance and i know that these funds are expiring soon. what supports does the department have in place for families experiencing homelessness, including for after these funds expire? >> sure, thank you. you've identified an issue that's increasing in our country, homelessness. making sure that our students are protected and are able to learn in the conditions for learning are right. we are requesting $129 million budget request for fy 25. programs like preschool programs, supplemental instructions for students that fall behind because of the trauma of being housing into care. before and after school -- housing insecure. let me tell you, as a principal, that was the most expensive thing. making sure they don't have to bounce and find six different schools.

to have a solid, consistent education. transportation and in healthcare referrals is also something that's required. >> thank you, mr. sector. and mr. chairman, i asked for unanimous consent to enter into the record this report from schoolhouse connection called overlooked and almost out of time as well as an article called grocery cards and car repairs, how covid aid can -- >> no objection. >> i yield back. thank you. >> thank you, mr. chairman. secretary cardona, i appreciate you being here today. i did wonder if you might show up, given that you seem to have little respect for our congressional inquiries into the goings-on of the department of education. as you know, i recently sent you a letter about the failed 2024-25 rollout but much like parents and college students across the country, as of today, we have not received a response on what you are doing to remedy the problems you created for millions of american families. so, today, with my time, i'd like to ask a few of these questions now. i'm a parent to a college

student in a high school senior. i like to understand what contributed to the delayed and ineffective rollout of the 2024- 25 fafsa. >> thank you question. just want to assure you that i take oversight very seriously and communicating information with you is really important to us. our department has provided over 50,000 pages and responded to 35 letters from this committee alone. i take it seriously and i will continue to take it seriously. had many delays with fafsa, frustrating delays that we have been able to fix. is working out unanchored students who are listening to sign up. >> what would you say, what would you say contributed to the delays and the ineffective rollout? what were the controlling factors? >> there were some programmatic issues that required their engineers to reprogram codes and -- >> and how much time were you given, from the time the bill

passed to the time that you were supposed to rollout? >> excuse me? >> the simple vacation act, how much time are you given between the time the bill passed to the rollout today. >> i believe it was passed in the last demonstration. >> you know how many years that was? >> three years. >> what is your department doing out to support students and parents who have been unable to submitted who have been given incorrect financial aid information or who have not received their estimates? what are you doing for the students? >> that something we take very seriously and we are working very closely to provide resources for families. >> what kinds of resources. >> videos on how to figure it out. we have $50 million going into communities to making sure we are knocking on doors for those families that sought to fill it out. we have tutorial videos, we have a national strategy ymca, school districts. we are working closely with districts and i have to say,

you know, we've also worked on return to repayment. usgs servicing contracts, and what we are doing now to make sure that we improve processing is make sure that our fsa department is designed for the work that is being expected of us. we are asking for a budget -- >> given that you had three years to get this right the first time, why should we expect that this upcoming fafsa would be ready by october 1st? i know in the senate appropriations committee you recently said your expectation that it would be ready. why should we believe that? >> well, look. i would be happy to share what we are doing on a day-to-day basis, but we are taking this very seriously . we know how important it is to our families and to our schools and our schools have been extirpation and working very closely with us to deal with the updates and i'm happy to say that two thirds or more are already processing. we are committed to making a better every year and opening doors to higher education. i can tell you that 60 to 70% of our students were applying for fafsa . that's not

acceptable. we need to be closer to 95% range and that's what we are going to work towards and we are going to make sure that it opens doors to higher education. >> the frustration that i experience in trying to do the fafsa would certainly deter people from participating in that this year. as you know, the soft launch was, that's a generous term, using the word launch, it was clear that there was a hasty release to barely meet the letter of the law by all measures and in my view, it was a disastrous failure. what grade would you give yourself and the d.o.e. on the botched fafsa rule out? >> i'm committed to improving it -- >> what grade would you give yourself? >> i'm not in the classroom right now. >> will you're the head of the department of the education. what grade would you give yourself? >> we are committed -- >> you would not answer the grade level. i would give you an f. i think many would give you the same. were you given a congressional directive to simplify fafsa?

you spent a great deal of department hours, i understand, on the student loan allowed, but apparently not very many department hours were spent on simple find the fafsa that you had three years to do. your answers are about as unhelpful as the new fafsa rule out. seeing as five minutes is not enough to have this thorough conversation i sure hope you -- sure hope you will consider responding to my letter. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you. >> thank you, mr. chairman. mr. secretary. i grade you differently. i think you done a great job under very difficult circumstances. and i want to follow up on the questions that mr. sablan asked you before about the areas about mental health. cognitive development specifically. we know from cdc and the surgeon general that almost a third of adolescent girls in this country have seriously considered suicide or attempted

suicide in the last year. we know from hhs that young people in 2003, about 5% were identified with serious issues about anxiety and depression in 2003 and in 2023, that number went to 30%. we know from work with, i think i mentioned this the last time you were here, -- susan or anna at stanford, their work on cognitive development, social media and the penetration of -- to adolescent neuroscience and the urgency of fixing this. as you see it and sort of the continuing of care for kids in your department. i've been to 70 schools in the 10 years i've been in congress and it always comes up in conversations with students, administrators and teachers. they need more behavioral health. they feel like they are

overwhelmed and you saw this in your career in connecticut. with my good friends, our two superintendents of public -- who work in constituents. california and tony herman. this is a real epidemic the long-term societal cost to the united states is very, very serious. so tell me a little bit of what we are doing and how we are partnering with the private sector research to make sure that we are doing this in a nonpartisan evidence-based way to deal with this really, and epidemic of anxiety and depression and cognitive changes for future generations. >> thank you for that question. i just kind of bring it back to my opening statement that said we have a lot of common ground here and mental health supports for students is one of those. i'm proud that the bipartisan communities act provided $2 billion to increase the number of social workers in our school. 40% more school social workers.

i'm proud that there's 30% more nurses. there are proactive strategies to help students address anxiety or mental health needs. we know students are six times more likely to access mental health supports if they are provided in our school. in our budget, we ask for $200 million for full-service community schools because we know they work to support mental health but you mentioned what we can do together. medicaid reimbursement for students who do not have an iep , we simple find that process. all states can have sustainable dollars. we know that there will be a sunset of arpa so we want to make sure that there are sustainable dollars and we are working in bipartisan fashion to make sure states and governors know what to do. that sustainable dollars for mental health, we cannot go

back to the system we had in 2019 of emergency remodel of mental health support. >> on a related, but how you work on other departments. when i'm old enough to her that when we did reform, the biggest obstacle to people getting on their feet and getting a job usually, single women of color, were what you talked about in your opening comments, transportation and childcare. so what are we doing with the different departments to coordinate those efforts, 20 years later, we still have the same identified problem. it's become worse where i live in the bay area has the transportation and childcare intersect with behavioral health, by the way, for this community, to be able to get a job and be independent, which is nonpartisan. hopefully nonpartisan, it still a challenge and departments working to cross with each other, your department, d.o.e.,

working together and then with state agencies and local agencies. >> right, so we have a whole government approach on a lot of things. i mentioned the medicaid reimbursement. we are working very closely with health and human services to make sure that we are supplying the process and interagency fashion. in our budget proposal, in the president's budget proposal you will see an increase in early childhood education, which allows not only for students to address gaps before they grow, but parents are able to work and the cost of childcare is very high. so we are working very closely at the staff level and on the secondary level to make sure that our efforts are working to support those same families. >> good. i would love to follow up with you and be able to show where our successes and failures have kind of -- so we can continue to measure those in a thoughtful way and deal with these real epidemics that young people are facing with their parents. thank you. i yield back. >> thank you, i like to recognize -- myself. you're going through great lengths to argue that the new title ix rule will not have -- setting aside the options of

court decisions and setting aside that athletics is noted three times in the rule description, i have a very simple question, just hoping i can get some yes her nose. with rule changes, a three-year effort, can you assure us that your rules do not change protection of our girls has had for over 50 years. can you assure us that protecting biological girls from competing against stronger genetically stronger, bigger and faster biological men will not be considered a federal discrimination. >> thank you for the question, congressman. you are referring to the athletics mmi right? >> yes. >> that rulemaking process is underway. >> so yeah, and really, it's -- >> we are finalizing the rules. >> okay. >> okay, so is a possibility

that these girls would be competing against boys were refusing to, will be considered determination? is a possibility? >> i'm here to discuss, you know, what we are doing in education to help children, proposed rules, whether it's -- >> it's really yes or no. it should be a yes or no. is a bridge that we all know that you're trying to get across. is this something that you are looking at doing right now, possibility? >> i don't want to comment on a proposed rule that we haven't finalized yet. we have over hundred and 40 -- >> let's continue then. terry, mr. secretary, you are in a very unique -- millions of female athletes. americans of both sides of this debate need to know how deep your commitment is. would you force your daughter to undress in a bathroom with boys who are also undressing. >> you can't say no or yes on that? >> i would be happy to talk about it -- >> if your daughter was uncomfortable in a boys presence in a bathroom, or a locker room, would that be considered -- by your

ministration, discrimination or bigotry? >> as an educator for over 25 years -- >> you can't say yes or no to that? >> i love to respond to your question. >> so yes or no. is a consider, would it be considered dissemination if she did not want that to happen? >> as an educator for over 25 years, we have had -- >> okay. i don't have one in a few minutes here. girls have now entered into contact sports of -- would you allow your daughter to physically fight and get beat up -- >> i would be happy to, once we finalize our regulations on title ix athletics. -- >> there is a cherokee proverb. a man's highest calling is to protect a woman so she is free to walk the earth unharmed. i will say this, mr. secretary. with all due respect, i pray that our country will never, ever have the vision that your policies aren't now driving us toward. it's a vision the teachers are boys that harming girl is no

big deal. i pray that it warm in a country that produces -- the majority of men who feel the way that i do about my girls. i will give my life in a heartbeat for my girls in the blessings i have as they have no doubts about that. millions of men and women across this country that do not have faith, they do not have trust in you protecting our girls because of the policies you can say yes or no to. by the way, those are not very hard questions, as a father. it's either yes or no, and you can't answer that. i'm going to switch paces row quick. at the senate appropriations committee last week, you stated that there is an active investigation at columbia university, but your staff is not on site. as the protesting and harassment continues, this is an opportunity for the office of civil rights to see firsthand what's occurring and how columbia's failing to protect the rights of its students. you implied earlier that you are running with the funds. i have a hard time believing

that the -- i think it's a priority. is there a reason why this is not been happening on this campus? if it had been black americans dealing with tran09 bigots, would you have the same priorities? >> you cannot pick and choose which students you want to protect. the secretary of education, that might -- >> i'm sorry, i missed that. as a father, you can't -- sorry. you protect all of them. right? >> including our lgbtq students, sir. >> okay, so in other words, you are choosing your students over women., boys versus girls. is a very simple question there. >> the new title ix regulations increase protections to all students, and increase

protections for women. >> this is why american parents are really concerned about this -- you cannot answer -- okay. i will leave it at that. i recognize ms. mcbeth. >> thank you. mr. chair. secretary, good to see you today. look like something else there might have one to say. please feel free. >> time for sure but i wanted to comment that in 2009, we had 58 more investigators for title vi and we had a third of the cases.

