House Committee Takes Next Steps in Dismantling ED
The House Committee on Education & Workforce held a full committee markup of 10 bills, collectively dubbed the “Less Bureaucracy, Better Education” package, that would codify ten of the Department’s fourteen interagency agreements, transferring programs, staff, assets, and records to the Departments of Labor, Treasury, State, Health and Human Services (HHS), and Interior. Every bill was reported favorably to the House on near-party-line votes, and every Democratic amendment, more than two dozen across the day, was defeated in a marathon session.
Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI) framed the markup as “the first step toward ending the Department of Education’s reign,” citing a $1.7 trillion loan portfolio with more than 9 million borrowers in default and stagnant K-12 achievement. He noted Congress has transferred programs before, and that many programs being transferred pre-date the Department.
Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA) framed the opposition around an argument that members repeated throughout the markup: If the interagency agreements are lawful, the bills are unnecessary; if they are not, the markup is retroactive cover. He also argued that the package would return no authority to the states and would instead recreate the fragmented federal structure that led Congress to establish the Department in 1979. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) disclosed that she and 19 co-sponsors have called for Secretary McMahon's impeachment.
For higher education, the most potentially impactful bill is H.R. 9609, which would gradually transfer the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) – including loan servicing, collections, Pell Grants, institutional eligibility, and borrower protections – to the Department of the Treasury. Walberg argued that Treasury’s financial expertise suits implementation of the new Repayment Assistance Plan, created by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Democrats countered with questions about the Treasury’s record. Rep. Alma Adams (D-NC), for example, cited a 2015 pilot in which Treasury rehabilitated only eight of 5,729 defaulted borrowers’ loans in a year, and Government Accountability Office findings that FSA staffing fell from over 1,400 to under 800 amid lapses in servicer oversight. Eight amendments to H.R. 9609 failed, including Rep. Adams’s condition that the 89,000-application Public Service Loan Forgiveness buyback backlog be cleared first, and Scott’s amendment that would block the bill until the Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) final rule is repealed, arguing that its professional-degree definition excludes advanced nursing, physician assistant studies, counseling, and social work from higher loan limits and is currently subject to litigation.
Other bills
On H.R. 9607, moving career, technical, and adult education to the Department of Labor, Walberg cited more than $1.55 billion in payments processed under the existing agreement as proof of concept; Democrats countered with November funding delays, added administrative costs, and opposition from associations representing career and technical education.
The State Department bills, which covered Section 117 foreign gift reporting and Title VI international education, drew no amendments.
The Department of Health and Human Services bills covering foreign medical accreditation, campus childcare, and family engagement drew objections from Democrats centered on Secretary Kennedy and canceled CCAMPIS grants.
On the tribal education transfer to the Department of the Interior, Bonamici noted opposition from the National Congress of American Indians and the Navajo Nation and asked the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Burgess Owens (R-UT), which Indigenous groups he consulted. Owens could not name a specific group.
Throughout the day, the messaging strategies from both sides became clear: Democrats sought to condition transfers on demonstrated performance, such as GAO reviews, restored staffing, and cleared backlogs, while Republicans rejected each as an unnecessary delay to improving oversight and accountability over critical education programs.
Scott offered the bluntest forecast, telling the chairman the bills “are not going anywhere” in the Senate.
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Justin Monk