Congresswoman McDonald Rivet Statement on Protecting Local Schools

WASHINGTON- Today, Congresswoman Kristen McDonald Rivet (MI-08) released the following statement about her vote on H.R. 2616, which gives the federal government more power to punish and defund local classrooms.

"My husband and I have raised six kids, and whenever they were struggling with something, we would always want to dive in and help them. We all know that if a child is facing complicated questions about gender and identity, they need their parents and teachers working together to support them. If there were a bill about parental consent, I would vote yes. Unfortunately, that is not what today's vote was about.

"I believe strongly in local control of our schools, where teachers, local elected officials, and parents are the deciders, and this bill dangerously opens the door to a Washington takeover of public schools. Our schools are already spread thin, and I have heard from leaders across mid-Michigan who are worried that it will stop teachers from teaching, drown local schools in confusing red tape, and potentially cut the funding that keeps their lights on, all because a student has two moms or a PTA member posts a Pride flag on Facebook.

"This is an Administration that continuously attacks our public schools. Still today, they are trying to eliminate the Department of Education. We cannot give them, or any Washington bureaucrat, the ability to use extreme culture wars to defund our kids' schools."