we are in desperate need of additional support to make sure we can investigate the cases that we have in front of us so i can work on the budget on both sides of the aisle. >> thank you so much for being with us today. the last few decades that we've been focusing on our efforts getting students into college, making sure they get educated, but not enough on ensuring that they actually finished getting those degrees. to set themselves and their families up for future success. not just with a job, but really a lifelong career and career path. millions of americans, tens of thousands of dollars in student debt and they have no degrees or credentials to show for it. it's obvious that this is now the result -- not the result of user error, it's the result of

the failure of the country to provide the targeted resources and foster the school climate that is needed to ensure that every student can get the skills that will help them to achieve greater levels of success than was possible before they actually walked on campus for the first time or before the very first time that they actually logged into a classroom computer. we know that there are many paths to success when it comes to education and developing a strong and successful workforce. each is deeply personal. i am very proud that three legislative initiatives that actually lead in this very committee recently passed the house and echo our mission of meeting the needs of our students wherever they are. my colleagues claim that the american people are fiscally irresponsible but those are not the georgians that i know and that i live among every single day. the only way to afford school is to take out a student loan. usually at a have very high

interest rate. for decades, we've been telling people every single day that one of the best ways to get ahead in life is they have to have a college degree, and now, we are punishing them for trying to partake in the very thing -- and that is obtaining the skills that is necessary to -- one of the nations leading leaders in student retention's and success and my state's largest university received a post secondary grant, student success grant to study their use of modern technologies, they are using a.i. chat botsusing ai chat bots in their first year, freshman year for those first year students in math and also literature courses. and their potential to improve the outcomes, and i'd like to

ask the chair, may i include the georgia article? >> without question. >> in 2016, georgia included this ai to stay in touch with students over the summer and cut the number of high school graduates who were accept into gsu, but they failed to actually follow through on everything they needed to do to register be and be prepared for the false session. so this new technology and use of technology is actually helping more students live out their dream of attending college, because gsu was actually able to cut down that number of students that were not registering, and being prepared, they cut it down by half, and i think that's pretty amazing. according to dr. tim resnick, who testified earlier, this technology supports students by reminding them about their assignments, asking questions after hours, and are generally

far more accessible for students that have busy schedules. some students are parents. some are caretakers for family members. so for programs like this that truly put students first, we can present factors that truly prevent our students from succeeding in the classroom. my question to you, secretary cardona is post secondary student success grants, which i just talked about have the potential to become a premier grant program that will assist colleges and universities with their efforts to improve retension and completion rates and ensure student success. however, we know in a this program is kind of flat funded at 45 million for the past two years. could you please explain how the department's budget of 125 million will provide the students with the necessary

means to support that they need to reduce these barriers to their success. >> ms. mcbath, you began your question with two seconds left, and you're 40 seconds over. so i'm going to ask the secretary to submit an answer to you in writing. thank you. mr. good, you're recognized for five minutes. >> thank you, madam chair, and thank you secretary cardona for being here today. secretary, do you think it's a person's responsibility to pay their own student loans? >> i do believe students who take out loans should pay loans. >> they should pay them back. thank you. what if it's hard or if it's difficult to pay it? >> many of the loans that we're providing relief for are loans that folks are eligible for. >> well we've long had relief in place for folks in difficult financial situations or reduced income to give them some relief of paying their loans. so what if somebody just

doesn't want to pay their student loan, or wishes they didn't have a student loan. they should still pay for it. >> yeah. >> that's all i'm looking for. they should still pay for it. do you understand how federal spending is paid? how is that paid for? >> the work that we're doing -- >> what i'm asking is, do you understand how federal spending is ultimately paid for? and it's not a trick question. >> no, but i wanted to just kind of go back to -- >> no, i'd like to know if you know how federal spending is paid for ultimately. >> yes. >> how is it paid for? who pays for spending? >> taxpayers. >> exactly. whether it's higher taxes or lower purchasing power from by inflation, or biden's rates,thy suffer under inflation. so student loan debt, you would say is legitimate. it's legitimate debt, correct? >> the work that we're doing to

-- >> is student loan debt legitimate? >> when i talk to students -- >> what i'm asking is student loan debt legitimate? i would presume you would say a mortgage loan is legitimate, a car loan is legitimate. you would presume those are legitimate debt. when someone invests in themselves and borrows for education, is that illegitimate debt, or is it legitimate debt. so you're agreeing that it's not illegitimate debt. do you think we should continue to make student loans when you and your administration are trying to transfer all the debt to the taxpayers, with the latest scheme that's estimated to cost maybe $750 billion. so should we continue to make student loans if you're not going to ask folks to pay the loans? should we instead reclassify

them as taxpayer provided gifts, or should we continue to make student loans? >> sure, the 75,300 constituents you serve wouldn't call it a scheme. they would call it a lifeline. >> should we continue to make student loans that we're not going to ask people to pay back, or should we go to taxpayer provided education gifts? >> so, i understand your line of questioning, sir, and if i can get an answer out -- >> what i would like to know, is should we keep making student loans if we're not asking people to pay them back? is there any reason, if i may, that people who go to the most so-called elite universities, the ones with the pro-hamas protests on their campuses right now, should people go to those universities, because they tend to be elite, my children cannot, and i couldn't afford to go to a university like that. would be a waste of money, i

would submit. but those who can make $250,000 as a family based on the previous original student loan transfer scheme, should others who worked their way through college, who tried not to incur student loan debt, should they have to pay from those elite schools making above average incomes? >> people are paying their loans back, sir. >> so other people shouldn't pay that student loan debt for them? >> that's not what i said. people are paying their student loan debt. >> i'm going to get in one last question. thank you, sir. in february, 16 different indicaters that the secretary, including yourself would indicate whether a borrower is in an economic hardship. however, it notes that the powers can have their debt

canceled, again, transfer the to the taxpayer, actually, based on hardship identified by yourself as secretary, is that correct? >> we have over a million people -- >> is it correct that it identifies any other indicater of hardship? >> we are fixing a broken system that requires -- >> what constitutional authority do you have to decide whether or not someone should pay a student loan debt or a taxpayer? >> i would welcome to answer, it's not as simple as you're asking it, so if you allow me to answer it, you might get the answer you're looking for. >> madam chair, my time is expired, so i yield back. >> thank you mr. good. ms. hayes, you're recognized for five minutes. >> i'd just like to say that mortgage loans are legitimate debt, and i can remember, in 2009 i was a teacher, i had a contract being paid $37,000 a year, i was also a taxpayer, and i was not a homeowner, and the country decided that we

would bail out the mortgage company through the home affordable mortgage program, and as an american, i recognize that that was good for our economy and i went to work every day, and i paid my taxes and we bailed out the mortgage industry and the finance industry and the auto industry. so the idea that we draw the line at student debts and people who just want a chance to get ahead, or have a fighting chance in the society is just something i can't wrap myself around, but thank you, mr. secretary for being here and happy national teacher appreciation day. across the country, university students are exercising their first amendment rights. i'm going to talk a little bit slow here, because this is what i used to have to do in my classroom when i talked about the first amendments, because my students would always say, but miss, why are there so many in this one amendment? first amendment protects the

freedom of speech, the press, the freedom of assembly, the freedom of reasonable religion and the right to press the government. when my students would ask me why are they all in this one amendment, i would generally respond it is the way we define who we are as individuals in a complex, changing self- governing society. there are so many things that i can ask you about today, because i believe so deeply in the work that the department of education does. i know that the work is life- changing. and it is the only shot that so many of our young people have. but i am deeply concerned about the rise in anti-semitism, and islamophobia on college campuses. like you, i know, like myself, i know that you believed there is no place for hate speech or

discrimination in education. i also know that as a an educator, it's beyond petigogy. if students don't feel safe and protected in their academic environments, they will not learn. and this is what the department is dealing with right now. as of april 30th, 2024, the office of civil rights at the department of education, which overseas investigations of discrimination at institutions of higher education has reported many cases of discrimination. past reporting by industry drive has shown a severe backlog in the processing and investigation of discrimination cases by the ocr, due to funding challenges over the years. secretary cardona, in your testimony, you mentioned that the department of education is asking for a $22 million increase in funds for fiscal year 2025 to expand staffing capacity. additionally, this funding would be used to address the alarming reports of rising anti-

semitism and islamophobia. many of my republican colleagues believe that the entire department's budget including ocr should be flat funded. i think we have to stop admiring the problem and actually invest the resources to address it. so secretary cardona, how would flat funding impact the ability of the department to process these claims in a timely manner? >> it would impact it significantly. over 90% of the budget requests are for investigators. >> you've also said that the investigator case load is at historically high rates with that about 42 cases per investigator. this would rise to 71 per investigator, which you describe as unmanageable. if funding for the ocr was to be increased, what would the department spend that money on? please be specific. >> investigators to investigate these open cases. >> thank you. we had university presidents here a few weeks ago, and one of the things that they stated

was that more guidance from the department would be helpful as they navigate in this space. what has the ocr done to proactively address claims of anti-semitism on campus? >> friday i sent a letter out to 5,000 university leaders. myself, this morning, we released a dear colleague letter with very specific examples. if you individual our ed.gov, there's a button there supporting campus safety. there are hundreds of resources there that were made specifically to support universities. >> i guess in closing, i would just like to add that it is, i think easier for my colleagues on this committee to dismiss certain groups constituencies, but i know that our job is to protect our students and make sure all students have access to an education.

thank you for being here, and again, happy teacher appreciation day. i yield back. >> thank you ms. hayes, you're recognized. >> thank you madam chair. i too agree with my colleague on free speech. but let me share with you what free speech does not protect. it does not protect violence. it does not protect defamation of property. it does not protect threats on one's life. so i am for the first amendment. but let's be clear, we know what the first amendment is. i also want to make sure that i understand before i get into my questioning, that the department of education's budget is $78.8 billion. and we're asking, you're asking for $3.7 billion, for a total of $82.5 billion, and that's just not enough money to do your job. that's amazing to me. but there's no inefficiencies that we can find if we just

give you more money, everything will be great. that was my rant. so thank you for listening to me on that. mr. secretary, president biden's department of education has canceled $153 billion in student loan. with plans to cancel $1.4 trillion. the house of representatives said no. we actually passed legislation on that. the senate said no. the fifth circuit court said no. and the highest court in the land, the supreme court, said no. yet, you continue to march on. i would like to know what makes you qualified to ignore the majority of congress and the supreme court? >> thank you, congresswoman. and let me just repeat, hate has no place in schools. i agree with you. and as the president said, we're not going to condone anti- semitism. >> thank you, we can agree on

that. >> for sure. we recognize the higher education system is not accessible, not affordable, and it's broken, and we are working within the law to provide debt relief. >> the house of representatives said no. the senate said no. the supreme court said no. yet you say yes. how is that possible? >> the higher education act gives me authority and -- >> so you alone have the authority, am i correct on that? you're higher than the congress, the senate, and the supreme court? >> no, that's not what i'm saying. i'll give you an example. public service loan forgiveness, bipartisan bill passed in 2007. poorly implemented for four years. only 7,000 people benefited from it. 98% of people were denied. we are implementing -- >> i appreciate that. my question is really simple. what qualifies you to be higher

in authority than the congress, senate, and the supreme court? >> i don't believe i'm higher than those groups. >> but your actions would show that. >> i'm acting within the right of the law with the higher education act. >> i would strongly disagree. the senate would strongly disagree, and the supreme court would strongly disagree. i'm confused on rights versus responsibilities. if you have a right to a loan, don't you have a responsibility to pay it back? >> yes. >> thank you. so you're in agreement with me, if you and i make a deal, and i say hey, i want to buy this car, that i should pay that car loan back. >> yes. >> you have a right if i buy a mortgage that i am responsible, not my neighbor. not the person across the street, but i'm the one who took out the loan. i knew the risks. and i have a responsibility. why is education and loan forgiveness different, because

i should have a house. >> thank you for that question. we have predatory institutions that are preying on students, putting them in debt and not -- >> we have slippery car salesmen that are preying on people too, so should we forgive their loans? i am asking a question. yeah? we have bad actors across the board. so if you're a bad actor, under that concept, i should forgive your loan. so if a slippery car salesman sells me a car, and gosh, i just got in a little bit over my head, we should forgive that. using that same principal. i'm asking a question, are we going to car loans next? if you're a shady character and sell me a bad car loan, the government, not the government, you, because you have more authority than congress and the supreme court, we should forgive those car loans too -- >> we have a responsibility -- the answer is of course not. we would not do that, because we have responsibilities in

this country, and i love how we talk about free education. it's not free. are the teachers teaching for free? are the teachers teaching for free, really simple? i know we struggled with this last time. no. they're not teaching for free, somebody's paying for it, and the people who are paying for it are the american taxpayers. if you are a right, you have a responsibility. and shame on you for going over congress and the supreme court, and with that, i'm over, thank you. >> thank you, miss mcclain. pursuant to the previous order, the chair declares the committee in recess subject to the call of the chair. we'll reconvene in five minutes. thank you. all guests should remain in seats until the witness is allowed to leave the room. so the committee stands in recess.

