March 7, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 41 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Page H2509]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          UNNECESSARY TINKERING WITH THE HIGHER EDUCATION ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
North Carolina (Ms. Foxx) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. FOXX of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I rise as leader of the 
Republicans on the Education and Labor Committee, which had a referral 
on H.R. 1 that did not even have a hearing, much less a markup on the 
provisions that fall within our jurisdiction.
  Mr. Speaker, as you know, a referral means a bill should be debated 
by a committee of jurisdiction, but that did not happen.
  It appears that every corner of American life would be touched by 
this overreaching, politically-motivated bill. Even colleges and 
universities did not manage to escape its reach.
  We fully recognize the opportunity colleges and universities can 
provide for traditional 18- to 24-year-old students to register to 
vote. That is why we have always been supportive of voter registration 
efforts on campuses. But mandating voter registration efforts on campus 
doesn't show good intentions for student engagement.
  Instead, it reveals the true motive behind this unnecessary tinkering 
with the Higher Education Act. Colleges and universities have not, do 
not, and must not ever exist to serve the Federal Government.
  The provisions in H.R. 1 take institutions of higher learning and put 
them in the same category as your local DMV. It is bad enough that 
colleges and universities barely resemble the free marketplace of ideas 
they once were. This bill turns them into full-fledged government 
offices, with all of the customer service and freedom of thought for 
which government offices are known.
  The reasons to oppose H.R. 1 are many, but we could not allow the 
provisions that impact educational institutions to go unnoticed as 
House Democrats clearly hoped.
  H.R. 1 is one of the most cynical political stunts we have seen and, 
for that reason, Mr. Speaker, we should oppose it and oppose it with 
all our might.

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