Rep. Adams Pushes to Preserve Department of Education During Congressional Committee Meeting

Washington, D.C. - Today, Congresswoman Alma S. Adams, Ph.D. (NC-12), introduced an amendment to halt further dismantling of the Department of Education (ED).

"Adult Education is not a job training program," said Rep. Adams. "It's an education program that is fundamentally about helping adults learn a foundational level of reading, writing, and math. The Department of Education fills a critical void in our nation's workforce system by providing much needed expertise in adult literacy instructional delivery."

The Education and Workforce Committee held a markup on H.R. 8210, A Stronger Workforce for America Act, to reauthorize the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). Reauthorization is crucial to continue funding for job search assistance programs, literacy programs, dislocated worker programs, and youth training programs.

As written, H.R. 8210 would move adult and family literacy training programs from the Department of Education to the Department of Labor, further removing the Department of Education's essential functions and dismantling a decades-long adult education infrastructure. Congresswoman Adams introduced an amendment during the committee meeting to remove parts of H.R. 8210 that sought to limit the Department of Education's responsibilities and restore the previous bipartisan agreement that was authorized in the 118th Congress.

"Moving Adult Education to the Department of Labor would rid states, providers of adult literacy courses, and most importantly, adults themselves, of the expertise ED provides through technical assistance, monitoring, and guidance," Rep. Adams continued. "The inclusion of this language does not represent a thoughtful attempt at WIOA reauthorization, but rather another front in President Trump's war against the Department of Education."

You can find video of Rep. Adams committee remarks here.