>> thank you. chairwoman fox, ranking member scott, distinguished members of the committee. thank you for the opportunity today to testify on president biden's fiscal year 2025 budget

request for the united states department of education. my purpose here today is to propose a budget that helps protect and support our nation's students. to be clear, it's not to create a spectacle for the media, or to provoke divisions that do nothing to help our young people succeed. our nation's parents and students are looking to us to recognize that we have common ground. and to build on that by making responsible choices together to invest in education as the foundation for american opportunity. it's a responsible choice to sustain our nation's academic recovery from the impacts of the pandemic through $82.4 billion in calculated investments to accelerate learning and success. it's the responsible choice to invest in a stronger future for all americans by boosting funding to close opportunity and achievement gaps in low

income communities through title one. support students through disabilities through idea. support multilingual learners through title three, and recruit, develop, and maintain great teachers. it is the responsible choice to invest in safer schools and the mental health of our students by making more funding available for more school counselors and mental health professionals. it is the responsible choice to give more young people access to the american dream by building more pathways to rewarding careers, and opening doors to higher education for all students by improving college, affordability, retension, and completion, including through free community college and increased student supports. it's the responsible choice to fully honor the caps under the bipartisan fiscal responsibility act, as this budget does.

let me emphasize. when we get beyond all the noise and efforts by some to create division, there is, in fact, so much common ground about what matters most for our nation's students, which is getting all students to read by third grade, providing mental health supports in the midst of a youth mental health crisis. opening up college and career pathways so students have more options for rewarding lives and rewarding careers. and making higher education more affordable, and more accessible for those who choose that path. i know, too, that we have common ground when it comes to our horror at the appalling anti-semitism we're seeing on some college campuses. as president said last week, there should be no place on any campus, no place in america for anti-semitism, or threats of violence against jewish students.

there is no place for hate speech or violence of any kind. the biden/harris administration, including the department of education is taking action each and every day to help ensure their schools and colleges are free and safe for jewish students and all students and will continue to do so. make no mistake, anti-semitism is discrimination, and is prohibited by title six of the civil rights act of 1964. dissent is essential to democracy. but dissent must never lead to disorder, or denying the right of others -- >> the committee will reconvene and come to order following our recess. ms. fernandez, you're recognized for five minutes.

>> thank you so, madam chairwoman, and thank you so much secretary cardona for being here today for keeping the focus. i keep seeing you keeping the poe focus on the issue of education, because we know that education is both the foundation of our democracy, as well as the path for prosperity for our families. now i wanted to give you the time to answer a bit about the question that came up earlier. you really weren't given the time, or i'm sorry, the respect to be able to explain the authorities that you have under the higher education act, to forgive student loans. and that authority was given to the department through the higher education act. would you like to take -- do a quick response to why you are acting in this -- with the guardian student loans and the authority you're doing it? >> well, we're looking very carefully at the authorities

that i have under the higher education act. and authority that was used by the last secretary as well. and the crisis that we're in with our higher education loan system and access to college and we're using our authority carefully to make sure that we're making targeted decisions to help students accomplish their goals of reaching college and following up on what the -- in bipartisan fashion what congress approved through the public student loan forgiveness program. >> i think it's really important that congress is constantly, sort of assisting different industries, assisting different corporations and the idea that we're going to be investing in our future workforce and our children through education is no different. right? and to say that americans should not help with this endeavor is very shortsighted. because if we don't invest through education, in our workforce, we do not have a future. so i am glad you are making

those decisions. i wanted to touch on another topic, which we know that during the pandemic, it was hard on everybody. our former president was doing a disastrous job of handling covid. but then president biden came in, and under a democrat-led congress we passed multiple laws. we passed the american rescue plan, which gave schools a lot of flexibility in how to respond to these dire situations, we ourselves in, and schools used to flexibility, they used it to address student mental health, to support educator workforce, it was a philosophy that schools themselves would know best where to spend that money. and i loved reading your testimony that you think bilingual, being bilingual is a super power, i agree. in new mexico, some of those

emergency relief funds were used for dual language teachers for certifications. i'm concerned about the different things that are going to happen. how is your department preparing to assist schools with things like educating professor development, preparation for dual language teachers. how are we looking at the transition, and how does your budget address the transition and some of the focus of these needed areas? >> thank you for that question, and absolutely, bilingualism is a super power, and i think what we need to do is make sure we're empowering our students to learn more languages, so they can be prepared for global competitiveness. i really believe that strongly. our budget does request additional dollars for, you know, our office that focuses

on english language acquisition. it's important while maintaining your native language, that you're learning english, so we have a request there for $50 million above last year, fy 23 budget. we're continuing to support sustainability efforts. working with states, i was on the phone with the governor of new mexico yesterday, talking about how the department of education could support new mexico and ensuring that those strategies that we have seen worked, and i appreciate you mentioning the american rescue plan dollars. we've seen more growth in the 22-23 school year in the use of those dollars. the goal is to make sure we're continuing on those efforts that we know work. we're working with states and how they can use existing funds, and we're -- our annual budget does show we're increasing title 3-dollars, title 1 dollars to make sure that schools have the dollars

they need to be successful. >> and those title 1 dollars are so important, because if we want america to succeed, we need to make sure our working families and those families that are -- that we as a poverty have the support they need. thank you very much for your work, and i yield back. >> thank you. >> thank you, ms. miller, you're recognized for five minutes. >> mr. secretary, in west virginia, five female students were barred from competing in track and field after refusing to compete against a biological male. in wisconsin, young girls were forced off their volleyball teams because they felt uncomfortable sharing a locker room with biological males. when the school district was asked about their transgender athlete policy, they said that they crafted it according to your title 9 interpretation. from secretary, what consequences will female students face if they do not

want to share a locker room with a biological male under your title 9 rule? >> thank you for that question. schools have the responsibility to make sure all students feel safe, including using the bathrooms. as a life long educator, these are decisions that i've had to make as a district leader. >> i'm so glad you brought up that you're concerned about the safety of students. but the title 9 rule and guidance you're putting out, you've been putting out for three years is taking away the safety of our daughters in their private spaces, in their locker rooms and showers, and taking away their athletic, and educational opportunities. girls in wisconsin and west virginia refused, and they were kicked off their teams. these schools are basing their decisions on your rule. this is happening because of you and joe biden. so mr. secretary, in the health education class, if a teacher

says that men cannot become pregnant, then a student goes to the title nine coordinator and say he's uncomfortable that the health teacher insists they can't get pregnant, what should the title 9 coordinator say? >> i can tell you that in our title 9 rules that we've recently put out, there's more guidance that goes along with it. i'd welcome an opportunity for my team to work with your constituents to make sure that the implementation of title 9 -- >> but what i want to know is in biology class, if the health teacher, or the health class, if the teacher says that men cannot get pregnant and someone reports that to the title 9 coordinator, what should the title 9 coordinator say, because you are in charge. >> right, and i'd be very happy to have your constituents get support to make sure that their title 9 coordinators have information.

we've provided a plethora of technical assistance, and we're going to continue to support regardless of republicans or democrats. >> what would you say? should that teacher get in trouble? >> i don't want to comment on hypotheticals without you enough information. but what i will tell you that i respect, there are different opinions across the country. >> so you respect a health teacher or a biology teacher saying that a biological male cannot get pregnant. you're recognizing biological sex, but in athletics, you're going with gender identity. so i want to know, can you give me the official definition of gender identity? >> so i think the statement you said was inaccurate. we have not released our title 9 athletics rules. >> actually, you have. for three years you've been putting out title 9 guidance rules. i've brought them with, as you can see, and it does have to do with athletic teams.

so moving on, could you please tell me what the official definition of gender identity is? >> we're in the rule-making process for athletics. as you know, that was submitted maybe nine months after the proposed rule for title 9. so we're in the process of listening to 140,000 comments which have different -- >> the schools are being threatened to have their federal funding pulled because they're afraid of the consequences, the real world consequences ofy you are title 9 rule. i do want to know what you would say to a female athlete who would have won a gold medal, but now is getting a silver medal because a biological male took it. >> as i said, our rules have not been finalized. >> i have to say you are not protecting everyone. i'm here to protect girls and to stand up for families and

parents across the country that are outraged over this. you made a choice. you're choosing boys over girls. you're satisfied with the girl taking the silver medal, while the biological male takes the gold. you are going to be remembered as the education secretary who erased for an entire generation. you should retire your title 9 rule or resign. thank you, and i yield back. >> ms. wild, you're recognized for five minutes. >> education chair and secretary cardona, thank you for speaking to our hearing today. i had another hearing across the hall, as things work out in congress, but i have been briefed on the earlier testimony. i know you've been asked a an awful lot of questions about fafsa. so i'm going to be limited on that, and get to another issue

that i think is really important. but i will say -- and i know you've heard this from everybody. the number of concerned parents, asle with as the institutions of higher learning in my direct, that i've heard from, has been overwhelming. but i'm sure your job has been quite overwhelming this year given everything that's going on. on the fafsa issue, i don't want to repeat things that have already been asked and answered. but i have heard from some institutions that about 30% of the initial institution student information records, that is something produced by the fafsa system that includes data about a student's financial aid edge eligibility, right? >> yes. >> so i've heard about 30% might have errors and need to

be corrected. that number might be higher for those that serve students. >> we've corrected that issue. thank you for that. we've corrected that issue. there were several issues in programming. there was an issue with information foretax data. information that we've also worked to correct. we're communicating daily with schools, and you know, they've been bending over backwards, and the financial aid directors, college presidents have been extremely communicative in terms of sharing what concerns they have, and helping us determine what the best support strategies are. i just want to commend them publicly, and thank them for their patience and flexibility to meet the needs of students. we have communicated with colleges directly. i've spoken with over 100 colleges myself so we're hearing what their concerns are, and how we can address those.

through daily communication, we've been updating on what their challenges are, and how we can address them. >> are some colleges or institutions of higher learning, are they having to claw back some of the financial aid they have offered to a student? >> no. we have communicated with them that the information can be used. we've redone the recessing for schools. y i want to shift gears to another critical topic, mental health. secretary, according to a national study for education institutistics. only statistics, only 13% agreed they could provide mental health services to all students in need. that data deeply concerns me. it provides a significant gap to our students can emotional well-being. can you discuss your partners

initiatives in addressing mental health issues in our schools, particularly in light of the $1 billion allocated to the stronger grant program. >> absolutely. our surgeon general rightly communicated that we're in a youth mental health crisis. we know students are six times more likely to access mental health supports, if they're provided in our schools, which is why we are big proponents and supporters, and asked for an increase of $200 million for full service community schools that connect with community partners to provide mental health support. the bisca dollars have been used to increase a number of school social workers by 40%. the number of school nurses by 30%. >> at what levels? >> k to 12. yes. they have provided access. we are also working to improve

medicaid reimbursement for sustainable dollars, so as the bisca dollars sunset, we're working with ahs. we have currently 13 states that have signed on to do that. and we're working to get medicaid reimbursement. the goal is never to go back to a system where we've had a model of mental health in our schools. unfortunately, we often wait for the trauma to happen. where we're seeing these being used is a proactive strategy to support students. >> thank you for that. ms. steel, you're recognized for five minutes. >> thank you dr. fox and thank you secretary cardona for appearing today. i'm just most concerned about foreign influence on our universities. so when it comes to foreign influence on our universities, we know that departments disclosures are just the tip of

the iceberg when it comes to the billions of foreign funds schools don't submit. more importantly, submissions are useless if your department does not take enforcement seriously, because in fact, footing second 117 in china, aren't mentioned a single time in your ten page written testimony today. and if i'm wrong, please let me know. but your department maintains a list of open session 117 investigations, but every one was opened by trump or the administration. if you added more, or what i found was you closed only 5 universities. so how many are we under investigation, and how many added? it seems we don't have clear

communecation between the department and us. so since taking office, why have you not launched a single section 117 investigation, and do you believe the universities should view the relationship with dangerous countries like china and, you know, other countries of concern that exact same as our allies? or do you think certain countries concerned with national threats warrant increased scrutiny, should those relationships be treated differently? >> thank you for the question, congresswoman steel. i could assure you that i agree with you. we should not allow foreign influence in our schools, and make sure we protect our students and our schools from foreign influence. to that end, the dead of education takes very seriously the responsibility to provide public information on gifts from other countries. and i want to make sure i

correct that. we've provided almost 39,000 foreign gifts totaling over $21 billion in the last through years, which is much more than the last administration. we are a part of the fbi's national counterintelligence task force, where they provide, we share information, and if there is a need for investigations, that task force is the one that does it. we believe that having transparency not only to that task force, but to the public, we can communicate where foreign gifts are coming from, and the law enforcement arms are best suited to investigate. >> so i hope that, you know, we have much better communication to our committee and your department. so we understand exactly what kind of tangible steps that you are taking in your department because when we see the report and it's not there, we don't know what exactly you're doing and what kind of tangible steps

that you are taking. and just one more thing that i want to just ask charter schools, because you remember last year, you came out and you support charter schools. so a 2023 study from stanford center for research and education outcomes found that in math charter school students on average learned the equivalent of an additional six days per year, and in reading, added 16 days of learning. chairwoman, i want to submit this on the record, that this publication. >> without objection. >> students in poverty achieve an additional 23 days of learning in reading and 17 days in math. however, the biden administration proposed $40 million cut to the federal charter school program. why such excellent result for

at risk students that the administration would cut because we have to add and we have to add more charter schools? >> thank you for the question. i agree with you. that parents should have options for their children and charter schools are a viable option. >> thank you for agreeing with us. >> yeah. you know, and i have to be very frank, you know the fiscal responsibility ability is something we take very seriously. we have to look where we can provide cuts in our budget proposals that wouldn't impact students. there were several. we cut comprehensive centers by 9%. while the charter school grant was cut, the proposal was cut, i can i assure you that it wouldn't impact those currently under the grant. the demand for that has decreased. i'd be happy to have my team share more information on that. but it is still the largest k-9 competitive grand that we

oversea. i think that's testimony to the fact that we do support charter schools as an option for families who choose. it. >> so there's no impact on charter schools. $40million cut is a lot for the charter schools. >> no, what we've had to do, and speaking of the lack of demand, what we've had to do is use the grant's front use dollars. >> thank you, my time is up. i yield back. >> thank you, ms. steel. ms. wilson, you're recognized for five minutes. >> secretary cardona, thank you so much for joining us today. i just loved your visit to my elementary school and i want you to come back again. i want to express my gratitude for the biden/harris administration's dedication to our students. our former secretary of

education has stated her goal was to eliminate schools. that's what you call insanity on steroids. the biden/harris administration -- working want to be somebody's students in their effort to secure the promise of higher education, and i thank you, secretary for your work on that -- on that issue. no other president has tackled this debacle that cripples so many. no other president. that is why i have proposed a loan act that would build on this administration's effort to cancel student loans. secretary cardona, last september, you and secretary vislat sent a joint letter to multiple governors, including florida, urging in investment in hbcu's. as you know, president biden

has repeatedly called on raising teacher pay. and during this teacher appreciation week i would hope the department of education reaffirms its commitment to our teachers. i want to also thank the department for its recent title 9 changes that combat sexual harassment and discrimination. it's crucial that we reaffirm our community to the lgbtq plus committee and i thank you for that. one thing that has concerned me is the fafsa roll out, that has disrupted educational opportunities for thousands of students. but i know this administration with your help will work to deliver for our students to ensure we deliver a high quality education across these united states. my question is, are there any updates or information you want

to share with this committee that we have not addressed? the floor is yours. >> thank you very much. thank you. and let me just start off by saying, we are working around the clock to get more students to fill out our fafsa. the delays created frustrations and to the families and students who had to deal with that, i recognize how difficult that was. i, myself, have a senior in high school. and you know, they should be thinking about college and all of that. not the delays. i'm proud to say, though, we've processed over 9 million applications. the gap between this year and last year is decreasing significantly. and we have a nationwide strategy now, working with our principles. if students go out and fill out fafsa, it should be 15 to 20 minutes. by friday, the schools will have their information. and now, we've allotted $15 million to assist that the

implication, means helping students get it done. this is important to us. i know as a first generation college student, how important it is to make sure you have access to fafsa. thank you for acknowledging teacher appreciation week. i'm really proud that president biden and dr. biden elevated it to a state dinner for national teachers of the year, but it sends a message we need to provide better salary to our educators. we are strong believers that we need to defend public education, not defund it. part of doing that means supporting our teachers who give their best. >> i yield back. >> good afternoon, mr. secretary. a few days ago, you wrote a letter to universities condemning the rise in anti-

semitism on campuses, and you specifically spoke about incidents of students being sexually assaulted, being subjected to verbal abuse, finding swastikas on their dorm room doors. you said these and other incidents are abhorrent, period, and have no place on college campuses. i'm glad that you wrote that letter. you recognize the platform you have to try to engage in better behavior for our campuses. however, there's a lot going on there that you left unaddress the. we've seen on a number of campuses, protesters who have blocked physically jewish students from entering campuses or entering spaces on campus, do you condemn that behavior? >> thank you for that question. i just want to start off by saying hate has no place in our schools. >> i thank you, and i

understand that. can you block jewish students from entering campuses? >> yes. >> how about protesters themselves. they're refusing to leave in violation of university rules and often the law. do you condemn that? >> i condemn behaviors that are unsafe, and i leave it to the university leaders and their board of governors to address how though handle encampments or other issues that are happening on campus. if i can finish please, acts of intimidation, violence toward jewish students, or any students for that matter are not tolerated. as the president said, that's not protesting. >> i appreciate that, and that's an important message, but the encampments themselves, do you condemn these

encampments? >> again, those are decisions for the universities to make. i know that in some cases universities are engaging in dialogue with students to come up with a strategy out. i don't want to get into the details of cases that i don't have all the examples -- >> sure, but you just wrote a letter to university leaders in which you called out things that they ought to do. i'm asking if this is one of them. for students that have been told to leave, and dispurse and move along, and are refusing? what's your message to them? >> for me, it's important to look at this from the university, given the opportunity to engage, but for students to stay safe. they should be thinking about graduation. >> for students who have been told to leave, and are refusing to do so, what is your message to them? will you tell them as secretary of education, that they need to

leave if being told to do so? students or others are in encampments and have been given orders to leave, should leave, yes? >> if the university directs them to leave, they should leave. >> i appreciate that. we've seen at the university of chicago, they will be arrested with students. do you condemn those faculty members standing in the way of rules being enforced? >> my responsibility under title six is to make sure students are not being harassed. >> but do you -- >> i believe university officials should adhere to rules in their university. >> so that's a yes. >> i support university

officials following the rules of their universities, yes. . >> how about these demanding a change in policy toward israel. do you think that's important? >> violations of title 6 -- >> no, no, mr. secretary, you've been very outspoken on a number of issues. so i'm asking you, your view. do you think that's appropriate for universities to cede to demands, and actually change policies towards israel? >> i think it's my responsibility to be very clear, that we will not accept hate on campus and we stand against that. >> we've seen some universities talking about ending study abroad programs with israel, do you think that's appropriate? >> our policy is very clear. if you go to our website -- >> i'm not asking about your website. how about demands to cut tiles with halal? >> their guidance there for universities where a lot of the

questions that you're asking makes very clear. >> but your letter said there were things that were abhorrent on campus. is that one of them? >> violence towards students. >> mr. secretary, you're not willing to condemn calls to cut ties with halal? will you condemn them? >> we are responsible for adhering to title six, and enforcing it. and your support of our budget would help us get to that level, instead of creating division, which i said in my call. >> i yield back. >> thank you mr. today. mr. secretary, i have just returned from a holocaust memorial ceremony in the capital that seemed all too relevant today. we were reminded that the holocaust did not start with the death camps. it started with was being

demonized, harassed, dehumanized, but blamed for evils they did not commit. over the last few months, i have met with jewish students on college campuses who are being demonized, harassed, dehumanized and playing for evils they did not commit. i have visited columbia university. it is calling for the elimination with israel and genocide against the jewish people around the globe. i am pleased that you have put up a letter that you have put out today. it is detailed. it contains real-world examples of the kinds of things that can be considered where the of an investigation by the office of civil rights. i appreciate the examples because we need more reasons for schools to do their job and

keep jewish students safe and make sure that we stop the anti- semitism that is happening on college campuses. what i am interested in today is finding out what more you can do from your position to stop the anti-semitism that is exploded on our college campuses. if you were given the funding that you need, could you enforce more of the title 6 requirements and help schools and administrators understand what their allegations are? >> absolutely. you mentioned in your colleague letter that we've submitted today, there was a letter from myself to college president friday with examples but by investigating, closing and investigations which the funding were asking for will help us to do, we could create case studies or lessons learned from examples of cases closed

that are happening today. we strongly encourage support of the budget. >> as you know, the department of education plays a major role in the u.s. national strategy to counter anti-semitism. president biden is the first u.s. president to ever issue a national strategy. i have introduced a bipartisan bill that would codify the national strategy and it would designate a senior official at the department of education to serve as your primary adviser and countering anti-somatic discrimination in higher education. among other duties, this would proactively visit institutions to remind students of their rights. the administrators of their responsibilities. how would having this senior official help you in your obligation to combat anti- semitism? >> thank you. any resources that we can get to have human capital to close out cases -- >> specifically, i've seen

whose job it was to monitor and combat anti-semitism. with that be helpful to you? >> absolutely. that person will be paying attention to what reaching out and colleges, students, and families in addressing anti- semitism. >> i understand you had deployed that are currently facing protests. which schools are the department employees visiting and how are they working with school administrators to restore calm students? >> thank you. we have many open investigations and we have staff and schools that can have a more detailed list sent to you. we are communicating regularly with schools and not only through the investigations but also engaging with them on campus. >> you testified before this appropriations committee that schools in violation of title 6 which protects students from anti-semitism will have their federal funding revoked.

that is a serious position to take. where do institutions cross the line into violating title 6 and harp you prepared to enforce the law across institutions cross that line? >> i am. it is the last step. the goal is to make the campus safe for all students in addressing the underlying issues. if a school openly refuses to adhere to title 6, revoking funds is something that i can't do and i would do. >> my time is expired, i yield back. >> you recognize for five minutes. >> thank you very much. good morning to you, committee, mr. secretary, welcome back. it is great to see you. you have a very impressive resume. you've been a teacher in connecticut, and administrator, you are a principal. would you agree that one of the

hardest parts of being an educator is the planning? the logistics of how many kids you have, how many resources you have. it is planning a really tough part of being an educator? >> planning is an important part of being an educator. >> you would agree that when i hear from school districts of how hard it's been, the massive influx of illegal immigrants into our school system, you would agree that that's real. hard time managing all these influx of students that they did not know were coming. >> planning for new students of the principal is something that we had to take into account. >> it is a curveball. we know how many illegal immigrants are in our school systems right now? >> i can have my staff reach out to you about that information. >> do you have any ideas? is it in the millions, thousands, general idea? >> here's the thing. i should know the answer.

i've gone online to try to find the answer. i do not know the answer. i would assume that the department of education, you don't know how many are here. i am sincere when i say i would like to know. is there a number? is there a number in the future that you would say you just can't take anymore? is there a number that you would agree? it's causing our numbers, teaching art kids to suffer when we just can't logistically plan for the future. is there a number that you would say enough is enough? >> the response ability of educators as a school principal, i am with you. i understand that at the law. is there a time you're going to say enough? we've got to call time-out. he would tell joe biden time- out, we are stressed. >> as educators, we are really

important to meet the needs. i can say help is on the way and will hit that max, there is no wind insight. are you aware how many schools have been shut down or partially taken over to house illegal immigrants? >> i am aware of cases in schools -- >> do you know how many? >> off the top of my head, i don't. >> one would be too many. for the students that have to do that, that is something to be aware of. we have a lot of struggles with numbers. i chaired the subcommittee on cayman is 12. our numbers since covid have plummeted. we got work to do and this is something that hopefully they will not have to do. i want to congratulate you because you have done something you have done. you have united republicans and democrats, house members and senators on coming together to say that the department of education doesn't have the

authority in the terms of student loans. are you aware that even the supreme court has come out and said that this is outside of your authority? are you aware? the department of education, this is not your money. this belongs in congress. are you aware of that? >> reference of the h.e.r.o.e.s. act. >> you are saying that you trump congress and you trump the court. is that what you are saying, mr. secretary? >> that is what it appears. that is why people are struggling with it. people would think it is arbitrary but yet you have picked winners and losers of you allowed to forget the money that is not ours. are you aware that a lot of times, i've been in hearings. a lot of student loans don't

actually go to fund education. the students have rolled in credit card debt or cars. are you aware that it's not actually going to education? are you aware of that? >> public loan forgiveness. >> you may not be aware. i've been to hearings. the way that they do it, they combined that. you have winners and losers because for those students that have chosen a religious base school or private school, you've not forgiven their loans. is this your way of declaring war on those that take a religious school or a private school? >> instead of tax breaks to millionaires, were starting to focus. >> i want to make you aware of so many things out there. i yield back. >> omar, you are recognized for

five minutes. >> it's good to see you, thank you so much for joining us. i got a little jealous about a buddy thanking you for coming to the district. >> i wanted to talk a little bit about the rise in targeting and harassment of students on campus that are protesting against genocide that is taking place including students. emotions and fears are running high as students of all backgrounds say they are fearful of escalations of anti- semitism, islamophobia, and bigotry. my office has received countless stories from jewish students, muslim students who have been targeted, harassed, alienated on campus. just because they are standing against the genocide that's

happening. i know that you have been meeting with students, parents, leaders. there is something that you can share with us about the rise of anti-semitism in islamophobia on college campuses. >> went to hear from students and families, they are scared. safety on campus is something that they don't feel like i should compromise. we strongly come to condemn any acts of violence and discrimination on campus. i'm hearing from families that they are scared. children are having to hide symbols of their faith on the way to class so they are not targeted. that, to me, as a father and educator, stand against. >> i know that the administration has had to condemn a lot of speech on campus. what i have not heard be condemned is statements like kill all muslims, level allows

a level gaza. do you condemn those comments? >> absolutely. would you give your commitment to the committee and the american people that the department will investigate complaints of islamophobia and his termination? >> yes. >> thank you. what additional support congress vied for you to be able to accountabilities carried out? >> thank you for that. we are asking for a $22 million increase for our budget. in 2009, we had 58 more investigators and a third of the cases that we have today. in 2019, there were 10,000 cases a year. the increase is extremely high. we need additional investigators to close out these cases and make sure we are providing support to the students. >> do you have an idea of the number of cases that are pending at the moment? >> we have 149 cases on shared

ancestry open. >> on college campuses? >> on college campuses, yeah. >> the last time we were here i reminded you about the frustration that allowed a lot of experiencing, feeling like their rights were being violated. we talked about how concerned i was about renewing their contract. i know that the department has done some work in taking the cases off. as the transition happens. how are you ensuring that the borrowers do not have an interruption as the transition? >> thank you for that. let me go back. we have 145 open cases. 100 cases since october 7th and they may include a- 12 but 100

cases since and i believe those are college. i can get that information to you. we are transitioning some cases to other services. we are communicating with borrowers to try to minimize disruption for public service loan forgiveness. i am wondering how the department is planning to make sure those that remain are able to receive a better service. >> pics part of fixing the higher education system is we are looking the consumer >> we need to improve student borrowers services. a lot of the work that we are doing is to improve services. we are also holding folks accountable. all servicers. there have been payments we have withheld because the services were not great to our borrowers. we are holding them more accountable and we are providing more resources and as

you mentioned, we are moving some cases over at their request to make the processes smoother. >> wonderful, i yield. >> thank you. >> mr. burlison, you are recognized for five minutes. >> thank you. mr. secretary, since coming to congress, when people ask me what are your thoughts, one of the things that i have taken away from this place and tried to convey back home is the shocking amount of espionage and activity from foreign adversaries in the united states. some of those briefings we have had included hearing the education committee, particularly when it comes to china and their involvement, their form of a lead capture that occurs. my question has to do with section 117 of the higher education act that mandates that the universities and colleges must report twice each year to the secretary whenever

they receive foreign monetary or nonmonetary gifts in access to $250,000. correct? >> correct. >> in october of 2020, the department of education under the trump administration conducted a study and issued a report entitled institutional compliance with section 117. higher education act of 1965. this is a copy of the study. i'm sure that you have reviewed the study before. >> have been briefed, yes. >> madam chair, i would like to enter this into the record. >> without objection, thank you. >> in this study, they document a shocking number of universities and colleges that were out of compliance with section 117. do you have any comments regarding that? >> thank you. i share your concern. i am a big believer that we have to stop any foreign influence in our schools. we are committed to that and committed to working with you to make sure that we

communicate what we are doing on that. i can tell you that the department of education has taken it seriously. we have provided almost 39,000 foreign gifts that were given to universities, over $21 billion. this is something that we communicate openly. we believe in the transparency. additionally, sir, we are part of the fbi's national task force to make sure that our agency is working with law enforcement and investigative arm to make sure that not only are we transparent about the information and clear on which universities are getting which from which countries but that does the investigations has the information. we take it very seriously and we will continue to. >> thank you. have you fallen on this report and the information with an updated report? particularly when i am interested in is how many universities were in compliance today versus in 2020?

>> i can have that information looked into and sent to you. >> okay. >> if you have not done a report, would you agree that you would be willing to do a follow-up report on that? >> i would be happy to have some follow-up with you on the questions that you have. >> i'm not trying to be rude, i'm asking a legitimate question because i would think based on what came out of this report, you would generally want to know where the universities stand and how many of them are in compliance with section 117. >> we are definitely interested in making sure foreign influences out of our schools, which is why we have reported more gifts than the previous administration. we are going to continue to work with the fbi's national intelligent task force. >> with my limited time, i want to go into an extension of this which has to do with -- what we are seeing is the uprise on anti-semitism on college campuses. there has been some connections made to groups like students

for justice in palestine. are you investigating any foreign involvement or connections between foreign entities and funneling mentally and money into some of these groups? >> we have 145 open investigations. many of them are shared ancestry. what i can tell you is when we initiated investigation, information comes out during the investigation that might move the investigation and broaden it. i cannot comment specifically on your question, i can tell you that that is within the scope of information that we receive from schools and if that is part of our investigation request, it's something we would be investigated. >> these groups, they can receive the money but only directly through universities? is that correct? can they receive money from the outside? >> i can have my team follow-up with you on that information. >> okay. that would be good to know.

thank you. my time is expired. >> thank you. mr. scott, you are recognized for five minutes. >> thank you. excuse me. >> thank you, madam chair. mr. secretary, you've heard a lot about the fafsa and we expect you to get that back on track as quickly as possible. you also heard a lot about the student debt problem and whether or not the taxpayer ought to be paying for the loan forgiveness. the people who were not students paying for the loan forgiveness. did you hear the republicans complain about the tax cut? how 80% of the benefits went to the top 1%. did you hear them complain that the 99% actually paid for that dusty did you hear them complain about ppp loans. people who don't own a business had to pay for the forgiveness

of those ppp loans. did you hear any complaints about that? >> no. >> how many colleges and universities are there in the united states? >> there's well over 5000, sir. on how many campuses are there active encampments or protest at this point? >> i cannot tell you off the top of my head but it is a small number, sir. >> 30 or 40, one, 50. and on those campuses, how many students are actually participating in the protest? >> it depends on campus but i would say probably a smaller percentage. >> okay. you have been asked how to intervene on how the campus should be handling these. it varies from case to case. if a student at a protest on

better food in the cafeteria, would you be expected to intervene and tell the college how to deal with that? >> i would likely not, sir. >> you indicated that all students have a right to be safe on campus. that means they all have the right to be protected in title vi. in title ix, that means free from anti-semitism but also islamophobia, homophobia, racism, asian hate, gender, gender and amity. did i hear you say that there are about 140 cases of shared heritage? >> shared ancestry, 145. >> that would include all of the anti-semitism cases? >> correct. >> how many open cases you have on everything else?

>> we have 145 under shared ancestry. i could have that information provided for you to have more accurate numbers. i do not have it in front of me. >> the number of coat open cases is over 10,000, isn't it? >> the number of cases we get a year is probably closer to 19,000. >> okay. under the implementation of every student, that implementation was disrupted by the pandemic. it had three major provisions. one is that you have to ascertain whether or not there are achievement gaps and have a strategy to do something about it. resource equity. how are we getting back on track to implement provisions? >> thank you. we take very seriously the accountability but ensures that our students are making gains.

academically, we've been paying attention to not only data but state white data that tells us students have recovered a third of the pandemic. the gains have been two times as high in math than in typical years. reading five times as much growth. were seeing growth based on the intimidation of the dollars. however, it is important that we continue to use the assessment data that is provided by states. all office of secondary education have regular conversations and meetings with states to monitor growth and subgroup information. >> some of that growth, because we had significant funding on title 1 in the american rescue plan act? >> sir, i would say as a teacher and principal, it was because of the additional funding and the great used by our educators in the field. >> i just have several other

questions that i will submit and you say a word about afterschool program program funding? >> we have to do better as a country. in our proposal, we have a funding for afterschool programs. we have to do better. we cannot go back to where we were. >> thank you, madam chair. >> thank you, mr. scott. mr. moran, you are recognized for five minutes. >> thank you, madam chairwoman. secretary miguel cardona, we spoke last year. i want to talk about what we talk about last year. let me start with making sure that those in my district are aware of this new title 9 new that is being proposed by the biden administration. this new regulation was published and dramatically changes the existing title 9 regulations. it weakens protections for women's and girls and dilutes due process protections for those accused of sexual harassment as defined under the

regulations. the rule also expands the definition of to include gender identity, as you all know. this is going to result in the removal of female only spaces for women and girls. affecting them to share bathrooms and showers. it is atrocious in my opinion. i want to go back to what you said last year when we talked. i asked you specifically about local control and you stated -- even at the district and state level, i prefer that those decisions be made at the local level. that is where it should be. that is exactly what you said. those were your words. you also went further last year and you said you are working with local school boards to make sure we are staying in our lanes. our country was designed to have local control. frankly, i was shocked that you would tell me that last year given the overreach of the department of education. i was glad that you said that. so now, i have even more of a problem with what is going on in the word that you gave last year but in the actions of the department of education and in particular of this new rule.

you still stand by those statements that you made last year? >> absolutely. >> having stood by those statements, i'm going to tell you what my back, telling me. i got two i want to introduce. i ask for unanimous consent introduce into the record april 30th 2024 letter by tyler isd, my largest school district. >> without objection. >> ask for unanimous consent to enter into the record a letter a letter from school district dated may 7th, 2024. >> i will tell you, some of the statement made by the superintendent to me as it relates to this title 9 atrocious rule, talks about it being constitutionally overreaching and illegal that is so offensive to our daughters, wife, and mothers. one of the statement he makes to be on the local level. i can assure you the rest of my school districts share that opinion. it also says in this letter that it is an inexcusable

assault towards girls and women that have no place in schools. that is what the local communities in texas where i represent, what they think about the title 9 letter. from then independent school district, the changes to title ix forces schools to treat boys as if they were girls and except every students self- declared gender identity. i've said before and i will say it again today probably. i believe men and women were created by god with equal and eternal value but very different. very different. it is not up to us to try to change that identity in our amenity. do you agree with that or disagree with that? >> thank you for the opportunity to respond. i want to correct some of the provisions under title 9. it is creating greater protections. >> i ask you about my statement. do you agree or disagree with the statement that i made about

our creator creating men and women equally? >> i can tell you what as a school principal too, i do believe in local control but i don't believe that it's my response ability. >> i am asking you a very specific question about the creation by god of men and women and whether or not they are equally but differently created. >> it is my response ability to respect all students, not just the ones that some people pick and choose. >> that should be an easy question. we have seen this before. people said before our panel. we have seen with college president recently where there are moral foundations that seen very evident to a lot of folks. people that somehow sit in your chair cannot answer directly. it is atrocious in my opinion. i want to end my statement today because this is teacher appreciation week by saying this. i do appreciate all of the hard work that all of our teachers across the united states does

for our students day in and day out. in the state of texas, there are well over 300,000 teachers that serve our 5 million students. i've met with a lot of teachers across the district and just like you said last year, they do not want the federal government telling them how to do their job and what their job is. it is unfortunate that this ministration continues to do just that and issues rules and regulations that are contrary not to just control but morality. with that, i yield back. >> thank you. stephen, you are recognized for five minutes. >> thank you, madam chair. i am absolutely in awe of not only your work with the department of education but just your performance here today. you are so good at answering questions very clearly and distinctly. i also appreciate your written testimony. i would just like to reflect to

you that there are so many critical topics that intersect with your purview. we appreciate that you are here to answer some of the questions from us. earlier this term, i introduced the aid act, the student aid act to make another adjustment to fafsa recognizing that there are parents of students going to college, parents that still have student loan debt, themselves but their student does not qualify for financial aid. i came up with this idea while knocking doors in hazel park, michigan. i reached a uaw household. both mom and dad worked with the uaw in various. dad had said to be haley, we are so excited to send our kids off to michigan state we did

not wallow five for financial aid even though i'm sitting on tens of thousands of dollars of student loan debt myself. received a lot of support from my colleagues. i wanted to put it on your radar. i wanted to remind you that in michigan, our governor, who's been so dedicated to educators and our schools has really accomplished some incredible things. free and reduced lunch for all. is something that you care deeply about. pre-k as well as an affordable two year to reprogram. the community college level. lastly in michigan, we have been rocked by school shootings. michigan state. in february of 23 and of course, the oxford school shooting. students at oxford height were middle school when i was marching in detroit after the

parkland shooting. we know that we have a great runway following the bipartisan past edge of gun safety bill and particularly, additional resources that are going to communities to tackle school shootings. sir, i want to commend you for your leadership and thank you so much. with my remaining time, i just wanted to give you a few minutes to talk about your work and the administration and the budget on funding for i.d.a.. really near and dear to my heart, something that i have rallied all the oakland county school systems around in terms of full funding. i just wanted to get some of your input on better coordination of services, what we will get from this budget puzzle. thrilled to see some of the numbers in here with 15.4 for i.d.a. as well as the different components that are coming

down. >> thank you for that opportunity. first of all, let me say that working as a teacher and a school principal, i remember countless meetings with families. parents whose children are receiving special education services. it was really important to remember that they received the core curriculum first. they are students first and then they would get extra support. we are asking for an increase in i.d.a.. 10.7% of the funding of it in fy 24. the increase is 10.3 for 25. we recognize that this is not yet keeping with what the federal commitment was set to be but we are seeking more dollars than has ever been asked before. the students and families

deserve it. we know caseloads of special education teachers across the country is exceedingly high which prevents our students to get the individualized support they need. support for students with disabilities is critical for us in our budget and the work that we do. >> we recognize that the president makes a series of trade-offs when proposing his budget. it is our responsibility in the congress as authorizer's on this committee who knock on the door of the appropriators to really push for that original mandate. that 50 year mark that we are about to hit. this will be a game changer for our schools, our educators. i certainly call my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to push for that as appropriation season is upon us. with that, madam chair, i yield back. thank you. >> you are recognized for five minutes. >> thank you, madam chair.

secretary miguel cardona, it has been a busy time for you. in this time of history, not for good reasons. this committee has been settled by both the failures of you and your staff in handling the fast fund debacle and rising anti- semitism on campuses. i want to start with the fafsa. over the past month, my district has been handling a high number of cases for parents seeking help with fast but and had to deal with your department. they cannot get a real person on the phone. they spend hours on hold and eventually are told there issues are technical glitches with zero guidance on what the next steps might be. all the while, their kids missed early acceptance deadlines because they did not know how much financial aid they were going to be working with. that part really frustrates me. when i think about why get mad about certain types of things, it has been 100% of my office of nonresponsiveness. not even a confirmation of receiving the case when we submit month. i pride myself on casework.

it sometimes allows the team to leave a message but no one ever calls us back. i have been frustrated. other agencies at least respond. they will get back to me with an answer. i ask myself who did you hire? it seems unacceptable. quite wrinkly, i have hired and fired throughout my career and it seems pathetic to not be able to at least hire people who can return a message. the department of education, if it exists for real purpose, is to increase access to education and you and your staff seem to have failed spectacularly, unfortunately, in the casework. let me talk about another lobar the department seems to be struggling with after october 7th. on college campuses came out in droves. jewish students have openly stated that they feel threatened in unsafe and some of been physically assaulted. about a week ago, one rabbi affiliated with columbia university advised jewish students to leave campus for

passover. schools have canceled their commencement ceremonies and last week, gw university's law school relocated its final exams to an undisclosed and secure location. our schools in oregon are dealing with a similar situation and i have talked to those university presidents and what the future would look like. it really is the greatest crisis in american education in decades. last week before subcommittee, you mentioned the department office of civil rights had 145 investigations into universities and schools. the school district for potential title 6 violations. this is the legal basis for investigations and actions that regarding discriminations based on race and religion. in this case, countless jewish students. you somewhat touched on it today but what is the timeline for the resolution of these investigations and when will penalties, if appropriate, be announced and imposed? i would really hope that you don't answer if you give us more money, you will have the

answers. >> i agree with you that hate has no place on our campuses and we must act. i want to go back and say that this is the administration that reopened the schools, provided that relief, and overhauled the 40-year-old fafsa system and while delayed, we are working 24 seven to serve the people that you represent. i am committed to making sure that you have information. i will ask some of my team to reach out to you this week. with regard to the anti- semitism, it is unacceptable and we take a very strong stance on that. we have more cases open. we've closed more cases than the last already. we are committed to it. we have guidance within two weeks of our website that provide your colleague letter that was sent out today, a letter that i sent out friday, this is something that we take very seriously as well. >> thank you. the reason these investigations are important to get there because it really does not seem to protect students when they need it most and that is immediately. on december 6, he received a letter in the jewish congregations of america. they ask you to issue that guidance. i was glad to see this morning

that you issued that new guidance for the administrators from peak pre-k to fill those title vi obligations. mr. secretary, exactly how many forms of guidance have you circulated since october 7? >> we have had over 100 actions. i can tell you with the guidance, i have to say at least 3-4 that i can think of off the top of my head. there could be more. click on supporting campus safety and there is a whole list for yourself and your constituents. >> it also says tools have a legal responsibility against the students. it sounds like you would include when processors shout from the river to the sea at jewish students and 10 examples that this new guidance. two final questions before my time is up. does the department recognize that screaming from the river to the sea at jewish students is a call for genocide? 2, if schools don't all of the guidance, when you as you committed that you will do that? is because first genocide are

and we stand against those. >> will you withhold funding as you committed to? >> absolutely. if schools refused to adhere to title vi, absolutely. >> think you. madam chair, i yield back. >> mr., you are recognized for five minutes. >> thank you. >> and after your questioning, we will take a break and then come back. thank you. >> thank you for being here today. i am deeply concerned about the fact that your department failed two financial audits for two years. after inspecting your department numbers, your auditor was able to complete the audit and instead was forced to issue what is known as a this claim are of opinion which has not happened in two decades. it is a really big deal in the auditing world. your auditor said that if they had no confidence in your numbers and how the department carries out estimates and

assumptions for the direct student loan folios, my staff followed up and spoke with the auditor and learned that during the course of the 2023 audit, your department discovered 22,000 and anomalies in the data. that is the basis for the student loan portfolio. and then after doing additional investigation, your apartment discovered another 8 million anomalies in the data. this means that the underlying data you are feeding into the student loan portfolio was simply filled with errors. all in all, a very highly responsible financial management from the department, particularly of $1.6 trillion portfolio owned by 43 million borrowers. if the department were a private bank, you would be held accountable to your investors and you would be out of business by now. it certainly undermines any confidence that anyone can have in your estimates and

assumptions that the department is used in these folios. why should the department of education and the office of student need to be treated any differently? >> thank you for the questions. i agree with you. that is really important to make sure that we are up to date on our financial audits. i want to correct the statement. it was not a failure, it was a disclaimer of opinion. those are two different things based on the information that they were provided. we are doing anything that i've never been done at the department of education. number two, the error is in the data. you are absolutely right. i am proud that our team found this and is correcting this. it has been there for several administrations. it was our team that found it and is fixing it. we operate on 2/10 of 1% of the budget for $1.6 trillion portfolio. we are not being treated like. what we are asking -- >> funding lies, to administer a $1.6 trillion portfolio, we

are operating. we are asking for additional dollars to help make sure but not only implement the comments from auditors but also, improve students services. >> how do you think we should be providing additional funding? do you think that the american taxpayers should be satisfied with the funding that you have today with the way that you are handling 1.6 trillion in taxpayer dollars? >> we found the heirs and we are correcting that. we are providing better services. it is our goal to do a better job of providing services for our borrowers. your support of the budget would help that. >> i want to get to the clock hour rule which is the department has reversed but is known as which allows career orientated -- oriented education programs that are offered at community colleges and career colleges to provide students with the education, with the amount of hours that they feel students need to be

successful in that career. specifically, to extend the number of hours to more than 150% of the state minimum. still received the federal financial aid. as i said, that policy is important for a lot of these programs and complicated careers and schools and students . they feel that they need additional hours to be adequately prepared. i think that that policy is going to result in less students having access to education that will lead them to these good paying jobs. in response to industry concerns, the department announced they will use -- enforcement discretion" when enforcing the role between july of 2024 and january of 2025 but there is no guarantee for schools that will be given the time that they need to get all the necessary approvals by

state legislators and federal regulators. first, why the policy in the first place? why would the government mandate that schools can only offer a minimum of hours to students? >> thank you for that question. i think that we are on the same page. we want to make sure that we have opportunities for students to engage in industry connected fields. we want to make sure that while we are providing greater opportunities, we are also providing high-quality programming. what i'm hearing from you is that there are concerns and we want to make sure that we are listening and responsive to the concerns. >> i will ask one additional question, running out of time. you mentioned discretionary enforcement. i do not know exactly what that means. can you simply delay the full implementation of the role until january 2025? >> we will take that into consideration and i wanted to follow-up with you. >> thank you. i yield back. >> think you. we do have members who are coming back after votes so were going to take a break right now. we we will be back five minutes

after the third boat begins.

>> thank you, mr. chairman. welcome, secretary miguel cardona and thank you for your dedication to our students throughout your life and in this position. since taking office, the biden administration has worked to a race the burden of student debt. this includes canceling debt for 876 thousand people, including teachers and firefighters through the public servlet service loan forgiveness program. includes canceling debt for almost 1 million people through

proving income driven repayment and 1.6 million for defrauded students. just last week, students who were scammed by the institute of seattle who i had met with in my district finally sought relief after more than a decade while the previous administration made the process so unworkable that congress rebuked it on a bipartisan basis. together, these steps have canceled $160 billion from 4.6 million borrowers and my understanding is that another 20-25 million students will be eligible through programs that you recently announced. this is financial breathing room for students and families who are trying to get a higher education and improve their skills so they can contribute to our communities. all borrowers turned to loan as a step towards economic prosperity but student debt makes it so impossible for

many. i think that it is important that we remember that more than 80% of borrowers report that it holds them back from being able to become homeowners, something that you were talking about just in a previous answer. additionally, borrowers have to choose between repaying and affording rent and groceries. no one should be stuck with these kinds of payments that they cannot afford. secretary miguel cardona, your department released its first of two proposed rules to provide additional student debt relief. what type of borrowers will benefit the most and how will this improve their financial well-being? >> think you for that. >> the borrowers that would benefit the most are those who have had runaway interest. i mentioned a teacher who had $30,000 just in interest. that prevented her from. that is one. i mentioned public servants. you talked about teachers and firefighters. we want to make sure that you

don't have to jump through hoops to apply for that. if you work for 10 years in public service, if you have paid your loans, it should automatically be discharged. we have a teacher shortage, nurse shortage and we wonder why. we are trying to make it simpler to have access to a bipartisan bill that was passed in 2007. >> think you. textbooks have been an enormous strain on students finances. they can cost up to $1200 annually and textbook cost double every 11 years. students can save by buying used books, renting, or borrowing from their library but some institutions actually automatically build students for their books. what is your department doing to prevent students from spending more than needed on their books or other hidden fees that are really preventing students from accessing the kind of support they need for a quality education? >> thank you for that question. as you know, this is an negotiated rulemaking so i really cannot comment on

specifically where we think were going to end up we are taking a very close look at what's are paying for. i have two in college next year and i recognize different fees and what they add up to. we want to make sure that our students -- the information is transparent and they are getting what they are paying for and it's not just something that's assumed they're going to need. >> thank you. i want to discuss federal payment of 12 education for children experiencing homelessness. your department 2023 guidance for american rescue plan plan funding has been an incredible lifeline for those families. for example, health schools provide gas cards and cover car repairs in an emergency to increase attendance. i know that these funds are expiring soon. what support does the department have in place for families experiencing homelessness, including four after these funds expire. >> thank you.

you have identified an issue that was increasing in our country, homelessness. making sure that our students are protected and able to learn the conditions for learning are right. we are requesting a $129 million budget request for fy 25. programs like school programs, students that fall behind because of the trauma, housing and secure. before and after school programs, transportation. as a school rentable, i'm going to tell you that that was the most expensive thing. making sure that the student does not have to bounce to 5-6 different schools to have a solid and consistent education. transportation and healthcare referrals is something. >> thank you. mr. chairman, i ask for unanimous consent to enter into the record this report from schoolhouse connection called overlooked and almost out of time as well as an article called grocery carts and car repairs. halcovage changed the way schools can help homeless kids. >> i yield back, thank you very

much. >> thank you, mr. chairman. secretary miguel cardona, i appreciate you being here today. i did wonder if you might show up given that you seem to have little respect for our congressional inquiries into the goings on the department of education. as you know, i recently sent you a letter about the failed 24-25 faster rollout but much like parents and college students across the country, as of today, we have not received a response on what you are doing to remedy the problems that you created for millions of american families. today, with my time, i would like to ask a few of these questions now. i am a parent to a college student in high school senior. i would like to understand what contributed to the delayed and ineffective rollout of the 2024 2025 fafsa. >> thank you for that question. i want to assure you that i take oversight very seriously

and communicating information with you is really important to us. our department has provided over 50,000 pages and responded to 35 letters from this committee, alone. i take it seriously and will continue to take it seriously. we have had many delays with fast for, frustrating delays that we have not been able to fix. it is working now and i encourage students who are listening to sign up. >> what would you say contributed to the delays? in the ineffective rollout? what were the contributing factors? >> there were some programmatic issues that required our engineers to reprogram codes. >> how much time were you given from the time the bill passed to the time that you were supposed to rollout? >> this fast for act, how much time you given for the time that bill passed to the rollout date? >> do you know how many years

that was? >> three years. >> three years. okay. what is your department doing now to support students and parents who have been unable to submit an been given incorrect financial aid information or who have not received their estimates. what are you doing for those students? >> that is something that we take very seriously and we are working very closely to provide resources for families. >> what kind of resources? >> videos that figure it out. we have $50,000 to make sure were knocking on students and families that still have to fill it out. we had tutorial videos, a national strategy and partnership with the boys and girls club, ymca, school districts. we are working closely with districts. i have to say, we've also worked on usgs servicing contracts. what we are doing to make sure that we improve processing is make sure that our fsa department is designed for the work that's being expected so we are asking for. >> given the you had three years to get this right the first time, why should we expect that this upcoming fast

for would be ready by october 1st? i know in the senate appropriations committee, you recently said that your expectation would be ready. why should we believe that? >> i could be happy to share what we are doing on a day-to- day basis but we are taking it very seriously. we know how important it is to our families and our schools. our schools have been extra- patient and working very closely with us to do with the update. i'm happy to say that two thirds or more -- we are committed to making a better every year and opening doors to higher education. i can tell you that 60-70% of our students on average are applying for fast. that is not acceptable. we need to be closer to the 95% range and that is what were going to work toward. >> the frustration that i experienced in trying to do the fast for would certainly deter people from. as you know, the soft launch, that is a generous turn.

it was hasty release to meet the letter of the law by all measures in my view as a disastrous failure. what grade would you give yourself in the d.o.e. on the rollout? >> i am committed to improving -- >> what grade would you give yourself? >> i am not in the classroom. >> you are the head of the department of education, sir. what grade would you give yourself? >> we are committed to making sure. >> i would give you a f. i think millions of americans would do the same. >> by law, to bail out student loans, yes or no? >> were you given a congressional directed by law to simplify fafsa? >> yes. >> you spent a great deal of department hours on the student loan bailout but apparently not very many department hours were spent on simplifying the past but that you had three years to do. your answers are about as unhelpful as the rollout. seeing out five minutes is to

have the right conversation, i hope you will consider responding to my letter. thank you, i yield back. >> thank you. i recognize mr.. >> thank you, mr. chairman. mr. secretary, i would grade you differently. i think that you have done a great job under very different difficult circumstances. i want to follow-up on the questions that asked. i have asked you this before about the areas of mental health. cognitive development, specifically. we know from cdc and the surgeon general that almost a third of adolescent girls in this country have seriously considered suicide or attempted suicide in the last year. we know from hhs that young people in 2003, 5% were identified with serious issues about anxiety and depression. and in 2023, that number went

to 30%. we know from -- i think that i mentioned this the last time you were here, susan or anna at stanford, their work on cognitive develop in social media. the penetration to adolescent neuroscience. the urgency of fixing this, as you see it in the continuum of care for kids in your department, i have been to 70 schools in the 10 years i've been in congress and it always comes up in conversations with students, administrators, and teachers. they need more behavioral health. they feel like they are overwhelmed. you saw this in your career in connecticut. i dealt with my good friends who are two superintendence of public instruction, both were constituents. tom and now tony. this is a real epidemic. the long societal cost to the

united states is very serious. tell me a little bit of what we are doing and how we are with the private sector research to make sure we are doing this in a nonpartisan, evidence-based way to deal with this epidemic of anxiety, depression, and cognitive changes for future generations. >> thank you for that question. i bring it back to my opening statements. it said we have a lot of common ground in mental health to our students is one of those. i am proud that the communities act provided $2 billion to increase the number of social workers in our schools. i am proud that there are 30% more nurses. there are proactive strategies to help students address anxiety or mental health needs. we know students are six times more likely to access mental health supports. in our budget, we ask for $200

million for full-service community schools because we know that they work to support mental health. you mentioned what we can do together. medicaid reimbursement for students who do not have an iep, we sympathize with that process. all states that have sustainable dollars, we know that there will be a sunset and. we want to make sure that there are sustainable dollars and we are working in bipartisan fashion to make sure that states and governors know what to do. >> related but how you work with other departments when i am old enough to remember that when we did free-form, the biggest obstacle to people getting on their feet and getting a job, usually, single women of color are what you talked about in your opening comment. transportation and childcare. what are we doing with the dip

different departments to coordinate those efforts 20 years later? we still had the same problem. it has become worse where i live in the bay area because the transportation and childcare intersect with behavioral health hopefully nonpartisan is still a challenge. department working across with each other, your department, d.o.t.. working together and it was state agencies and local agencies. >> we have a whole approach on other things. we are working very closely to health and human services to make sure we are simplifying the process. we will see an increase in early childhood education which allows not only for students to address gaps before they grow but parents are able to work.

i was told that our efforts are working to support those same families. >> i would love to follow-up with you and be able to show where our success is in failures that have come about. we can continue to measure those in a thoughtful way and deal with these real epidemics that young people are facing. thank you, i yield back. >> i would like to recognize myself. mr. secretary, you're going through great lengths with the new. setting aside the fact that athletics with 30 times in the description. i am just hoping i get some yes and nose. can you assure us that protecting biological can continue against a stronger,

genetically stronger, bigger advanced with biological? it will not be considered a federal discrimination. >> you are referring to athletics. that rulemaking process is underway. >> is a possibility that this would be considered this termination? >> i am here to discuss what we are doing in education to help children. for proposed rules -- >> there should be a yes and no. it is a bridge that we all know that you are trying to get across. >> we have over 100,000. >> mr. secretary, you're in a

very unique position to impact. americans are both that this debate need to know how deep your commitment is. would you force your daughter to undress in a bathroom with boys who are also undressing? >> i am not going to be commenting. >> you cannot say yes or no on that? >> i would be happy to talk about a title ix -- >> if you are daughter felt uncomfortable in a boys presence in a bathroom, locker room, would that be considered by your administration, discrimination or bigotry? >> edging educator for over 25 years -- >> i would love to respond to your question. >> yes or no, would it be considered discrimination if she did not want that to happen? >> edging educator for over 25 years -- >> i only have a few minutes. girls have now entered into contact sports of boxing and wrestling. would you allow your daughter

to physically fight and get beat up by a boy who called himself a girl? yes or no. >> i would be happy, once we finalize our regulations on title ix athletics -- to have a conversation with you. a man's highest calling is to protect women. she is free to walk the earth unharmed. policies are not driving us toward each other. >> i pray we remain a country that produces the mass majority of men who feels the way i do about our girls. i will give my life in a heartbeat for our girls and a blessing to have. men and women across this country that do not have faith, do not have trust in you protecting our girls because of policy you can't say yes or no

to. it is either yes or no and you could not answer. >> there is an active investigation, but your staff is not on-site. this is an opportunity for the office of civil rights with how calm he is failing to protect the rights of its students. implied that you are running out of funds. i have a hard time believing the department of education is broke. i think it is more of a priority. is there a reason why that this has not been happening on this campus, it had been black americans dealing with bigots. you have the same sense of presence or priorities. >> thank you for the question. i have a father. you cannot pick and choose

which students you want to protect. you cannot pick and choose which students want to protect. >> i'm sorry, i missed that. i'm sorry. we have checked all of them. >> including our lgbtq students. >> you are choosing those students over women. i am talking about boys versus girls. that is a simple question. >> the new title nine regulations increase protections to all students and increase protections for women. >> this is why american parents are concerned about this administration. you cannot answer a basic question. i will say this, i know how to protect my girls. i believe it at that. i will recognize miss macbeth. >> thank you.

it is good to see you again today. thank you so much. i have read your testimony. is there anything else you would like to expound upon a little bit before we get started. it looks like there might have been something else he wanted to say to mike >> >> time fell short. i wanted to comment that into thousand nine, we had 58 more investigators for title six. we are desperately in need of additional support to make sure we can investigate the cases we have in front of us, so i welcome support of the budget on both sides. >> thank you for being with us today for the last few decades, we have been focusing on our efforts getting students into college, making sure they get educated, but not enough that they actually finish getting those degrees are those credentials and actually

achieving the goals they set out to a compass for themselves. they set themselves and their families up for future success, not just with a job, but a lifelong career and career path. millions of americans hold tens of thousands of dollars in student debt. they had no degrees or credentials to show for it. it is obvious this is not a result of user error on behalf of the american people, it is a result of this country's failure to actually provide the targeted resources to foster the school climate that is needed to ensure that every student can get the skills that will help them to achieve greater levels of success then was possible before they actually want on campus for the first time that they actually logged into a classroom computer. we know there are paths to success when it comes to developing a strong and successful workforce, each is personal and i am proud that three legislative initiatives

that i lead in this committee recently passed the house and could meet the needs of our students wherever they are. my colleagues claim the american people are equally responsible. those are not the georgians that i know and i live among a personal day and those are not the georgians i represent here in congress. the reality is the only way for decades we have been telling people that one of the best ways to get as they have that to have a college degree and now we are punishing them for trying to partake in the very thing we encourage them to do and that is obtaining the skills that are necessary. georgia state university, one of the nations leaders in student retention and success

we received a post secondary grant, student success grant to study their use of modern technology that are using a.i.. in the first freshman year for those first-year students in math and nurture courses and their potential to improve the student outcome and actually, i would like to ask the chair, may i include georgia state his club articles? >> thank you. in 2016, georgia state began this a.i. to stay in contact with students over the summer and successfully helped to cut the number of high school graduates who were accepted into gsu, but failed to actually follow through on everything they needed to do to actually be registered and prepared for the fall session, so this new technology and use of

technology is actually helping more students without their dream of attending college because you are able to cut down that number of students that were not being prepared, to cut it down by half and that is amazing. according to dr. resnick who testified before the committee earlier, as invitation of our chair, these technologies support students by reminding them about assignments, answering questions, after hours and are generally more accessible for students that may have busier schedules. some students are parents, some students are caretakers for family members. it is through programs like this that put students first. we can address specific factors that are preventing students from succeeding in the classroom and getting the credentials that they deserve and need and they are working toward. my question to you is postsecondary student success

grant, which i just talked about have the potential to become a premier grant program that will assist colleges and universities with their efforts to improve retention and completion rates and ensure student success. however, we know this program is funded at $45 million for the past two years. could you please explain how the departments 2025 budget request of 100 million will provide students with the necessary means of support that they need to produce these barriers to success? >> you began your question with two seconds left and you are 40 seconds over so i will ask the secretary to submit an answer to you in writing. thank you. mr. good, you are recognized. >> thank you medicare and thank you for being with us today. do you think it is their

responsibility to pay their own student loans? >> i do believe students who take out loans should pay loans. >> thank you. what if it is difficult to pay it? >> many of the loans we are providing relief for our loans that are eligible for. >> we have long had relief in place that allowed folks in difficult financial situations or reduced income, so what if somebody just does not want to pay or wishes they did not have a student loan? >> they should still pay. they should pay for it. >> do you understand how federal spending is paid can make the spending, how is that paid? >> the work we are doing -- >> do you understand how federal spending is ultimately paid for? it is not a trick question. >> i want to go back. >> i would like to know if you

know how federal spending is paid for. how is it paid for who pays for federal spending? okay, taxpayers. exactly, whether it is higher taxes or lower purchasing power from biden's higher interest rates, they have diminished purchasing power as they suffer under inflation. i appreciate you confirming. so student loan debt is legitimate debt. correct? >> the work we -- >> is student loan debt legitimate debt or is it a legitimate connect >> i talked to students. >> is a student loan debt legitimate? i would presume you would say a mortgage loan is legitimate, a car loan is legitimate. he would presume those are legitimate debt >> i would love to communicate -- >> when somebody borrows for education, is it illegitimate

and should be paid by the person who borrows it? is there something illegitimate about student loan debt? you are not going to say. you are agreeing it is not legitimate that. do you think we should continue to make student loans when you are trying to transfer all the debt to the taxpayers with the latest scheme that has been estimated to cost maybe $750 billion. should we continue to make student loans if we are not going to ask first to pay the loans, should we reclassify them as taxpayer provided gives? >> the 75,300 constituents user, i would not call it a scheme, i would call it a lifeline. >> should we continue to make student loans that we are not going to ask people to pay back or should we go to taxpayer provided gives? >> i understand your line of

questioning. >> should we keep making student loans if we are not going to ask people to pay back student loans? >> we are improving the repayment process so people can be successful. >> is there any reason that people who go to the most so- called elite universities, the ones with the protests on canvases, it showed students that go to those universities which tend to be the elite because they are expensive, i certainly could not afford to go to school like that, it would be a waste of money, but those who go to those schools and can make up 125,000 250,000 as a family based on the previous original student loan transfer scheme, should others who did not go to college, who worked their way through college, who tried not to incur student loan debt, should they have to pay student loan debt for those elite schools making above-average incomes? >> people are paying loans back. >> so other people should not pay student loan debt? >> that is not what i said.

people are paying loans back. return to repayment is underway. i would be happy to have my staff share with you -- >> thank you. in february, the department published a draft proposal that would list 16 different indicators used to determine whether a borrower is in economic hardship and able to have the loan balance paid or transferred to the taxpayers. it notes that the powers can have their debt canceled and transferred to the taxpayer based on any other indicators of hardship identify by yourself. is that correct? >> we have over 1 million -- >> it allows for you to decide any reason why someone can have their debt canceled gimmick is that correct? >> we are fixing a broken system. >> what authority do you have to decide whether or not someone should pay their student loan debt? >> i would welcome to answer. it is not a simple as you are

asking. if you allow me to answer, you might get the answer you are looking for. >> i yelled back. >> thank you. ms. hayes, you are recognized for five minutes. >> thank you. before i start my questioning, i would like to say that mortgage loans are legitimate debt, and i can remember into thousand nine i was a teacher, i had a contract being paid $87,500 a year. that is also the taxpayer and i was not a homeowner, and the country decided that we would bail out the mortgage company to the affordable mortgage program, and as an american, i recognized that was good for our economy, and i went to work every day and paid my taxes and we bailed out the mortgage industry in the finance industry and auto industry, so the idea that we draw the line at student debt and people who just want a chance to get ahead or have a fighting chance in

this society is just something i can't wrap myself around him about thank you for being here and happy national teacher appreciation day. across the country, university students are exercising their first amendment rights. i will talk slow here since this is what i used to have to do in my classroom when i talked about the first amendment because my students would always say, but why are there so many in this one amendment. the first amendment protect the speeding of speech, the press, freedom of assembly, freedom of religion, and the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances. all of those things are protected i the constitution and are imperative to a functioning democracy. when my students would ask me why are they all in this one amendment, i would generally respond that it is the way that we define who we are as individuals in a complex

changing, self-governing society. there are so many things i can ask you about today because i believe so deeply in the work that the department of education does. another work is life-changing, and it is the only shot that so many of our young people have. but i am deeply concerned by the rise in anti-semitism and islamophobia on college campuses. like you, i know, like myself, i know that you believe there is no place for hate speech or discrimination in education. i also know that as an educator, it is beyond pedagogy. students don't feel safe and protect it in the academic environment, they will not learn. this is what the department is dealing with right now. as of april 30th 2024, the office of civil rights at the department of education, which oversees investigations of discrimination at institutions of higher education have reported many cases of

discrimination. past reporting by industry drive has shown that severe backlog in the processing and investigation of discrimination in cases by ocr due to funding challenges over the years. secretary cardona, in your testimony, you mentioned the department of education is asking for a $22 million increase in funds for fiscal year 2025 to expand staffing capacity. additionally, the funding would be used to address the alarming reports of rising anti-semitism and islamophobia. many of my colleagues believe the entire department budget including opi should be flat funded. i think we have to stop admiring the problem and actually invest the resources to address it. so how would that funding impact the ability of the department to process these claims in a timely manner? >> it would impact it significantly. over 90% of the budget request is for investigators. >> you have also said that the

investigator caseload is at historically high rates. was that about 40 to cases per investigator? this has risen to 71 per investigator at which you describe as unmanageable. funding for the ocr was to be increased, what with the department spend that money on? please be specific. >> investigators to investigate these open cases. >> we have diversity presidents here and one of the things they stated was that work items from the department would be helpful as -- >> thank you very much for coming back after our break for votes. i now recognize mr. comber for five minutes. >> thank you. thank you for being here today. you acknowledge that a budget

is estate with values. i hope you will agree that the violence being spewed on college campuses are not in any way the values of the department of education. over the last several years, we have seen university presidents begging for assistance from local law enforcement, including those like george washington university facing resistance from local elected officials several blocks away here in washington, d.c., and i know that because i met with the university president last week. president joe biden asserted that there is the right to protest, but not the right to cause chaos. do you share those values with the president? >> i do. >> do you condemn illegal activities of discriminatory speech we have seen over the last several weeks on college campuses? >> i do. >> have you been in contact with george washington university president regarding her request for assistance in

clearing the unlawful engagement gimmick >> i have not spoken to the president. our staff is available to work with colleges. we have spoken to hundreds of presidents in the last several months and we will continue to make ourselves available. >> have you spoken with mayor bowser regarding the request from george washington university to utilize law enforcement to clear the trespassers who have invaded the campus? >> i have not spoken to the mayor. >> the mayor will be in attendance here tomorrow on an emergency hearing to try to understand why the mayor has refused to assist with the request from george washington university. >> do you believe preventing law enforcement from providing security within their jurisdiction is a dereliction of the mayor's duty? >> i can tell you that hate has

no place in our schools, and retake the role of enforcing title six seriously. we are committed not only to complaints, but to building capacity and providing resources so that university leaders and the public in general have tools on how to keep campuses safe. there is too much hate on our campuses that we have to address, and we are adamant that we are providing more materials and compliance oversight given the resources that we have. i strongly suggest you support our budget, which will allow us to have more investigators to expeditiously move forward on these cases. >> let me ask you this. will you commit to supporting president greenberg and administrators in similar situations and other university administrators. they are removing illegal encampments from university grounds. >> it is my responsibility to

make sure campuses are safe and students have a safe learning environment. >> will you commit to bank >> i can tell you because i have walked through the encampment. it is not a safe learning environment. we heard from several students that george washington university who were threatened. they were being threatened while they were escorting us through the encampment. the university president was begging the city of washington, d.c. police to come in and remove the trespassers, and they are refusing to do so. i believe we are in the second week, it has almost been 14 days we are approaching the third week of this violation of the law, of trespassers, intimidation of jewish students, desecration of statues, the statute of george washington dressed as a hamas soldier, so i do think the department of education should

bear some response ability. i think it is the role of the department of education to ensure that these students are being protected, that they are in a safe environment, and from what i saw firsthand george washington university, i don't think that is the case, especially for jewish students. i guess my question is will you commit to working with these university presidents and administrators who are begging these local law-enforcement officials and i hate to say this, but cities who are refusing for whatever reason to go in and remove the trespassers. will you commit to working with the professors because they are reaching out asking for help from somewhere. the house oversight committee has jurisdiction over washington, d.c. we will do what we can. there are a lot of campuses where the evidence traders are

begging for assistance. can they call the department of education and will you assist gimmick >> they can call the department of education. we will be available to support them and make sure students are safe on campus. >> thank you. >> thank you. mr. williams, you are recognized for five minutes. >> thank you. mr. secretary, you have made it this far, are you a hockey fan? >> i am a big football fan. >> that is a good lead into my question. you probably heard of wayne gretzky. famous hockey player, he used to say what made him great was that he would skate to where the puck was going to be and everything i have observed, you have done an extra every drop of skating to where the puck is not going to be. i would call it your greatest skill because you are a football fan. i think the efforts you go to to avoid answering questions

seem to be antithetical to the purpose of these hearings. are you -- is your department going to have all the kinks worked out on fafsa enrollment by the beginning of the 2024 deadline gimmick >> we recognize how important that is. >> i am glad it is important. will you be ready? this is the executive branch. right? you are in charge? >> so october 1st 2024, what should parents expect gimmick >> my expectation is we will be ready to go and they will have information -- >> are you committing to october 1st 2024? i'm sorry, but it is going to work? >> as i said and i will repeat, i am making sure that the staff

knows this is the highest priority and it is my expectation that we will be ready. >> do you have the authority to make things happen in your department? >> yes. >> you are certain? >> the answer was yes. >> thank you. one of the things that we have seen is that we have campuses that are essentially being burned down on title nine issues, and, i'm sorry, title six issues if you are spending a lot of time on rewriting title nine issues. we have jewish students afraid to go to classes, we have disruptions, classes being canceled, commencement's being canceled. which of these accomplishments are you most proud of? >> we issued letter for college leaders on friday. i submitted a letter to 5000 leaders. we are committed to ensuring title six is adhered to. we have more investigations and

shared ancestry and we are working diligently for those investigations. your support of the budget would be helpful. we are committed to providing resources to universities out of compliance with title six. >> a little late. >> this is our third set of guidance. i would ask you to visit the resource page that we put together with input from parents, students, jewish leaders -- >> you mentioned in your budget that you are asking for an increase of $3 billion. is that right? >> are using for student aid? >> i thought it was for the whole thing. >> you are cutting charter goals by $40 million. >> know. we are proposing a reduction of $40 million to the charter

schools. >> what is the difference between cutting by 40 million and proposing? this is where the puck is and it is opposite of the use of the english language. >> so we are proposing a $40 million decrease to the budget that we had before. >> students in my district and some of the poor neighborhoods, there is a waiting list to get into charter schools and they depend on this. i understand from your previous testimony that it won't cut any services to charter schools. that was your representation today. >> it is so largest competitive grant that we have. we would not see a reduction. >> i encourage you to stick with football because hockey is not your sport. thank you. i yield back.

>> thank you mr. williams. miss omar, do you have a closing statement you would like to make? >> our education system must break down barriers and not create them. we must ensure that every student, regardless of as a code has access to equitable and high-quality education. yet, as we near the 70th anniversary of brown v board of education, it is disheartening to see racial and economic segregation persist in american schools. secretary cardona, a good quality education should be afforded to every student. thank you to the biden and harris at ministration. we have seen great strides in our k-12 and higher education system. while democrats continue to push for progress, our efforts have been stamford by

republicans extreme culture war fueled agenda. we must prioritize meaningful solutions ever harmful and divisive rhetoric. we must put people over politics. as we move forward, democrats are committed to supporting the department to reflect our commitment for equitable education. thank you. >> thank you. i now recognize myself for closing statement. mr. secretary, you admitted here today that college graduates are earning over $1 million more than those who don't go to college. me repeat that. in your own words, college graduates are wealthier. so why should americans who have chosen a less expensive path to a career pay the student loan bill of their

wealthier peers? from their aggressive and inflationary repayment pause, you continued for over three years to blanket bail out for borrowers making over $300,000 through your so-called safe plan that ensures lawyers and those with advanced degrees pay back a fraction of what they owe. your department is simply transferring wealth from disadvantaged families you claim to care about to your political younger class you need. it is shocking how much the debt cancellation agenda has steered your ship and despite all of this, you're the part men's fy 2025 budget request shows that under your leadership, students will

default at greater rate going forward than those who borrowed at the peak of the covid pandemic. is that truly -- if that truly is the case, i don't know how to characterize your tenure other than earlier. now i want to turn to anti- semitism. you unequivocally condemned anyone saying to kill all muslims. good for you. we all should condemn not. yet, when given multiple opportunities, you would not condemn from the river to the sea, nor would you condemn calls for campuses to eliminate -- how can the jewish community in this country trust you to address anti-semitism on campuses if you have such

double standards about anti- semitism? americans are waking up to the radicalism on campus and the radical progressive agenda that has consumed the department of education and thank god they are. with that, i adjourn the committee. i think the secretary for being here. >> thank you.

>> president joe biden spoke at a holocaust remembrance ceremony of the u.s. capitol. a yearly event organized by the u.s. holocaust memorial museum in washington, d.c. watch the president's remarks tonight at 9:00 eastern. c-span, our free mobile video app or online c-span.org.

>> on wednesday, the house oversight committee looked at washington's response to pro- palestinian protest at george washington university. they allegedly involved unlawful activity. earlier testimony from d.c. mayor bowser as well as the metropolitan police chief, watch at 1:00 p.m. eastern. watch online at c-span.org. >> will you swear that in the testimony you are about to get will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so hope you got? >> watch american history tv investigate as we explore major investigations in our country's history on the u.s. house and senate. we will tell these stories and see historic footage and we will examine the agassi of key

congressional hearings. the 1987 hearings on the iran affair that we will hear about the veil of missiles going to around in exchange for the release of those in lebanon. watch congress investigates saturday at 7:00 p.m. eastern. >> c-span is your view of government. for television companies and more, including cox. >> now to a hearing on oversight of the usda secretary tom